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York women’s 1sts moved into the BUCS Cup quarter-finals with a deserved victory over an aggressive Leeds Metropolitan side.
The hosts started on the front foot as Vini Bhakta eased to a win with a superior technical display against her opponent, who, despite putting up some good resistance in the first end, collapsed in the second to lose 21 – 10, 21 – 4.
However, Leeds Met were to hit straight back, as Alice Garcia-Melgares, despite maintaining a bullish attitude throughout, fell to a confident Leeds Met opponent in two ends 21 – 10, 21 – 4. A deserved victory the product of some aggressive play, albeit marred somewhat by some questionable line calls from the Leeds Met player.
However, York put themselves back in front as partners Rachael Farrington and Clare Breare cruised to an easy win in the doubles, and despite giving away a few cheap points, looked in control throughout the match, winning 21 – 6, 21 – 7. Nevertheless the pair will be looking to cut down on unforced errors, as on a different day, they could have been punished more severely by a better opposition.
The last match of the half was a three game thriller, as partners Beth Cowell and Danni Hainsworth came up against a tough Leeds side, however, the York duo ground out a well-fought victory in the first end 21 – 16, but lost the second 21 – 14. The third end proved a fitting finale to an incredibly tense encounter, with both sides feeling they could and should clinch the match; however, Leeds Met won a string of points to snatch the decider from an unlucky but visibly tired York pair 21 – 16.
With the scores tied at 2 – 2, the teams returned to the courts for the second half, and York got off to a good start with Garcia-Melgares demonstrating enviable bouncebackability to win her second match 21 – 11 in the first end, and despite having to contend with a growing niggle in her arm, powered through the second to win 21 – 19.
However, Leeds Met pulled it back to 3 – 3 as Leeds’ top player recorded a comfortable 9 – 21 victory over Bhakta in the first game between the two, but had to overcome a sterling fightback from the her York opponent in order to take the second end 21 – 16.
At this stage it was all to play for, and the York pairing of Cowell and Hainsworth put on a great fighting display, with Hainsworth in particular showing some great speed and shot placement on the way to the side’s overall victory 21 – 13, 21 – 11.
So at 4 – 3, partners Farrington and Breare were left to fight out the remaining match, and employing a strategy of well-placed smashes and some most sneaky cross-court shots, won the first end against a resolute Leeds Met team 21 – 15, and just managed to avoid a deciding game as they squeezed through the second game 21 – 19 to close proceedings at 5 – 3.
A close contest in the end, CBO Blonnie Walsh commented ‘It was a great performance from everyone and a real team effort to accomplish a deserved win.’
It was not without its hiccoughs, but overall, it was a solid performance from York. The home side showed great character to win their individual matches and the team will feel this was a well-earnt victory.