Thurso Club Championships - Season 2008-2009 - 20, 21 & 22/02/09

U15 Girls

ONE of the largest crowds in recent times assembled in Thurso Squash Club to watch, arguably, some of the best play in a number of years. Little did they know that the finale to the Club Championship event would be such an epic encounter, push the competitors to their limits and leave the audience with some great memories.

First to take part were the Under 15 girls in a round-robin event with the top two players being placed in the final.

Current holder, Eilidh Paterson liked her monthly routine of cleaning the trophy and was in no generous mood to pass it on to any of her competitors.

Amelia Mackay battled well but Eilidh just had the edge and produced the killer shots to continue her domination in this age group.

Jimmy Cassidy is probably playing his best squash for a number of years and it was always going to be a tough task for Guy Owen to topple the current holder of the Over 55 title.

Guy engineered some classic and trademark finishes but the trophy remained with Jimmy, who powered his way to the title with a little to spare.

Over 55's
Jimmy Cassidy (left) & Guy Owen

Ladies champion, Carole Mowat thought her chances of a fourth title in a row were thwarted during a midweek league match, where she picked up a 'triple whammy' injury to the ankle, elbow and head - all in one clash - that can only be described as a 'humpty-dumpty' incident (did she fall or was she pushed!!!).

After a few days recuperation, everything was back in place and business as usual was the order of the day.

Carole's opponent in the final, the ever improving Mairi Vines, tried her best to rock the boat but, apart from a couple of foot faults, Carole was the worthy winner.

Fairly new starts to the sport, Michelle Cowie and Susan Hawes provided the opposition for the two finalists and did well to push the pair to the best of their capabilities.

The Over 45 final brought together rivals, Donald Pollard and Stevie Spargo who regularly have tight battles in league and competition matches.

This contest was to be no different and with the tie sitting all square at 2 sets all, it was all to play for in the deciding leg.

Over 45's
Donald Pollard (left) & Stevie Spargo

Donald started off best and stretched to a 7-3 lead but in a succession of rallies Stevie managed to pull back the deficit to all square.

With emotions high, the official receiving a barrage of colourful comments and fatigue long past it's sell by date, the final couple of points were always going to be difficult.

After one of the longest rallies of the match, it was to be Donald who just had the edge to grab the title for the first time.

Although weary with a large amount of matches played over the weekend, Donald had just enough energy left in his system to topple James Georgeson in the plate final of the Mens event.

So, onto the finale.....

In the last couple of seasons, Andrew Bremner (seeded 1) and Martyn Cook (seeded 2) have threatened to produce tantalising matches but on most occasions, for one reason or another, either of the players have fallen by the way side to concede defeat.

Mens Plate
Donald Pollard (left) & James Georgeson

On this instance, both grabbed the bull by the horns and were in no mood for generosity.

Martyn started off best with a mixture and variety of shots previously unseen at the club, leaving Andrew scrambling for scraps that he would have no chance of reaching and losing the first set.

Not to be outdone, county number 1, Andrew gathered his thoughts, stepped the pace and precision up a notch and pulled back the next two sets to go infront.

The crowd had their doubts that Martyn would be able to take this contest any further as Andrew, at this stage, was the dominant force and Martyn looked like he was beginning to wilt. But, his extra training and dedication to the sport enabled him to pull back the fourth set and even the match.

After brief conversations with their coaches, it was Martyn who came out of the trap fastest and romped to an 8-2 lead following a series of long rallies.

The final point is always the hardest to grab and on this occasion it was to elude Martyn.

Mens Final
Martyn Cook (left) & Andrew Bremner

Andrew pulled the tie back to 8-8 with a heroic blood and guts performance forcing the match to a tie break.

Anxiety set in both players and it was very much a 'safely-safely' approach with long rallies for spells. But, with exhaustion setting in and the players' legs resembling a new born lambs first steps - understandably, gambling on cheap shots took precedence.

With this, it was Martyn who faltered on the very last point of this excruciating battle - leaving Andrew to jump for joy, fist clenched on winning a fantastic game of squash.

Congratulations to Andrew who proved he has the edge over the rest of the county in this sport, at the moment and, although Martyn will feel dejected after putting so much into this contest - it was clear to see that his style is a force to be reckoned with and will flourish in the very near future.

Well done to everyone who took part for providing an excellent display of squash to a very appreciative audience.

Results

• Mens - Andrew Bremner beat Martyn Cook
  • Mens Plate - Donald Pollard beat James Georgeson
• Ladies - Carole Mowat beat Mairi Vines
• Over 45 Men - Donald Pollard beat Stevie Spargo
• Over 55 Men - Jimmy Cassidy beat Guy Owen
• Under 15 Boys - Gary Beales beat Liam Beales
• Under 15 Girls - Winner, Eilidh Paterson - Runner-Up, Amelia Mackay (Round robin)
• Under 19 Boys - Jamie Henderson beat Gary Beales
• Under 19 Girls - Sarah MacKinnon beat Charleen Banks
  • Under 19 Girls' plate - Lucy Owen beat Caroline Hay

Photos

Most Winners and Runner-Up

ALL Junior Girls

Diamonds tucks into a large hot dog.....

End-of-Document