Grange 5 Barbarians away to Dunbar 2 (thu, Oct 14,'10)

Fresh from our victory against early favourites Dean 2, our intrepid Barbarians took to the road for the first time with a visit to Dunbar. In this week’s squad were three of last week’s team; the match winning Richard Nisbet, the victorious Brian Sloan and the disappointing team captain – me. Fresh blood was introduced with two virginal players in Matt Pearson and Doug Sherriffs who were playing their first competitive squash match for Grange.

The evening started well. I picked up Richard Nisbet who told me the quick way to find their courts. Unfortunately, we didn’t think to phone the others and they duly turned up having been through the mystical maze that is the back streets of Dunbar. Luckily, we were all in place and on time.

First up were our two Baba virgins, Matt and Doug. Matt began the match meekly conceding the opener 9-3, before turning it around and evening it up with a 9-3 in his favour. However he quickly fell behind in the third and though he steadied the ship, he was edged out to go 2-1 down. At this point, his playing partner was beginning to wind him up. It was like playing Alan Stokes’ twin but with a psychotic twist. Every call was challenged, and every lost point moaned about. And if it didn’t go in his favour, a threat of a head butt was the remedy most often suggested. Matt used this to his advantage to grind out the fourth and take us into a decider. From 3-0 up, Matt was pulled back to 3-3 before again opening up a three point gap. At 6-3 up, the balcony was getting quite excited. And so was Matt as he began to leap around the court like Tigger. However, his opponent’s greater experience began to tell and he rattled off six points in a row for a 9-6 victory to Dunbar.

Meanwhile, on the other court Doug managed to rescue near victory from the jaws of defeat, only to fall back into the very same jaws he had previously escaped from. Showing signs of tension that befitted the occasion, Doug managed to throw the first game by failing to claim at least 5 clear strokes. The worst example was when his opponent hit the ball over his own head only for Doug to mishit the volley – coaching need identified here! This seemed to get him down and the second game fell the way of the first. The third game was more competitive, but his opponent’s greater experience again shone through as he led 8-6 and served for the match. But a tremendously gutsy performance saw Doug pull level to 8-8. And when his opponent called for a ‘set one’ Doug held his nerve to win the third and take us to a frankly unexpected 4th game. The fourth game was quickly dispatched by the taciturn Doug and at 1-0 in the fifth, he led the match for the first time. With both players struggling on the humid courts, Doug found a streak of form to move to 7-5 up. The excitement on the balcony was now intense as both matches reached the latter stages of the fifth game at the same time. Doug served a reasonable shot, only to see the frame of his opponent deftly drop the ball in the corner, just above the tin. This proved the turning point as Doug lost four consecutive points to go down 3-2. A really promising start in their first games, but we were now 2-0 down.

Next up were Brian and I. Obviously, I didn’t see Brian’s game but he had previously been complaining of a groin strain (I didn’t ask) so I was concerned as we were staring defeat in the face. But from the scoresheet, and the yells from the court, it was clearly a tit-for-tat match. Brian took the first 9-3, before giving the second up 3-9. He rallied to take the third 9-4, only to lose the fourth 4-9 and take us into our third five setter of the evening. The last game was a game of three halves as Brian went 4-0 up only to be pegged back to 4-4. It looks like Brian got a bit fed up with being pegged back though, because he then ran off five straight points to win the game 9-4 and make the evenings score 1-2.

On my court, I was keen to make up for the previous week’s loss, but again started slowly and lost the first 4-9. I’d mention my opponent by name, but I can now only remember him as ‘Lob Man’. Every flaming serve! I’m sure I had a ten minute nap during one particularly high serve. However, as I began to warm up, some form started to return and I managed to take the second and at 8-6 up in the third, I could feel things coming together. Until my first experience of a home howler that is. I can only describe the tackle that prevented me from hitting a winner as closer to grievous bodily harm than a stroke. But as I turned to the ref and lay my racquet down, I was dismayed to hear that immortal phrase ‘Can you play a let please?’ I politely enquired as to whether the police had been called, but he seemed to be serious, so I picked up my racquet and walked back to the service box. Being a little perturbed by the incident, I lost the next three rallies and found myself 8-8. A little extra composure was needed and I went for a walk around the court and tried to influence the ref with a ‘I’m no happy’ look. However, the break did me good and I managed to close out the third 10-8. I felt good now, and ready to close out the match. So I was a little surprised to be 7-0 down and lose it 9-1. On to our fourth consecutive five setter. The game started with an exchange of a few points but I managed to get my nose in front and close it out 9-6.

So far, it was 2-2 in matches and 10-10 in games as Richard took to the court. His opponent looked impressive in the warm up and soon the match started to drift as Richard showed off his pinpoint accuracy – if only that red line over the tin had been in! The first game flew by at 9-1 but in the second, Richard steadied the ship and there were frequent changes of serve as the game reached 4-4. But again, Richard’s accuracy proved his downfall and his opponent closed out the second 9-5. The balcony was a little tense now. The match had had lots of long rallies, but Richard was struggling to keep up with his whippersnapper opponent. The third game became frustrating as a couple of clear winners from Richard were not only retrieved by his opponent, he actually hit winners from them. This proved a fluke too far and the match was lost 3-0.

So, a 13-10 defeat in the Barbarian’s first away match. But four of the games went to the fifth, and ten points isn’t a bad contribution from a defeat. Particularly encouraging was the contribution from our two Baba virgins who had narrow defeats. They play in mini-league Division 8, so if you’re wondering whether you are good enough to play in the Barbarians I hope this encourages you to get your name down. Email me on mike.douglas@kidmore.co.uk is you fancy pitting yourself against another club.

A final mention of the evening deservedly goes to the food. A good end to a good game saw a beer and a man-sized portion of homemade lasagne placed in front of us. Beats yesterdays sandwiches and tea in the tennis matches any day. Click here to see who is heading the division after 2 rounds Report: Mike Douglas