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Photos: Ellen Rawlins
Derwent bounced back from last week’s defeat against Halifax with a 7-3 win against Goodricke whilst Alcuin just edged out Wentworth 6-4 in a close run affair to secure their first victory of the term.
After winning their opening four games, Derwent looked the likely victors of this tie but were given a scare when Goodricke then won two games on the bounce. However, they rallied winning two of their final three games to emerge as victors 7-3.
The tie began with a 21-12 victory for Derwent Captain Mike Taylor and his partner Clara Ho who forced many errors from Goodricke’s Josh Hay and Sophie Horton and clinically finished off several points.
Simultaneously, Liam Bushell and Charlie Parker produced many commanding slams to triumph 21-8 over Anthony Howard and Daphne Allamenou.
From here, rapid slams by Boshell and decisive play from Parker proved too much for Hay and Orton who went down 21-6.
At the same time, Janis Hopkins’ deft dropshots and Maddy Croucher’s pinpoint accuracy enabled a 21-10 victory over Scott Edwards and Heather Roberts.
At this point it looked as though Derwent would run away with the tie but Edwards and Roberts dug in deep to prevail over Taylor and Ho 22-20.
Then, Howard and Allamenou demonstrated good defence to secure victory against Hopkins and Croucher 21-15.
At this point it was possible to entertain the belief that Goodricke could force Derwent into a decider. However, Boshell and Parker rapidly vanquished this thought, emphatically finishing off points to prevail 21-11 over Edwards and Roberts.
Yet, Hopkins and Croucher were determined to win their final game and triumphed 22-20 over a resistant Boshell and Parker thanks to some excellent placement.
Taylor and Ho were equally determined and managed to overcome Howard and Allamenou 21-16 courtesy of the much desired combination of power and placement.
“Everyone played well”, was Derwent Captain Mike Taylor’s exceptionally brief post-match comment. He must have been in a rush for a Sunday roast.
Although it seemed Derwent were running away with the tie, the fight shown by Goodricke to claw back three games stands as a testament to their passion for the sport.
Meanwhile, in a topsy-turvy tie, Alcuin eventually managed to overcome Wentworth in the decider to triumph 6-4.
Rachel Barratt and Mike Smyth defeated Malik Rofidi and Ice Wassamon 21-15 thanks to several punishing slams to give Alcuin an early lead.
However, Wentworth soon bounced back, Jack Kitiwong and Auu Benjanuvatra gaining a dubious 22-20 victory over Alcuin Captain Sarah Thomas and David Gardner. All the players involved in this close-fought encounter had produced several potent slams but the game turned on a line call at 20-20.
Kitiwong and Benjanuvatra were insistent that the shuttlecock had caught the line despite serious doubts from Thomas, Gardner and Alcuin’s third pairing of Emma Holden and Sam Geering. The point was replayed; Kitiwong and Benjanuvatra won it and then went on to win the next point to emerge as 22-20 victors.
Kitiwong and Benjanuvatra then defeated Barratt and Symth 21-15 largely thanks to Kitiwong’s intensity, reach, placement and control.
Holden and Geering then gained victory over Alex Sorachai and Ying Yu courtesy of a few well-placed slams to leave the match delicately poised at 2-2.
However, they could not cope with the variety and power of Jack Kitiwong and went down 21-5 to Kitiwong and Benjanuvatra despite their best efforts.
Minutes later, Barratt and Smyth’s placement permitted them to triumph over Sorachai and Yu 21-12.
Yet, at the same time, Rofidi and Wassamon overcame Holden and Gearing 21-11 largely thanks to several rapid slams to keep the tie on a knife-edge.
Unfortunately, the decider itself was something of a disappointment; Thomas and Gardner finishing emphatically throughout to secure a 21-6 victory over Sorachai and Yu.
Alcuin Captain Sarah Thomas like Mike Taylor also commented that her team had “played really well” but went on to say that it was “good to have our first win of term”. She also believed “we should have won our first game”, proceeding to express her anger about the line-call.
Both Alcuin and Wentworth displayed the kind of determination in this tie which should allow them to pick up more victories as the term progresses.