Beaten by Bexley - but Chichester put up fight

Chichester travelled to Bexley in the seventh round of the Premier Squash League season but were narrowly defeated.
Miles Jenkins was a winner for ChichesterMiles Jenkins was a winner for Chichester
Miles Jenkins was a winner for Chichester

Neither team was at full strength but Bexley were hoping for a third win in a row to increase their play-off chances.

Chichester went 2-0 up courtesy of Tom Walsh and Miles Jenkins and it looked as if the squad might deny Bexley the win. But it was not to be.

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Walsh was first on court and played the legend Peter Marshall, a former world No2, that in 1994 behind the great Jansher Khan.

It was an action-packed, fast-paced and high-tempo match which better suited the 18-year-old Walsh. The score 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 victory to Walsh highlighted his competitiveness and rewarded him with his first win for Chichester.

Jenkins was taking part in a disorderly match against Brad Masters. Jenkins had defeated Masters when they played at home in the first half of the season and he was resolute in achieving the same this time.

The match was littered with lets and strokes but Jenkins managed to take a 3-1 victory putting Chichester 2-0 up.

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Amy Jones battled well for Chichester against Kace Bartley. The first three games were very close with Jones taking the second 14-12. In the third, Bartley pulled back another close encounter to take it 11-9.

In the fourth Jones began to show signs of fatigue after her preceding lengthy battles to win points, and she lost it 11-1 to put Bexley back on the scoresheet.

Kyle Finch was next on for Chichester, against Rui Soares [(world 119). This was a very tight match with wonderful retrieving from both players.

The first two games were shared before Finch narrowly lost the third and fourth, 12-10 12-10 to make it 2-2 on the night.

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The number-one strings took the court to decide the match. Chichester’s Tim Vail played Bernat Jaume (world 105). This was all about Vail’s racket skills against Jaume’s agility around the court.

Vail went 6-1 up in the first before being hauled back to lose the game on a tie-break 13-11. In the second Vail forged ahead again and this time he was not be denied. He won it 11-7.

Vail continued in the same vein in the third and raced to a 9-` lead but Jaume’s athleticism came to the fore. Jaume clawed his way back into the game to take it 13-11. Jaume took control of the match and finally won the fourth 11-4 and the match 3-1.

It was a great evening’s entertainment but Bexley finally took the spoils 3-2 to move third in B division.

The next match is at home to the RAC Club on Tuesday, March 13. Tickets are now on sale on 01243 785664.

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