Round TEN – 26-Mar
Favourites confirm their PSL semi-final places, but not without a few flutters …
The tenth and final round of PSL action started with two teams confirmed semi-finalists, but two places remained up for grabs.
In Group A Duffield, who led the table all season before a couple of late defeats set their nerves jangling, needed 8 points at home to bottom of the table Birmingham to make sure of home advantage in the semis. They go there, but not without some more nerve-wracking moments as Birmingham took a 2-1 lead, and with Chris Ryder taking Nick Matthew into a fifth game the packed Duffield crowd were on tenterhoooks.
Matthew took the fifth, and Jaymie Haycocks secured the remaining point needed on his way to a 3/0 win that gave Duffield the match 3-2.
At Nottingham the home side needed a good win to overhaul second-placed visitors Oxford, and for a while they had a chance, taking a 2-0 lead. However a fine performance from Alison Thmson, coming from 2-1 down to beat Nottingham’s experienced stand-in Senga Macfie gave Oxford the points they needed to make the semis.
The other group A match saw Chapel Allerton beat local rivals Pontefract to put themselves into joint third place with Nottingham.
Group B leaders Surrey needed just a few points away to strugglers Winchester to guarantee themselves home advantage, and they quickly went 4-0 up to do just that. Greg Gaultier beat Peter Barker in an entertaining finale to make the final score 4-1.
Second placed Exeter travelled to Chichester knowing that avoiding a 5-0 defeat would be enough to see them through to the semis. The home side had a sniff of an big upset as they went 2-0 up, but former Chichester favourite Tim Vail put paid to those hopes as he beat Alex Gough to put Exeter into the semis. Chichester finished up 3-2 winners.
St George’s Hill were finalists for the past two seasons but a poor start put paid to their hopes, finished with a flourish, beating bottom of the table Bristol 5-0, a result which left them just one point below Chichester in fourth place.
[box style=”rounded” type=”note” icon=”none”]Group A
Duffield 3-2 University of Birmingham (16-9)
Nick Matthew 3-2 Chris Ryder 12/10, 4/11, 11/5, 9/11, 11/6
Joel Hinds 3-1 Jamie Haycocks 11/3, 7/11, 11/4, 11/6
Chris Fuller 2-3 Chris Tasker 8/11, 11/4, 8/11, 11/7, 7/11
Aqeel Rehman 3-0 Oliver Mapp 11/6, 13/11, 11/6
Fiona Scott 0-3 Deon Saffery 3/11, 8/11, 5/11
Nottingham 3-2 Oxford (18-6)
Eddie Charlton 3-0 Scott Handley 11/9, 11/8, 11/9
Lewis Walters 3-0 Mark Cairns 11/8, 11/7, 11/8
Declan James 3-0 Rory Pennell 11/5, 11/5, 11/6
Dougie Kempsall 2-3 Kristen Johnsen 11/6, 10/12, 11/4, 9/11, 10/12
Senga Macfie 2-3 Alison Tompson 3/11, 11/4, 11/6, 6/11, 9/11
Chapel Allerton 5-0 Pontefract
Alister Walker 3-1 James Willstrop 11/6, 7/11, 11/5, 11/9
Chris Simpson 3-0 Lee Beachill 11/6, 11/3, 11/3
Shaun Le Roux 3-0 Thobiki Mohohlo 11/9, 11/3, 11/7
James Earles 3-1 Adam Taylor 11/6, 8/11, 11/5, 11/4
Carrie Ramsey 3-0 Katie Smith 11/8, 11/4, 11/4
Final Points: Duffield 152, Oxford 129, Nottingham 127, Chapel A 127, Pontefract 91, Birmingham 85
[/box] [box style=”rounded” type=”note” icon=”none”]Group B
Chichester 3-2 Exeter (16-10)
Jon Kemp 1-3 Laurens Jan Anjema 6-11, 11-4, 5-11, 13-15
Robbie Temple 3-2 Mathieu Castagnet 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 (76m)
Ollie Pett 3-2 Joey Barrington 11/6, 11/7, 4/11, 7/11, 11/9
Alex Gough 1-3 Tim Vail 7/11, 9/11, 11/6, 8/11
Hannah Wright Davies 3-0 Rhianne O’Donnell 11/8, 11/5, 11/8
Winchester 1-4 Surrey (6-18)
Greg Gaultier 3-1 Peter Barker 12-10, 11-8, 12-14, 11-8
Robert Downer 1-3 Adrian Grant 11-7, 5-11, 4-11, 6-11
Alex Phillips 0-3 Adrian Waller 3-11, 10-12, 5-11
Scott Fitzgerald 1-3 Davide Bianchetti 12-10, 8-11, 6-11, 7-11
Rachel Wilmott 1-3 Georgina Kennedy 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 6-11
Bristol 0-5 St George’s Hill (2-20)
Hadrian Stiff 0-3 Daryl Selby 9-11, 8-11, 6-11 (26m)
Tom Ford 1-3 Tom Richards 7-11, 3-11, 11-7, 8-11 (32m)
Sam Ellis 0-3 Joe Lee 3-11, 3-11, 9-11 (24m)
Peter Joyce 0-3 Charles Sharpes 6-11, 8-11, 9-11 (21m)
Emma Chorley 1-3 Dominique Lloyd-Walter 11-8, 6-11, 4-11, 9-11 (30m)
Final Points: Surrey 164, Exeter 147, Chichester 138, St George’s 137, Winchester 66, Bristol 42
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