Sunday, February 08, 2004
Magdalen Park back from dead in gusty thriller
Magdalen Park Vth ground out a gutsy victory in blustery conditions against Sanderstead III, to keep its championship challenge alive and morale flying high.
Despite fielding a ramshackle and untested team recruited at last gasp by absent skipper Roger Willcocks, Magdalen Park dealt with the 60 m.p.h. wind sufficiently better to steal the fixture 3-1.
It looked bad when Marcus Clay and Mike Chesher were dumped out to 0 and 2 to drop the first rubber. It looked worse when the novice pairing dropped the next set 7-5. The threat of sacking and a sudden mastery of the wind powered them back to clinch the rubber 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. "I was worried about the white-wash, but the hoots from the club house made me dig deep," said the resourceful Clay.
The victory was secured by recent signings Derek Cook and Gavin Rose, newly promoted from the unplaying mediocrity and now chasing hard for regular selection over lazy, ne'er-do-well primadonnas like Sharples and Schmetzer. Cook & Rose earned masterful victories in both rubbers 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and 6-3, 7-6. "My natural topspin game was an asset," said Rose. "The wind actually helped it along a bit."
Skipper Willcocks added: "This victory shows the strength in depth of the Vth Team: complete strangers with no track record on the circuit can do as well as seasoned professionals. The future is bright."
Magdalen Park Vth ground out a gutsy victory in blustery conditions against Sanderstead III, to keep its championship challenge alive and morale flying high.
Despite fielding a ramshackle and untested team recruited at last gasp by absent skipper Roger Willcocks, Magdalen Park dealt with the 60 m.p.h. wind sufficiently better to steal the fixture 3-1.
It looked bad when Marcus Clay and Mike Chesher were dumped out to 0 and 2 to drop the first rubber. It looked worse when the novice pairing dropped the next set 7-5. The threat of sacking and a sudden mastery of the wind powered them back to clinch the rubber 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. "I was worried about the white-wash, but the hoots from the club house made me dig deep," said the resourceful Clay.
The victory was secured by recent signings Derek Cook and Gavin Rose, newly promoted from the unplaying mediocrity and now chasing hard for regular selection over lazy, ne'er-do-well primadonnas like Sharples and Schmetzer. Cook & Rose earned masterful victories in both rubbers 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and 6-3, 7-6. "My natural topspin game was an asset," said Rose. "The wind actually helped it along a bit."
Skipper Willcocks added: "This victory shows the strength in depth of the Vth Team: complete strangers with no track record on the circuit can do as well as seasoned professionals. The future is bright."
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