RICHARD MARTIN reports
ESSEX U-15 boys, under the guidance of coach Paul Allen, weathered a stiff challenge from host team Suffolk to book their spot in Stage Two of the Inter-Counties Championships on Sunday. After victories against Norfolk and Lincolnshire, the spoils came down to a head-to-head clash with Suffolk, which Essex edged by the narrowest of margins.
Essex 5 Norfolk 0
Norfolk’s number one was injured giving Essex a great chance to hit the ground running with Norfolk all moving up the order. Tom Bird at five had a walkover and there were convincing 3-0 wins for Charlie Martin, Harry Kitchens, Tim Bacon and Haydon Smith.
Essex 3 Lincolnshire 2
Tom and Harry were up first and both won 3-0 with controlled, well worked rallies. Charlie then also played patiently and controlled squash winning 3-0. Haydon had a tough match against Daniel Wells losing 3-0 but despite the scoreline, produced some superb squash with his trademark volley drops working well. Tim was last up and he narrowly lost a cracking match with Sam Booth 3-2. The match was played at a fast and furious pace with the Lincolnshire lad edging a tight fifth.
Essex 3 Suffolk 2
This was the crunch match after both teams had beaten Norfolk and Lincolnshire.Tom was once again solid and outshone Ben May 3-0. Harry had a belter of a match with Ross Curtis and played solid, patient squash to win 3-1. That win inspired Charlie in his match with Eddie Allen. The Essex player rallied well and with his pin-point drops and drives, he sealed the tie with a 3-0 victory.
Tim was exhausted from his previous match and went down 3-0 to Isaac Anderson. Haydon played with a smile and tried to out cross-court nick England player Billy Beecroft but unfortunately went down 3-0.
Josh Stinson only had one reserve match against Suffolk and played with confidence to win 3-2 after being 2-0 down.
