Qualifying Finals report (Day 2)
Kevin Moran bt Joeri Haper: 11-13, 11-8, 10-12, 11-2, 11-6
A match played at a ridiculous pace that didn’t seem to let up through the whole match! The first three games were very competitive with both players getting on to the ball early and injecting pace mixed in with some lovely touches at the front. The fourth game perhaps saw Hapers begin to tire and Moran’s hold and touch began to pay dividends as he pulled away to take the last two games fairly comfortably.
Ondrej Uherka bt Jamie Henderson 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 11-0
Henderson started strongly and lead 9-6 in the first game and then held a game ball at 10-9 before Uherka recovered to take it 12-10. Uherka’s court speed and strenghth, along with some lovely kills and volley drops saw him take the second game 11-7 which he always led. Henderson was not finished however and clawed back to take the third game and open up the possibility of a comeback. A combination of some great play from Uherka and some uncharacteristic errors from Henderson saw a very unexpected 11-0 in the last game.
Tristan Eysele bt Phil Nightingale 11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 11-2
After a fine run in Bexley last week and a late night five setter last night it was going to be interesting to see how much Eysele had left in the tank. He started the match well using angles and in particular the boast to twist and turn Nightingale effectively. Nightingale tightened up and lengthened the rallies and used the straight drop well in the second game to take it 13-11. It seemed the effects of Eyseles attacking play got the better of Nightingale in the third and fourth games as he seemed to be slightly off the pace.
Patrick Rooney bt Owain Taylor 7-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-7
This was a quality and fair match between two players who strike the ball very well. Taylor had a long five set match last night and after a strong start seemed to tire ever so slightly. Rooney’s quality into the front of the court began to get more reward and he always seemed that bit in control for the remainder of the match.