Archive News
Heywood Sports, Diss win Norfolk Junior Squash League
In the final round of the inaugural Norfolk Junior Squash League, Heywood Sports and Racket Club, Diss, were looking to clinch the Division 1 title at their home club, but faced stiff opposition from EAT&SC Norwich, who were also in with a chance of the League win, and the combined Bannatynes/Cromer team.
Bannatynes guest player Alex Oliver caused regular Diss third string Daniel Betts some problems with his unorthodox style, before errors allowed Daniel to claim the first match 3-0 with his more consistent play. Another Bannatynes guest Laurie Lacey-Hastings fared better in the fourth string match against Alex Brown, and recovered well from 0-1 to win 3-1, and square the tie 1-1.
In the first string match Norfolk team mates Jack Bell (Diss) and Alex Foster (Cromer) continued their rivalry. The early morning start did not however, appeared to suit Alex who had made the lengthy trip south, and with Jack gaining confidence as the match progressed, he was able to gain his team's second 3-0 win.
Meanwhile the ever improving Jordan Creed (Bannatynes) was able to give the more experienced Andrew Whiting (Diss) a great run for his money in the deciding match. Andrew recovered from 5-8 in the first game, to win 10-9, saving 2 game points in the process. He was then able to ease through the second 9-0 before Jordan digged deep to take the third 9-7. With Jordan having virtually ran himself ragged, Andrew was then able to take advantage to clinch the match 3-1, to win the tie and secure the valuable four bonus points for the home team.
Final Match Score Heywood sports, Diss 14, Bannatynes/Cromer 4.
With Heywood Sports now in pole position, EAT&SC required a big win against Bannatynes/Cromer to stay in contention. Tom Morris started well for the Norwich team with a hard fought 3-1 win over Alex Oliver. Tom Belshaw, on his return to competitive action following injury, was however, unable to trouble Laurie Lacey-Hastings, who was also gaining in confidence as the morning matches progressed. Tom's lack of competitive match practice contributing towards his 3-0 defeat, but it was great to see him back on court. James Cultien (EAT&SC) then gave another impressive league performance to overcome Alex Foster 3-0 after some early stiff resistance from the Cromer player. EAT&SC's slim hopes of the League win rested on the young shoulders of Luke Perry. Jordan Creed was in no mood to go home empty-handed, and again chased everything down to force the match into a final fifth game. After playing 31 rallies in the final game to reach a score of 5-3 in Luke's favour, Jordan's sheer persistence and greater will enabled him to reel off 6 unanswered points to claim the day's only 5 game match win, and square the tie at 2-2 to share the bonus points.
Final Match Score EAT&SC 10 Pts, Bannatynes/Cromer 9 Pts.
The League title was now out of reach for the Norwich club, as they were 17 points behind Heywood Sports with only 16 points available to play for in the final fixture. Daniel Betts and Lewis Davy however turned in confident 3-0 wins over Tom Morris and Tom Belshaw to confirm their impressive league win. Luke Perry and James Cultien conceded their matches to prevent further injury, but not before James had recorded the first game against Jack Bell to prevent a whitewash.
Final Match Score Heywood Sports, Diss 16 Pts, EAT&SC 1 Pt.
Norfolk Junior Squash hopes to continue and expand the Junior Leagues for the 2008/9 season, which provides team competition for juniors of all abilities within a graded league structure. Details of entry into next season's league will be circulated later in the year, with entry forms and details available on the website.
Pictured are the Norfolk Junior Squash League champions, Heywood Sports, from Diss.
FINAL LEAGUE TABLES 2007/08
DIVISION 1 |
PLD |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
PTS |
Diss |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
59 |
28 |
79 |
EAT&SC I |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
37 |
39 |
47 |
Bannatynes & Cromer |
5 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
29 |
46 |
33 |
Fakenham I |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
34 |
28 |
DIVISION 2 |
PLD |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
PTS |
EAT&SC II |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
50 |
33 |
66 |
Fakenham II |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
42 |
38 |
54 |
Beccles I |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
36 |
47 |
48 |
Wymondham HS |
6 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
39 |
49 |
47 |
DIVISION 3 |
PLD |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
PTS |
Fakenham III |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
58 |
12 |
78 |
EAT&SC III |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
43 |
29 |
55 |
Beccles II |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
20 |
37 |
24 |
Bannatynes II |
6 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
19 |
62 |
23 |
