The last match of the mixed season has been played, by where does that leave Wychelm BC?
By Katie Garner
It’s been a while since our last fixture, but Wychelm’s mixed squad were out in full force tonight for the last match on the agenda, a face off against rival club Corinthians. A home game for us, the match was due to kick off at 7.30pm at our turf at Romford’s Frances Bardsley School. All squad players were present and correct tonight, with no reserves needed, so it was business as usual in our bid to win the division.
Results: Wychelm 8 – 1 Corinthians
Janet and Gary:
Katie and David
- 21-13 / 20-21 / 21-12
- 21-9 / 21-17
- 21-18 / 21-18
Katie and David:
- 21-8 / 21-17
- 21-17 / 21-7
- 17-21 / 21-13 / 20-21
Kay and Het:
- 21-19 / 21-18
- 21-15 / 21-18
- 21-8 / 21-12
Quite a mixed bag of games tonight, and I have to confess the quality of play varied as well, at least from David and I. Our first game was against their second pair, and it took us the first game to really warm up and find our feet – luckily our opponents had the same problems so we were still able to take the opening win. Our second game against this duo was much more concise and in keeping with our usual style of fast paced play, as we utilised as favourite combination of short serve and smash return. I think we also developed more cross court across all of our matches this evening, which also worked really well.
The next game for us was against their third pair, and I’m afraid that was our only loss of the evening, although we did manage to drag it to a decider, with the closing game finishing 20-21 for a complete nail biter that could have swung either way. This pair were definitely better at the front, with my drops frustratingly being returned with equally trickling and snug net shots. In some rallies, it was a case of ‘anything you can do, I can do better’, with net play having a starring role. There was also some distinct power clearing from the guys in this rally, each one trying to wait for the ideal opportunity to take the kill. They kept us on our toes and although the games were close, we couldn’t quite break through and steal the total win, which was annoying on our part, but Corinthians played well here and deserved the win. Some of the rallies were so long and competitive, parrying blows at the net commonplace.
The final game we played was against Corinthians’ first pair and was deliciously decisive from David and I. We ensured to play to our strengths here, and our teamwork also paid dividends as we rotated well around each other, although I also made sure to holler out across the court with loud and blatant instructions for David! I feel we were the stronger team in this game and maybe our experience here helped us out. I made sure to adopt an interceptive style, engaging in lots of short and sharp smashes at the front, usually cross court to hit the tram lines.
The rest of the team played fantastically well, with Kay and Het winning all of their games in simply two games, so big congrats there. Janet and Gary also succeeded in a clean sheet, although their match against the Corinthians first pair was taken to three games.
Currently heading up the Division Two leader board, I have high hopes for a league win this season. I believe there is only one fixture left, so there is nothing set in stone, but I am hoping that our solid performance this season will bode us well and help us achieve another silver engraving on the division trophy. We’ll just have to wait for the final results to come in!
