A confident York Men’s 1st team faced underdogs Bradford 1st, two divisions below them, in the first round of the cup and delivered a decisive 7-1 victory.
In the doubles, 1st team pair Ollie Hoult and James Southwell had a strong start against the Bradford 2nd pair taking the first end 21-9. Despite being a new pairing this year Hoult and Southwell worked well together, displaying strong movement and tactical play which they continued in the second end to secure a 21-14 win and the first game for York.
After the last minute withdrawal of Hazrul Muhammad and with both the 2nd and 3rd team occupied with away games, captain Michael Murtagh drafted in Men’s 3rd pair reserve Robert Bartlett to partner Andrew Henderson and form York’s second doubles pair. Bartlett rose to the challenge in the first end and he and Henderson delivered a 21-12 win. The pair continued their consistent play in the second end and did not allow themselves to become distracted by the Bradford pairing, who were becoming increasingly frustrated and vocal. The York pair won the second end 21-13 and after the game Team Captain Henderson said that Bartlett had “performed exceptionally under the circumstances especially against opponents that were quite aggressive.”
The singles matches of the day proved to be a lot closer and delivered some outstanding play. York’s Jay Lee took on Bradford’s 1st pair in a tense 3 end match. In the first end Lee moved his opponent around the court very well playing to the corners of the court and moving in to the net to play an aggressive game. The players were neck and neck throughout but Lee eventually took the first end 21-19 after some exceptional deceptive shots. In the second end, players from both teams as well as the York ladies 1st team gathered to support the two players offering strong encouragement from the side lines. Lee continued his aggressive play with some impressive net kills and smashes but was outplayed at the net by the Bradford player. The end delivered some outstanding rallies and proved to be close again but Bradford won their first end 21-17 taking the game to a third end. In the third, both players were visibly tired and began to make mistakes but the end was once more very close in the end Lee clinched the victory for York finishing the third end 21-19.
In the other singles game Men’s Captain Micky Murtagh took on Bradford’s 2nd singles player in what turned out to be a battle of the drop shots with both players showing high levels of skill. Murtagh however, also used his strong drives well to drive his opponent back leading to his victory in the first end, 21-18. In the second end both players again performed well but once more Murtagh took the win with a 21-19 victory.
In the second round of play Henderson and Bartlett continued their good form. Bartlett pushed the opposing pair back with strong clears often lining Henderson up to finish the rally with an aggressive attacking shot. The pair took the first end 21-13 and the second 21-11 to continue York’s winning streak.
Hoult and Southwell continued to demonstrate their great pair work in their second match. Despite a finger injury, the Bradford pair played well but Southwell overpowered them with well-aimed strong smashes leading to a 21-12 win. In the second end the pair dominated once more to secure yet another win for York.
Despite a guaranteed win for York, the singles players each still had a match to play. In his second match Lee seemed to find it difficult to find the rhythm of his opponent and often found himself forced to play a defensive game. Fortunately, Lee demonstrated a very strong defence but seemed unable to finish the points. In the end the game proved to be close once again with eventually taking both ends 21-19.
Securing the final win of the day fell to captain Murtagh but he struggled in the first end making an uncharacteristic number of unforced errors. The first end turned out to be the closest of the day ending 21-23 to Bradford. Despite strong net play in the second end Murtagh wasn’t able to defeat his opposition and lost the second end 18-21.
Overall, the team was very pleased with the 7-1 win which sees them progress to the next stage of the BUCS cup to face Sunderland 1sts.