Manager’s Report: Lincolnshire U14 Boys County Cup, April 30th - May 2nd 2016
Lincolnshire Boys Team: Euan Baker, Greg Colclough, Matthew Gedney, Otto Jawahir, Jake Sherrick
Venue: Eastgate Club, Lincoln
Teams: Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, South Wales, Bedfordshire and Suffolk
Day one: We were up against the group favourites, Cambridgeshire. First on court were Jake at 3 and Euan at 4, from the first game we knew the matches were going to be close and decisive. Unfortunately Jake lost two tight sets 6-3, 6-4 in nearly 2 hours and Euan lost 7-5 in the third set so we were 2-0 down. Otto playing at 2 won comfortably and Matthew at 1 lost in straight sets to a very strong Cambridgeshire number 1, now 3-1 down we needed both doubles to take it to a shootout. Greg came in to play with Matthew at 1 and Otto teamed up with Jake at 2 but Cambridgeshire were too strong at number 1, winning in straight sets while Otto and Jake lost in a third set tie break. The boys battled hard but went down 5-1.
Day two: Next up were Norfolk, we played the same four singles players and got off to a flying start with Euan and Jake winning easily in straight sets followed by Otto and Matthew also winning comfortably in straight sets, so 4-0 up the match was over bar the shouting. We changed the pairings for the doubles, Matthew and Jake at 1 and Otto with Greg at 2. There was a lot of shouting with Norfolk not treating them as dead rubbers and desperate for a win on the board. Otto and Greg won with ease but the number 1’s headed for a third set tie break with Matthew and Jake holding their nerve to eventually win it 11-9. So we won 6-0 and would now be playing for third place against Bedfordshire who came back from 3-1 down after the singles to beat Suffolk. With the quick finish the boys finally got their wish ‘Nandos’.
Day three: Playing for third spot we got off to the best possible start with Greg winning at 3, 6-1, 6-0 and Euan ran away with his match too, the weather was gusty and getting windier by the minute. By the time Matthew and Otto came on it made life very tricky indeed and all the players were finding it tough in those conditions. Otto battled through the gales to take his tally to 3 out of 3 singles wins and put us 3-0 up on the day. Meanwhile Matthew was battling hard against the Bedfordshire 1 eventually losing 6-4, 7-6. After reminding the boys that Bedfordshire had won the previous day from this position, Matthew and Jake along with Otto and Greg made sure there was no repeat by winning both doubles in fine style in the blustery conditions. We won the match 5-1 and finished third.
Finishing 3rd was an excellent result for the boys and we were all delighted, it was just a shame we lost so many close matches against Cambridgeshire as they went on to win the group.
I was delighted with the attitude of all the boys, they supported each other and there was a great team spirit throughout the weekend, they all behaved impeccably both on and off court, all performed to a high level and represented Lincolnshire with pride.
Terry Hunt
Aegon County Cup 14U Boys Team Captain