ESSA Leagues

2009/2010 Fixture #13 : Dunbar -v- Edinburgh Sports Club 4 : 05.02.10

Dunbar travelled to the illustrious surroundings of Edinburgh Sports Club last week for week 13 of their East League Division 3 campaign. Founded in 1936, ESC is one of the oldest Squash Clubs in the World, and over the years has played host to some the Game’s true greats. Would messrs Baty, Revell and Jones add their names to those of Khan, Nichol and Power, or would it prove to be unlucky number 13 for the visitors? Read on………..

Philip Revell -v- Kirsty Craig.

Having played so well last week, great things were expected of Phil, a stalwart of the Dunbar side. His opponent was someone Dunbar have seen before, as Kirsty was captain of the Heriot Watt Uni 2^nd Team when a Student there, and she had crossed swords with us on a few occasions. Having graduated in 2007, she seems to have rededicated herself to squash and is very much back to the kind of player who won many International Caps all the way through the Junior ranks. Phil never really got going in the Match, and Kirsty was playing a textbook game of length and width. Keeping Phil in the back corners blunted his normally rapier like attacking game, and those short kill shots were never given a chance to show themselves. Kirsty dominated from the off, never letting up in a 9-3,  9-0, 9-2 victory. One nil to the enemy!

David Legge -v- Lesak Stankowski

I played on the adjoining court to Phil as my opponent had to get away early. He initially seemed determined to be off court as quickly as possible, trying I think to break the world record for the number of consecutive tins (currently held jointly by Ricardo Scissorhands and Phil Revell of course). He couldn’t do a thing right, and my normal error free game (did I really write that!) led to a 9-0, 9-0 scoreline!! At this point all sorts of things were going through my mind. The triple bagel – something I’ve been on the wrong side of myself – here was my opportunity for redemption! I could finally rid myself of those 0,0,&0 demons by dishing one out personally…….

Half an hour later I was wondering if I might instead be the first player in ESSA League history to LOSE a match having won games 1&2 without dropping a point. Yes, the real Lasek Stankowski suddenly arrived and decided to play. He was a different animal in game 3, winning a tight one 9-7. I was then down in game 4 and faced a game ball at 7-8. Panic – ME  - you bet I did.  Lesak is as fit as the proverbial butchers dog, and at this stage I was ‘done’. I needed to win game 4 or my humiliation would be complete. Very fortunately I managed to sneak the fourth 10-8, and was hugely relieved to get off court with a win, having lost three very tight matches in each of the last three weeks. 1-1 the score now……

Richard Baty -v- Chris ?

One thing that we constantly seem to face against any ESC Team is a totally different line up to the first half encounter. Tonight was no exception, with Richard facing a hard hitter who I’d never seen before, but who was – as is always the case – very handy. The first two games followed a very similar pattern of over hitting by both players. The ball was lively to say the least, with the warm on court conditions not helping. Chris seemed to deal with this better being the home player, and took the ball off the back wall more comfortably than Richard. I was scoring this match and although there were plenty Hand-outs Richard didn’t win two consecutive points in a row often enough, and having won a dozen or more rallies in each game, rather unfairly lost them 9-3, 9-2. The third was different, Richard wisely slowing things down against an opponent who was displaying the early signs of frustration. It was close up to 6-6, and if Richard could have taken that game things might have been interesting. He didn’t & they weren’t – Chris regaining his composure to close it out 9-6 and ESC were now 2-1 ahead….

Graeme Jones -v- J J Tait

J J Tait – brother of Brian Tait, a former Scottish No.1, is a tricky player, all deception, flicks and feints. This is the last type of squash you want to face when new to the game, but Graeme will have learned from the experience. The match was competitive whenever J J played conventional squash, but as soon as he threw in the unconventional shots Graeme was unprepared, and was often wrong-footed by the shot he was least expecting. A frustrating 30 minutes or so for Graeme. So far this season he’s played Jim Dougal, a couple of girls, and J J Tait – a quartet of veritable squash ‘muggings’. It’s a very broad squash education though, and Graeme shouldn’t feel too disappointed, he’s the latest in a very long line of punters to be outfoxed on the squash court by J J Tait. ESC now over the finish line leading 3-1.

Alistair Nichol -v- Helen Macfie

The second ‘lassie’ to take on a Dunbar player on the night, Helen is now 40ish, but has many full Scottish Caps behind her. Although the less celebrated of the two Macfie sisters (Senga was world ranked 18 at one time) she is extremely useful, and the early stages of this match suggested it could be long and close. In game one, Alistair possibly had just too much power and won it 9-3. The second game proved pivotal however, and was almost certainly where this match was won and lost. Alistair led 8-3 and looked to be in command. Helen however hung on and was clearly beginning to get a bead on Al’s game. The comeback was increasingly nervy but Helen somehow managed to save half a dozen game balls before winning it 10-8 – a real steal if ever there was one. She must have psychologically thought the same thing because when Alistair won the third game 9-3 Helen held out her hand – thinking she’d lost 3-0!! When reminded of the result of the 2^nd game, Helen proceeded to take full advantage of her reprieve, and was largely in control of the last two games, winning them 9-5, 9-6.

So a 4-1 reverse for the good guys, and ESC leapfrog Dunbar, who now lie just above the drop zone. The team is now well and truly involved in a battle for Div 3 survival, and face table toppers Grange at home this week. That match is ironically perhaps less important than the three games against fellow relegation rivals Hatton, David Lloyd and Colinton Castle . Worse still, we could ultimately be reliant on other results to go our way – never a good thing.  

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