Match report from capt Phil Hutchinson:
"Match report for 5/12/17 RM1 away vs Hunters 3. After hearing reports that a previous team played and beaten had won against this team, a team made up of the regular partnership Phil and Chris with 2 heros stepping up Han solo and Chewbacca aka Ben and Neil (#topical, #you decide) we were feeling confident. Upon arrival Ben and Phil exchanged glances to see that Hunters 3 was infact Hunters 2 and players who have played in the higher division were fielded. Chris and Phil got off to a safe start taking their 1st rubber in 2, 18 and followed by a 4 Phil put in some great net rerurns although the option was taken to start safe. This was promptly followed up by putting away their 2nd pair in 2 games 13/14. At one point there became a wall of Chris for an 8 shot rally in which nothing was getting past mid court and Chris clearly wanted the point. The oppersition were out of options and out of time 2 rubbers down. Han and Chewy took their first game without threat however wanted their monies worth by the 2nd 14/20 dispatching their 1st pair in 2. It was a similar story for their 2nd pair 12/20 the moral of the Storm troopers was clearly visable! Only the splits to go and they were 4-0 down. Neil after initial disgust at playing with plastics partnered with Chris had a 'beautiful game' and there was much bromance. Neil had 3 flick serves comfortably in.. called 'out' 'looks were exchanged, eyebrows WERE raised' so on the return flick serve Neil put that through them with interest. Both comfortably taking it in 2 games 7/5. More arguments were had about correct pronouns and grammar in the pub than the shorts so neither were worried. Ben and Phil equally wern't put under pressure 2 games 13/16 with Phils lesson of the night to set further back. Ben put in some great net returns and so the fate of the Empire was sealed 6-0 to Trinity. Nice team to play against, invited us to stay for some games but an appoinment was book at the aptly nammed 'The fighting cocks' for some post match analysis."
Even if the scores don't reflect it, it felt like the hardest match of the season against some experienced players. A good result to take away.
Match report by caretaker captain Ben Clifton:
" Match Report for Leicester Mens 1 vs Huncote... Both teams saw one player different in their lineups, but whilst Huncote shifted all their pairs around to accomodate, we were able to make a straight substitution. A delayed start due to late arrivals from ourselves didn't put us off to the best start. Karthick made his first club appearance, replacing Sam as Chris's partner. The pairing proved solid and were the first to finish after winning all three in straight games. Phil, no need to hurry back, Chris is in good hands đŹđ. Rich and Ben took Huncote's 2's & 3's in straight games, but struggled early against the deceptive shots from Steve in their 1st pair. Losing the first leg to 18, the pair rallied to win the 2nd to 14, and a tense 3rd (see Chris's video footage) saw the pair take a 21-19 đđ¤¤victory to add another 3 rubbers to the scoresheet.đ Ian and Steve started a bit late as Ian rocked in at 20:45, but made up for it by decimating their opposition, conceding 58 points in 6 games... less than 10 per game! All credit to Huncote, as they were offered the rubber for a late start, but opted to play it instead, meaning Steve truly kept his 15 rubber unbeaten streak alive! 9-0 was a fitting result to add to the 8-1 away leg, and means that the Macdonalds was on me!đđđđ "
Great to see the pairs still performing strongly, and a fitting improvement from the away leg playing with plastics.
Match report by captain Sam Clifton:
" Starting with the Sams. 2 close games that with afew better tactical decisions throughout couldve been turned to wins - lost to 16 then 19. Afterwards it was time for Ben and Sam W to come up trumps, which they did. Winning to 9 in the first game! However the opposition adjusted well and managed to play the game they wanted, which made Ben and Sam lose to 16, againq very winnable game with better tactical decisions! On to the ladies, Ruth and Andrea up first. They were against an overall stronger pairing but managed to keep it respectable - similar story for Tracey and Ruth afterwards. However the plan was to turn it all around in the mixed games! Myself and Andrea managed to figure the first pair out and took them apart whenever a rally happened. Quick 2-0! Ben and Tracey started with a close game, taking it to 17, to quote Ben "we lost more points than they won" which wasnt rectified in the 2nd game, which wasnt as close. Sam W and Ruth scraped a hard fought first game, winning 21-20! Second game didnt fall as nicely for us though. Then the last 2 mixed games echoed the earlier results, overall the scoreline was 12-6 against us, but im confident its a good base to build on for the rest of the season! Onwards and upwards or something. "
Hard fought, but ultimately not enough on the night - I know that I for one had a complete shocker, and sometimes bad nights are hard to grind out results on. Hopefully a better show on the next one.