A dominant York powered past a hapless Northumbria in a convincing whitewash win, condemning the visitors to relegation.
The scoreline hardly flattered the home side – who controlled the match from the beginning to the end – but they were made to work for their wins against a spirited yet ultimately luckless Northumbria, fighting for their survival in the league.
However, it was York’s class and determination that prevailed, epitomosied by the tenacity of Tan Jan Chuen who opened the proceedings with a 2-1 defeat of Northumbria’s number one seed. ‘JC’ endured a difficult start to the match; his opponent, who wasted little time in settling, repeatedly forced JC into difficult positions and subsequent errors before taking the opening game with relative ease. Chuen’s superior fitness and athleticism began to tell in the second game as he narrowly edged the contest to take the match to a third. ‘Be more aggressive’ was the advice from the sidelines, and JC proceeded to heed the call with an explosive start to the deciding game, eventually sealing the comeback and the win 11-21, 22-20, 21-14.
It was much the same story for Chuen in his second match-up of the day after again falling a game behind, 21-14. Evidently frustrated with his performance, JC was having to battle against his own temperament (in addition to his animated opponent), striking his own legs with his racquet in between points and urging himself to ‘move faster!’ before salvaging the match with a narrow 21-17 win in the second. Buoyed by his earlier heroics, JC managed to successfully channel his energies into his finest badminton of the day at a crucial juncture of the match with the deciding game tied at 17s; he was finally finding the touch that his poise and balance around the court had deserved throughout, completing another remarkable fight back 21-18.
Tim Robinson, meanwhile, enjoyed a contrasting start to his opening encounter against Northumbria’s second seed. Dominating the early exchanges, Robinson displayed great confidence and variety as he drove his opponent into all corners of the court before delicately dropping him at the net in a commanding 21-13 first game win. Compliancy perhaps occurred in the second as Robinson offered his impassioned opponent a route back into the match, conceding the game 21-18, before quickly reasserting his authority in the contest by carrying himself to an early lead in the third. The visitor fought bravely and showed glimpses of class, but eventually succumbed to the superior player who, with thanks to a devastating return of serve and some exquisitely precise placement, sealed the win 21-16.
Robinson successfully maintained York’s winning run in the following match-up, picking up from where he left off in the previous contest to storm to a straight game triumph against a determined but fatigued opponent. Both men appeared tired following their respective earlier three game exploits, but it was Robinson who assumed control of the contest from start to finish, drawing on a dynamic array of serves to take the first game 22-20 (a scoreline that perhaps belied his dominance) before displaying some sharp reflexes along the way to a 21-16 victory in the second.
Life was a little easier for York’s doubles pairings; both of which disposed of their opposing numbers with seemingly consummate ease. John Sinclair and Jinglun Tang had to first overcome some nervous serving (of which both sides were guilty) in the opening minutes of their first game, which saw plenty of scrappy points and fragmented play. Yet it was the home team who were the first to show their class. Despite the occasional lapse in communication, Sinclair and Tang combined well to eventually find their rhythm, taking it in turns to display some delightful deception at the net to take the match comfortably 21-9, 21-14.
Suspect serving was by no means an issue in their second encounter of the day, with Sinclair and Tang continuing to create space on court and exploit gaps down the lines as their opponents failed to find either; the home side again ran-out 2-0 winners in what was the quickest and most comfortable win of the tie.
The task of completing the route consequently fell to the duo of Stephen Hallett and Tsz Chiu-Tang, whose class, craft and slick interplay applied the gloss to York’s resounding win. The two played with great prowess, at times combing beautifully to dictate the fast pace of the rallies while covering every dimension of the court. The well-organised partnership balanced aggression with grace as they disposed of their bewildered opponents 21-13, 21-11.
Yet Hallett and Chiu-Tang still managed to save their best until last as they navigated their way past the tight opening exchanges of their second match. The opposition, superior in both strength and size, were repeatedly undone by Chiu-Tang’s agility, Hallett’s skill and the almost symbiotic connection between two; the visibly exhausted visitors seemed almost relieved by the swift nature of the defeat, upon falling victim to the performance of the day 21-11, 21-16.
Following the win, captain John Sinclair paid special homage to the singles players in particular, declaring that “their games were much harder, but both lads did really well”. An understandably business-like Sinclair, on the back of a fantastic win for his team, could offer few words of consolation for the now relegated Northumbria, but the visitors will have traveled back north with at least a little to be proud of: outclassed on court, but not lacking in spirit off it, they may have reason to wish for an immediate return to the league, and a subsequent return to York. Alternatively, the old cliché ‘be careful what you wish for’ may just spring to mind.