Henley 2nds and 3rds score first post-Christmas wins

Henley 1sts visited Wallingford and not unexpectedly lost 4/1 (Wallingford 16 points Henley 4 points). The home players took advantage of the freezing conditions.

After a swap at the top of the order at the request of the opposition, Luke Power lost to world class Scott Handley 3/0. At 2nd string Rick Weatherall performed very well and beat a slightly off form Chris Clare 3/0. At third string Simon Street lost a very tight match 3/0 to Ben Burbank whose game suited the conditions, as did Stefan Stanton at fourth string against Steve Brackley. At five, Adrian Richmond lost 3/1 to Steve Dodridge, having taken the opening game.

Henley 2nds entertained Chipping Norton and scored their first post Christmas win.

At first string the hard hitting Will Buckfield was not consistent enough against Daniel Stafford whose fitness and stamina wore down Buckfied who lost 9/1,9/4, 10/9.

Andy Walters played a very consistent line and overwhelmed Josh Forde 9/7, 9/2, 9/3.

Paul Sayers played the talented Toby Warren and managed to neutralise the younger man’s shots with his ability to chase down seemingly irretrievable balls and hit back winners 9/7, 9/5, 9/2.

James Knight struggled against Andy Jones, was 2 games to 0 down and saved match point in the fourth, before his superior fitness and unorthodox style eventually did for his opponent 5/9, 8/10, 9/4, 10/9, 9/2.

Nigel Richardson started slowly against Michael Pinfold and having lost the first game easily was struggling in the second before eventually taming his opponent with accurate long drops and superior fitness 2/9, 10/9, 9/5, 9/7.

Henley 16 point CNC 6 points.

Henley 3rds travelled to Westminster College Oxford and came away with a 4/1 win.

Derek Oswald was too consistent for the fit Mike Halsey, winning 3/0.

It was a different story for Terry Whiter who succumbed to the talented Gideon Fielder 3/0.

Steve Berger just managed to scrape past Martin Duffin 3/2.

Jill Campion’s wily shots and skill were too much for Jim Ward with Campion not allowing Ward any chance and winning 3/0.

Tim Budden played his normal powerful game and beat Simon Thomas 3/0.

Henley 16 points Westminster 5 points

Henley 4ths hosted Radley 2nds.

At 1st string, Richard Griffiths continues to improve after a year out, but didn’t have enough in the tank to beat Radley’s 1st string Craig Muir, losing a closely fought match 3/2.

At 2, Paul Ireland was frustrated by a crafty, experienced Dave Edney and lost in straight games.

At 4, James Gildersleve seemed to be fighting back in the second game against Pete Collett, but after a contentious stroke was called against him he lost that vital game and quickly succumbed in the third. Final score 6/9, 6/9, 1/9.

At 5, Duncan Nightingale played some of his best squash in recent months to go two games up against Richard King and was looking comfortable. But as the Radley man fought back, Nightingale tired, allowing multiple errors to creep into his game – and he was eventually overhauled 9/4, 9/1, 6/9, 4/9, 5/9.

Playing at 3rd string, Simon Stone provided Henley’s best performance of the night, finally going down to Mark Newman 9/7, 4/9, 6/9, 9/7, 2/9. In the 4th game, Stone was nearing the end of his endurance, but a combination of fine placement and determination saw him take the match to a fifth game – but by then fatigue had set in and Newman won the decider.

Henley 6 points Radley 19 points.

The Oxfordshire League Tables can be seen here.