Published 28/04/2024 11:40 by Michael Howard.

Vantage notched up their second win of the season, agaisnt fellow strugglers OU Primes, in a match played out of order as Tony Ardis of the home team had to leave early. Tony started with a 4-leg win over Patrick Wong, taking the 4th set with a 'man on a mission' 11-1 scoreline. Sue Lewis then followed up her hat-trick of last week when she played James Zeng, in what was the first of the night's 6 5-leg sets. Neither player was comfortable against the other's style. James took the first leg and Sue the next two. James levelled the set 11-9 in the 4th leg and raced into a 5-0 lead in the final leg, before Sue's determination enabled her to come back and take the leg 11-6. Tony then played Andy (usually set 6) in another 5-leg set. Having swapped the first four legs, Tony secured a 9-7 lead in the final leg, but missed a couple of forehands and Andy held on to win 11-9. Tony and Sue then joined forces for a fantastic doubles against Patick and Andy, which they won in 5 legs. Tony followed this up with his final set, against James (usually Set 10).which he won in 4 legs. When Tony left, the home team held a 4-1 lead. Mike Howard them played for the first time on the night, in set 6 against Andy. After Mike took the opening leg, Andy took a 2-1 lead. Mike took the 4th emphatically and carried this into the final leg to reach 10-5 before making mistakes and allowing Andy back into the set through the basic policy of keeping the ball in play and waiting for his opponed to make errors. At deuce Mike attempted a long serve which missed the table to give Andy match point, which he gained when Mike again missed a forehand smash. This was Andy's second unlikely win on the night from a losing position, both achieved from common sense conservative play in tight legs against opponents who made errors on vital points. Sue restored order for he home side with a 5 leg thriller against Patrick, who levelled with a 14-12 4th leg, before Sue took the 5th  by 11-9. Mike's second set of the night, against James, seemed to be going well when he took the first 2 legs. However James then found his rhythm and levelled before taking the 5th leg 11-7, the match score then being 5-3 to Vantage. At that stage 5 of the previous 6 sets had gone to the final leg. Sue struggled when she played Andy, but won the opening leg and overcame stern resistance to take the second one 16-14 and kept control in the 3rd to secure both her 2nd consecutive hat-trick and a match win for Vantage. Mike's luckless form then continued as he lost a close 3-leg encounter with Patrick, who claimed his only win of the evening but provided Primes with a 4th point on the night, which may prove important at the end ot the season if Vantage can continue their current form. The match eventually finished at 11.15 pm. Chalk up another hat-trick and doubles success for Super Sue, who may well be a candidate for player of the month!