The Newcastle Northern Ladies Premier league team tour finished with an overall positive score for Newcastle recording two wins and one draw against teams from the Marsa Sports Club.
The tour started with a team representing Marsa Squash Section Ladies against Newcastle Northern Ladies .
Number 4
Elaine Cauchi (Marsa), playing her first representative team match, was on court first against Michelle Robertson (Newcastle Northern). Elaine started nervously and never really settled during the match, allowing Michelle to dominate the game from start to end. Michelle moved Elaine around the court well and won deservedly 3-0 (11-5 / 11-8 / 11-2).
1-0 Newcastle
Number 3
Next on court was Sue Aquilina (Marsa) against Leslie Vitty (Newcastle Northern). Lesley started the more determined of the two with Sue playing into her opponents hands, playing too often too short. In the third game Sue found a better length and was able to keep Lesley under pressure. The 4th set was very close and could have gone either way with Lesley taking the deciding game and so the match 3-1 (11-6 / 11-7 / 10-12 / 11-9).
2-0 Newcastle
Number 2
Colette Sultana (Marsa) vs Karen Heron (Newcastle Northern). Colette took a very tough 1st game but looked tired and slow from the start of the second game allowing Karen to race to a 9-2 lead. Karen from that point looked in control and was able to move the Maltese teenager around the court and wait for the right opportunity to finish the rallies. Final score 3-1 to Karen (11-13 / 11-4 / 11-5 / 11-7).
3-0 Newcastle
Number 1
Joanna Rizzo (Marsa) vs Emma Barnet (Newcastle Northern). Joanna never really got into the game with Emma showing that good movement combined with good shot selection allows you to dominate your opponent. Joanna put up the usual gritty performance and her effort can never be questioned but was never really able to trouble Emma. Final score 3-1 to Emma (11-4 / 11-2 / 9-11 / 11-5).
Fourth game to Newcastle and final score of match one 4-0 Newcastle
The second team match featured a mixed team from Marsa and hopes were high after the players had chance to study their prospective opponents in the earlier match.
Number 4
Once again Michelle wasn’t troubled in a very one-sided match. Analise fought well but had no answers to Michelle’s experience and superior shot selection. Final score 3-0 Michelle 11-7 / 11-2 / 11-3.
1-0 Newcastle
Number 3
Christer wasn’t really at the races and was unable to play in his usual dynamic style. Lesley played a solid game and took every opportunity to move Christer around the court and really only had to wait for Christer to stop running. Final score 3-0 Lesley 11-6 / 11-7 / 11-9.
2-0 Newcastle
Number 2
Peter produced his usual swashbuckling style in a close-fought and entertaining match. Karen moved well and always managed to find the right shot at the right time and was able to sometimes find the ‘nick’ at will. Peter, always on the back foot and never knowing which shot to expect next, fought until the end but Karen managed to keep the upper hand winning four very closely fought games.
Final score 3-1 Karen 11-8 / 3-11 / 11-7 / 11-8.
3-0 Newcastle
Number 1
Emma got off to a good start taking a close first game with Robert defending too often rather than trying to take the initiative. From midway through the second game, Robert’s consistency and determination started to pay dividends and Emma looked to be running out of ideas and never quite found the right killing shot.
Final score 3-1 Robert 7-11 / 11-9 / 11-6 / 11-7 Well done Robert; first match win for Marsa vs Newcastle.
Final team result Marsa SC 1 – Newcastle Northern 3
The final match of the tour was against another mixed team from Marsa and was expected to be the toughest test for the visitors.
Number 4
Michelle had to fight for the first time. Maria, new to Marsa, put up a tremendous and courageous performance but once again the valuable experience of playing regular team squash paid off for Michelle.
Final score 3-1 Michelle 11-7 / 4-11 / 11-7 / 11-6.
1-0 Newcastle
Number 3
Colette was always in control of this match and had a relatively easy game. Lesley played well but was under too much pressure from the start.
Final score 3-0 Colette 11-4 / 11-1 / 11-3.
Marsa 1 Newcastle 1
Number 2
Cliff put in a great display against Karen. Leading 2-1 it looked as if Cliff was going to be the first player to beat Karen. The fourth was very close with Karen edging the game 11-9. In the 5th and final game it looked as if Cliff had ran out of ideas and Karen stepped up her game slightly taking the game and match.
Final score 3-2 Karen 8-11 / 11-5 / 2-11 / 11-9 / 11-5.
2-1 Newcastle
Number 1
No real problems for Carl. Emma played well in patches and showed some fantastic touches and killing shots that left Carl speechless.
Final score 3-0 Carl 11-5 / 11-7 / 11-6.
Final team result: Marsa SC 2 – Newcastle Northern 2
The ‘Ladies from the North’ expressed their thanks to everyone involved at Marsa for the organisation and excellent hospitality and plans are already well advanced for the next tour.
Marsa coach Paul lake was pleased with the overall performance of the Marsa players stating that it is “extremely difficult for players that do not get the chance to compete in such events to step up their game and compete at this level. In most cases it was easy to see that the the players from Newcastle were more experienced and knew how to deal with ‘pressure situations’, something you can only gain by playing.”