Under the experienced guidance of Martin Reeves, Sussex U14s Boys travelled away to Raynes Park to face Surrey in a Winter friendly. In preparation for County Cup next Summer, Sussex selected boys who would be eligible for that, leaving out any players currently in their last season of this age group.
It was, therefore, an even harder match for our boys as they found themselves, player for player, taking on older boys.
Over 6 hours and 3 rounds, all boys fought hard and neither side managed to gain a clear lead. Round 1 finished at 2-2, with singles victories for Sam Nicholson and Oskar Lockyer. Round 2 also saw a similar result, with singles victories this time going to Toby Bloomfield and Oskar Lockyer.
In true County Cup style, the tie rested on the final 2 doubles matches. Toby Bloomfield and Oskar Lockyer paired up and took a very close first set on a tie-break. The Sussex boys grew in confidence from this and they were the superior doubles pair, out-serving and out-volleying the Surrey boys, to take the second set (and the match) with the loss of only one game.
Sussex were guaranteed a draw following this result, and Sam Nicholson and Lui Maxted looked to be out-powered (and outsized) by two Surrey players who will move up to U16s next season. Surrey took a comfortable first set, with the loss of only one game and were ahead in the second. Whether it was Coach Martin Reeves’ threat of not getting a lift home if they lost, or the fact that Toby and Oskar, having finished their match, joined the cheerleading force on the sidelines to get behind their team mates, something gave Sam and Lui the extra impetus needed to fight back. They won a close second set and went into a final set championship tie-break. At 8-3 down in the tie break, the Sussex pair looked buried but a very tense and gritty fight-back ensued and the Sussex boys held on for a thrilling 11-9 win, handing Team Sussex the overall 6-4 victory.
Congratulations to all four boys who contributed match winning rubbers to this result, and a very big thank you to Martin Reeves (and the cheerleading parents!) for support throughout the day.