No one would’ve have picked it that after 9 weeks of squash that the Christchurch Men’s Open Squash Interclub has two teams sitting on top with 60 points each! Football 1 has been leading the competition up until now and after a couple of losses they are looking at the potential of finishing second in the competition a second time this year. However, they will be counting their lucky stars after Football 2 did manage a match off Christchurch 2, meaning Christchurch couldn’t claim top spot with one week to play. Come down to Burnside Squash club to see how it all unfolds this Tuesday, Sept 24 at 7pm and whether you’re a Christchurch or Football supporter, either team could do with the support to help get them the title.
Last week served up some great squash at Christchurch Squash Club with Christchurch 2 out looking for 11 points to get ahead of Football 1 with one week to play. And with Christchurch 1 and Burnside 1 battling it out for 3rd and 4th position, things are certainly getting heated as the off-season nears. Unfortunately, Football 1 had the bye last week so they were hoping Football 2 could do them a huge favour in taking as many points from Christchurch 2 as they could.
Christchurch 2 won 2-1
Christchurch 2 would’ve been asking for an easy few wins against Football 2 but this was far from the case. Mario Smith and Jeremy Bennett took to the court first and Mario did well to win in 4 as Bennett was looking in good form ahead of B grade super champs this week. The precision of Bennett’s shots was noticeably better than previous weeks as he looked more agile and steady over the ball allowing him to aim for a finer margin. Williams and Barker took to court next and the match got off to a slow start with both players trading easy winners. The match really got going after the second set when Barker took it to make it 1-1 and from the point onwards life was very difficult for Williams as Barker played some gut-wrenching boasts and some fine drops. Williams was lucky to win in 4 as Barker had game balls in the fourth and had it not been for a couple of lucky shots from Williams, they could well have been playing a 5th. Richard Hollows was the hero of the night beating Stephen Gardner in 5. After Barker and Williams’ match the ball got quite old and slow which aided Hollows greatly and the match became about the accuracy of shots at the front of the court. Both players went shot for shot for most of the match and it was Hollows who came out in the 5th and took a commanding lead of 6-1 which Gardner could not bridge, giving a Hollows win and one less point for Christchurch 2.
Christchurch 1 won 2-1
This was an important match for these two teams as the winner largely decided the 3rd and 4th placing of the comp. Jason Oxenham and Scott Gardiner stormed onto court and the two got into their work sharply. It was Gardiner who was making the play with his wide variety of tricks and accurate length. Oxenham attempted to counter Gardiner’s game by playing at pace and going for his own shots but unfortunately his lack of match time saw make a few too many errors and the pressure of Gardiner’s game got the better of him. In the match between Ben Scott and Brandon Mchaffie, Scott started off slow as Mchaffie won the first and Scott, who’s like a Mercedes, nothing special in first, changed up his gears and took the next two quickly. In the fourth Mchaffie started to warm to Scott’s play and put the pressure back on but it was too little too late as Scott held on to win in 4. The match between Schultz and Nixon as a classic battle as both played loved to hit the ball hard and work their opponents around the court. Schultz was happy to have won in 5 as it gave his team the win and keeps Christchurch 1 ahead of Burnside 1 of the points table.
