The first match of the season for the 4th team and league debut for Martin Mottram and Manu Kapedia proved to be a stiff challenge. While Martin Toms and Manu put up strong resistance in both rubbers they were not able to beat the very consistent Lutterworth pairs. Tom Marsh and Martin Mottram struggled in their first rubber but a much stronger performance in their second still bought no reward. It was only in the final rubber of the night that Tom and Manu were able to get a consolation prize to finish the tie at 5 – 1.
Day: 11 October 2017
St Philips 3 vs Hunters 3
A new season brings old adversaries as Hunters 3 take on their opposites at St Philips in this away match at the Collingwood Centre.
With St Philips missing a player to start with, Simon Piercy and Jonny George get the match underway, while long-time pairings Mark Taylor and Simon Davies wait patiently for the opposition to arrive.
By the time the second rubber is underway, Simon P and Jonny are already a game up, and cruising towards a win in the second. Mark and Simon D faced a tougher challenge, ultimately needing three very long games before clinching the win in a nail-biter for both teams.
With Mark and Simon D worn out after their initial encounter, they couldn’t convert their next match. Meanwhile Simon P and Jonny took advantage of their oppositions similar tiredness with an easy win – the second game a bruising 21-2.
With a scoreline of 3-1 in Hunters favour going into this split, just one rubber was needed for a win on the night. Thankfully both Hunters pairings won in 2 games securing a good opening win of 5-1 to Hunters 3.