Division 1 Review 21st November

Week 8 will be remembered for Cheetham Hill taking a massive victory against title rivals Warrington, to reduce their deficit at the top, from 18 points to 5! All is to play for as we head toward the halfway stage, with three more matches before the Christmas / New Year break.

'The Hill' claimed a comprehensive 4-1 win to delight their home crowd. The evening started off with club captain Josh, thrashing a hampered Ollie Hudson, quickly followed by Northern Irish champion Stephen Hearst, returning to form with an equally convincing 3-0.

Meanwhile on the show-court, Nick Wall and Adrian Waller outlasted both the side-court matches, as they battled it out in a quality five setter. Adrian was unlucky to lose both first games as he generally seemed in control, but Nick's ability to find winners always gave him a chance, even when under pressure. Adrian fought back to force a fifth game, but the rattled southerner lost focus while Nick grew in confidence to take the last game. Throughout the match, Nick played sublime counter drops time after time, getting the ball incredibly low and tight over the tin, leaving Adrian flailing.

New Cheetham recruit Miles Jenkins (who is 'up north' to play in the Joe Cup PSA Event), took on Lewis Doughty. Lewis had the biggest away fan club I've ever seen, with several girls 'woohooing' him as he strolled on court! Both players started off at a lightning pace, playing decent but somewhat frenetic squash. As the match settled, they both managed to find the quality of shot to the front and back while playing such a hard-hitting match. Miles edged the first game after Lewis had 3 game balls, but un-deterred, Big Lew started the next game firing on all cylinders to lead 6-2. Miles got a few points back and then relaxed into his rhythm. The difference between the two was Miles' quality of counter drop in the front backhand corner. After fighting back to take the second game, Miles comfortably won the third. A great game of high-paced squash, and the score-line certainly didn't reflect the closeness of the match. For a game and a half, it's probably the best I've seen Lewis play - there's a lot more to come from the Lancastrian over the next few years.

The crowd were hotly anticipating every match tonight, but the last match in-particular was of real interest. The home crowd generally thought Finn would have the upper hand against the younger Jonah Bryant because he won when they played a year ago; but that wasn't to be. Both these youngsters are great players, and Jonah is already showing at age 18 that he will be a huge force on the PSA tour. Jonah has played 3 tournaments this month and won them all. The first game was awesome, they were nip-and-tuck all the way to the end, with Finn reading Jonah reasonably well from the front. Jonah doesn't mind a tough first game as his opponents often fall away. Jonah got on top in the second and stayed that way for the next three games, to take a very entertaining 3-1, to give Warrington their only match of the evening.

A great night, with all three show-court matches of the highest quality and exceptionally enjoyable to watch.

Bowdon continue their climb up the table, as they beat The Northern, but only just! 3-2 victories for Badger Billson and Sam Ince, and a particularly good result for Bowdon's No.1, Matt Gregory as he beat Michael Andrews. Finally for Badger's Bowdon, Charles Keeble tamed Matt Wagg, to end his confident run after a match winning performance last week against Jazz Hutton.

City of Manchester, strengthened their line-up in search of all the points they can get, so desperately wanted to topple Wrexham. They brought in Aaron Allpress to lead from the front. Unfortunately for them, the in-form Welsh top order still proved too strong, as Owain Taylor and Rhys Evans both won 3-0. I recently saw a Facebook post tipping Rhys Evans as a potential Olympic 2028 contender - only time will tell...

Biiiiig win from Grove Park against 3rd place rivals Wigan. Both teams were looking strong, with World No.18 Pat Rooney, Kiwi Mason Smales and Ben Hetherington all in for Wigan for the third match running; up against World No.79 Emyr Evans, Grove Newbie World No.100 Dewald Van Nierkerk (the South African also here for The Joe Cup) and Temwa Chileshe. As is often the case with Grove Park over the years, their middle order proved too strong. Grove won 3-2, and Emyr almost had the win of his life as he just lost out 3-2 to Rooney at No.1. In what was a phenomenally entertaining match, Evans never knew when he was beaten and continuously fought back, using his backhand attacks to great effect. He chops it in so confidently, especially on the volley. However, Pat moves the ball around the court effortlessly, making his opponents do a 'shed load' of running, which so often beats them into submission.

Northern 2 took a surprising win against Liverpool, as they were once again bolstered by Josh Owen for the second time this season. Josh beat in-form junior Cory Harding, while older Harding brother Lewis almost beat the Mustachio Bader Almaghrebi, losing out in an enthralling 3-2 match with shots flying into the front corners from all angles. Bader's speedy style of play is always a thrill to watch. Liverpool will be a bit gutted to have lost out, but the top 3 players for The Northern do pose quite a challenge. Some scouse joy though as club coach Andy Breen, who generally shows reluctance to play, turned-out to win for his team, showing the youngsters how it's done - you never lose it..!