On Friday 18^th February, the Leicester 2^nd team played Hermitage 4 at home. Having narrowly won 3:2 in the first half the team were looking to improve on this and further push themselves up the table.

First on was Steve Avil, at 4, playing against Adrian Wright. Steve started strongly against his wily opponent, moving him around the court superbly, to take the first game 9:7. Adrian was not to be outdone and used his many years of experience to counter Steve's game and take the second game 4:9. Steve then upped his game, playing deceptive drop shots and placing the ball just outside his opponents, reach to win the next two games and so the match.

Meanwhile on the other court Nick Crossley was playing M. Wright, at 3. Striking the ball hard and chasing down every ball Nick claimed the first 9:5 before a momentary lapse in concentration enabled his opponent to capitalise and take the second game. In the third Nick came back to the fore to take both this and the next game, 9:6.

On next was captain, Martin Thompson, playing at 1, who after a rather lacklustre performance the previous week he was keen to play well. Unfortunately, this aspiration did not manifest itself through his play during the first game; his weak front court play enabled his opponent, Mick Birch, to send him scurrying to the back and so out of position. He lost the game 4:9. In the second, having appraised his performance, Martin produced some excellent squash: dominating the 'T'; forcing his opponent out of position and swooping down on any loose balls to win 9:1. He continued this form in the next two games to claim them 9:5 and 9:1.

Playing at 5 was Jon Maynard. In his debut match for the second he performed admirably. Strong drives down the backhand and lethal volleys gave him the first two games 9:4 and 9:5. However, after this his opponent, R. Fratton began to intercept some of his shots and clawed his way back into the match. Jon lost the next three games 4:9, 7:9 and 6:9.

Harborough were leading 3:1 at this point, with only Melvin crane, at 2, still to play. Unfortunately, due to a rather inconvenient flight delay and the general tardiness of transport these days, Melvin was slightly late. Upon his arrival, to a muted scene, he dashed on court against Neil Curran. Moving superbly he took the first game 9:2. However, Neil's determination came to the fore in the next three games as he refused to give up on any balls. Melvin lost the match 1:3.

Overall, an excellent win for the team- the gain of 17 points will help push the team up the middle of the table. Although promotion now seems unlikely another win this week will see the team snapping at the heels of the league leaders.

Written by Martin Thompson