University Students 7 – 1 Mens Feathers

Simon O & Simon T | David W & John W | Mark J & David P

Today’s excuse: The shuttles were too fast.

The excuse-of-the-day was at fault early on, for a few too many shots out of the back of the court during an otherwise good performance from David and John saw them lose their opening game 22-24, 17-21. Once they’d adjusted, their play improved further, with David’s smash back to its venemous best. With both of them playing well, they deserved something from their other two games, both of which went to three ends. Sadly in both cases they lost out 15-21 in the final end, and despite the fact that they look to be winning most times I watch them, they are yet to win their first feathers game this season.

Simon T had only one word of advice for Simon O at the start of their first game: “I think these shuttles are fast, so don’t hit them out at the back.” Simon duly noted this sage advice, and hit his first shot out at the back. But after that, the Simons kept the shuttle in, and spent most of the game ducking as their opponents failed to do the same. They won with a comfortable 21-15, 21-10. Aerohog had taken off, but like a Red Bull Flugtag competitor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kmEUuai-tE), they were airborne for only the briefest of moments. Simon T’s well-known inconsistency saw him hit five shots out in a row to lose their next game 13-21 in the third end, and a very close final game against the students’ top pair was also lost by a couple of points in the third end.

David and Mark were also playing well, and making sure the students earnt their points. They lost their first two games, but were always safely into double-figures and went as close as 19-21 against their first pair. They were only behind by three points in the final game of the evening, and just commencing their planned excellent comeback to win in three, when we were ejected from the hall by the sports hall staff, so their final game was an unfinished 13-21, 16-19.

Thanks to David for replacing Gavin, who has injured himself, and to Mark for stepping in with just a few hours’ notice to replace Calvin, our replacement for Tipue who himself then fell ill. Thanks also to Dawn for not (we hope!) telling David off for being late home! Our next feathers match isn’t until January, so this gives us a good while for Gavin and Calvin to get well again, and for the rest of us to practise winning three-end games instead of losing them right at the end as we’ve done so many times this season so far. We played well today, despite the scoreline, so hope to get some wins in 2013.