Civil Service Retain Title
| Event: Quadrangular Squash Tournament Venue: Nottingham Date: 7th-8th Sept The Civil Service Men's Squash Team arrived at Nottingham Squash Rackets Club with something to prove. After winning the tournament the previous year for the first time in 25 years, they were determined to show that it wasn't just a one off. Again a very strong squad was fielded but upon arrival it was apparent that the opposition were also much stronger with several players making their debuts. Match 1 on Day 1 was against the Police, themselves winners of the trophy on several occasions. This time, however, it wasn't to be as the CS began in flying fashion with excellent wins from Tony Webb and Simon Amery, who maintained his unbeaten streak in rep matches with a convincing 3-0 victory. Losses to Tim Burrell and Merv Davies then provided scant consolation for the Police as Marc Aldridge's triumph handed the CS an opening win with 16 points in the bag. In the only other match of the day, the Fire Services just pipped the Combined Services 3-2 with some very high quality squash being played. Onto Day 2 - make or break time. Yet again it was another impressive start for the CS as they shot into a 2-0 lead over the Fire Service with Merv Davies grabbing the early headlines thanks to an unexpected victory over seasoned campaigner and former Fire Service Number One, Andy Corben. In a game that was likely to determine who the winners of the tournament would be, a resilient fight back from the Fire Service restored parity. So cometh the hour, cometh the man - Tim Burrell. After a solid display, his 3-1 victory swung the contest in favour of the CS and, providing they held their nerve in the final match up of the afternoon against the Combined Services, the trophy would be 'coming home'. With little separating each match and the possibility that three out of four teams could still win, a 4-1 victory was the only way of guaranteeing victory for the CS. And that they accomplished with consummate ease. Simon Amery, Tony Webb, Tim Burrell and Merv Davies all came out on top in their respective games to not only secure the trophy for the second successive year but also claim the biggest win of the day - 4-1. Although the final match proved to be a formality, it still served up the excitement true to the weekend with another closely fought encounter. A 3-2 win for the Police against the Fire Service meant they finished Runners-Up. Davies, CS captain, said: "This Quadrangular Tournament was probably the best we have played in as a Civil Service Team. The standard in all the teams seems to be getting better all the time and I'm sure next year will be even tougher. "I would like to thank all my players for some magnificent performances and also to John Ashton for playing the reserve role very graciously. "As usual Nottingham Squash Rackets Club provided excellent hospitality, both the facilities and refreshments were top quality as always which provided the catalyst for a great two days of competition." The final standings were as follows: Civil Service - 47 pts Police - 41 pts Fire Service - 33 pts Combined Services - 22 pts For the full list of results, see the link on the right of this page. |
Full list of Results |