Henley 4ths chalk up their first win of the season

The 4th team battled at Gladiators for their first win of the season this week. More below.

In Division one Henley first team suffered a narrow 3/2 (16/10) defeat to Esporta Oxford in round four of the Oxfordshire league.

At first string Luke Power started well against Ross Gore taking the first game. However, Power played too defensively and failed to attack, leaving Gore to capitalise with his superior fitness and retrieving skills.

At two, Harry Carr also started well against Andy Longman taking the first game. A frustrated Carr then lost the next three games though as he struggled to control his width and length, allowing Longman to control the rallies with some flamboyant winners.

At three, Simon Street started slowly against Stewart Licudi, with Licudi taking the opening game with some spectacular winners to the front of the court. Street was starting to get into the match in the second game, leading 5/4, when Licudi pulled up injured and was unable to continue, handing Street a fortuitous 3/1 victory.

At fourth string, in what turned out to be the deciding match, a disappointed Sam Carr narrowly lost 3/2 to Jason Martin. This match ‘see-sawed’, with control being pivotal to the outcome of each point. When both players were patient and built the rallies through tight drives they were normally successful, working their opponent to the point where a winner was the natural outcome. However, Martin’s experience was the key difference – he never lost control, whereas Carr’s youthful enthusiasm encouraged him to chase down too many balls, ultimately impacting on the quality of his shot selection. In the end, Carr narrowly lost by only 2 points, tinning at the end of another brutal rally.

At fifth string Stefan Stanton beat the talented but not very mobile Mark Webster 3/2. Stanton expected an easier victory, but Webster took his chances well, leaving a nervous finish as Stanton just managed to hold on in the fifth and deciding game.

Having played the top three teams in the league, Henley are currently in 3rd place having won two out of four matches.

The 2nd team with high hopes at the beginning of the season, now running 5th in division 2, traveled to Bicester for a 4-1 loss. Andy Walters played Ben Shakespeare losing 3-0. At 2nd string Chris Wallace lost 3-1 against Jamie Barnett. Paul Sayers at 3rd string lost 3-0 against Nick Barnett. The only win of the night was James Knight at 4th string winning 3-1 against Simon Fletcher and Derek Oswald lost 3-1 against Jon Childs.

Henley 3rd team had a week off to prepare for their match at home against Defence Academy on the 6th October.

Traveling to Oxford, the 4th team had to battle numerous road works before they could reach the courts to battle their opposition. At 5th string, Duncan Nightingale used his drops to good effect but narrowly lost out in the critical 3rd game. As often happens after losing a tight game, Nightingale then lost the final game quite quickly to lose the match 3-1. Steve Pullen dominated at 2nd string, coming out a clear winner at 3-0. At 1st string a rusty Steve Berger looked like he was going to lose the match but he regained some of his usual form as the match went on, ultimately winning 3-1. Alan Smallman, at 3rd string, looked to have his match in the bag but was clearly rattled by his opponent’s constant swearing, losing the last three games to lose his match 3-2. The fixture now hinged on 4th string Paul Ireland who fortunately took his match 3-0 – and Henley 4ths chalked up their first win of the season.