Mens Plastics 1 6 – 3 Nomads

Calvin B & Simon T | John W & David W | David P & Dave R

It’s always close with Nomads but we usually manage to edge it and so it was again tonight. None of our pairs did particularly well against their first pair but we all managed to take rubbers against the other two and we ran out 6-3 victors on the night. Calvin and Simon found their first pair too strong and succumbed to them in the first rubber. Dave & John meanwhile kept up their excellent form of late and secured the first point of the night against their second pair. I must say thanks to Dave & John for taking that horrible 2nd pair slot for this home game (I never fare well playing games 2, 4 and 9; especially if I have to play the decider).

With the match in the balance at 1-1, Dave R & myself took to the court for the last time this season. It’s been an up and down affair littered with silly mistakes of late but we managed to put that behind us and ran out fairly comfortable winners in two games. John & Dave also managed to secure their first rubber of the night (despite John complaining of a sore arm) and so we got in to a strong 3-1 position.

No rest for the wicked and it’s time for Dave R & myself to go straight back on court. My recent “choking” performances ringing in my head I was concerned when we went to 1 game each and a deciding game in the rubber. Fortunately we both managed to cut out the silly mistakes and ran out winners in 3 ends. A hug from me for Dave R as I was relieved to get past that “choking” tag. Simon and Calvin meanwhile were being put to the sword by their first pair and fared the same as everyone else on the night; going down in two straight games to a strong pair. 4-2 up after six and we’re looking in good shape with only one more rubber required.

Game 7 saw Dave and myself against their first pair and once again they proved too strong although we gave them a good run in the second game going down 21-18 with the final point of the game being a rather fortunate “off the net and dribble over” smash from the opposition. Simon and Calvin, however, were busy securing the match for us and managed to defeat their second pair in 2 ends thus securing a 5-3 scoreline and claiming the points on the night.

All that was left was for John and Dave to go through the formalities of beating their third pair. If only! With John still complaining of a sore arm and Dave smashing in to the net and hitting other shots out, they made a real meal of it. Eventually they prevailed in 3 ends but not without a scare or two. I did hear some mutterings about Walker Junior’s serve but I think they were unfounded. As usual when we run out winners at home, there are various comments about the venue, courts, lighting etc. Strange that we never hear it when the opposing team win. Have these teams *seen* some of the other venues?

So another season of mid-table mediocrity for Mens Plastics 1 but I believe we’re at the right level. Going up would see us getting beaten easily and going down would be less of a challenge. I think we’ve found our niche. Until next time my friends …

Mens Plastics 1 9 – 0 Jaguar 2

Nick F & Simon T | David P & Aaron G | David W & John W

With a 7-2 victory over Jaguar 2 quite recently, we expected to be at least in with a chance with our home advantage; that’s exactly how it turned out. Our opening pairs had little difficulty in securing a 2-0 lead before sacrificing the extra court to a surprisingly busy club night on a cold January evening. The Walker family then did what we have come to expect of them and wrapped up the third rubber with little difficulty. At this point there were mumblings about the “blue lines” but we’ve come to expect that when playing at home (especially if we’re winning). Consider it a “home advantage” since we have no crowd as such to get behind us.

From there it was reasonably plain sailing although there were some close games to be had and the Walkers even had to go to three ends to rack up their third rubber. In the end, Oakbrook ran out comfortable winners and it’s good to see the team back on track. Having lost the first three games of the season, we’re now on a four match winning streak which has seen us climb back up the table and once again aiming squarely at mid-table mediocrity. God forbid that we should get promotion to Division 1!