Perth 3 secure their first piece of ‘silverware’

 The final of the Malcolm Mclaren Plate competition pitched two Crieff & District second division sides against each other – Glenalmond and Perth3 on 2nd February 2006.

 Glenalmond hosted Perth3 on a very cold night. It was difficult to tell if the temperature was warmer outside or inside the courts. After chasing a polar bear off the court, the match got underway!

 The two teams lined up as follows:

1. Norman Milne vs Geoff Bush

2. Graeme Hawkerston vs Paul Kieran

3. Paul Eddy vs Sheila Haggart

4. John Bulloch vs Hamish Bell

5. Sue Mclean vs Simon Grieshaber

 An unfortunate late call off by Claire Grey meant she missed the final, and Sheila duly obliged on the night (a shame for Claire as she had played very well in the earlier rounds of the competition.)

 The Malcolm Mclaren competition is a handicap competition with points (bisques) being awarded to teams based on their league position. On the night, Perth3 had a big advantage with 50 bisques to hand over Glenalmond. After much deliberation, the bisques were split between Geoff (10), Paul (20) and Hamish (20.)

 First games on court were between the second and fourth strings. Paul got off to a great start by winning the first game without using many bisques at all. He then continued to put a stranglehold on the match, and never let Graeme get into his stride. Even Graeme’s hard hitting approach, could not wrestle the lead from Paul. After a complete and convincing display, Paul won the match easily 3-0 (with 5 bisques to spare.)

 Hamish on the other hand started slowly. His ‘masterplan’ was to play out the first game (only taking one bisque) and get the reach of his opponent for the rest of the match. This paid off dividends as Hamish wore down his opponent, and took the next 3 games in convincing style.

 Even after the first 2 matches, the courts still hadn’t warmed up much! Next on were the 3^rd and 5^th string matches. Both of these were played off scratch (no bisque allocation.)

 Sheila had a tough time against the stalwart Paul Eddy. Sheila started brightly, but Paul soon got into his stride. He polished off the three games in pretty quick time.

 The match between Sue and Simon was a different affair. This was a closely fought contest with neither player giving any quarter, and both very determined to win. The first game went to 8-8 (2) which Simon eventually snatched 10-8. The second game Sue took control early on and drew the match at one game each. The 3^rd game was extremely close, and it was difficult to tell who would take the game. However Sue’s tight cross-court drops tipped the balance in her favour, and she ended up taking both the 3^rd and 4^th games.

 This then set up the final game perfectly with the match tied at 2-2. An interesting contest was forecast between the seasoned professional Norman Milne and Geoff ‘The Tiger’ Bush.

 The opening game set the tone of the match, with a hard fought, fiercely contested contest. Geoff used up a few bisques but it was Norman who took first strike. Geoff then made sure he sealed the 2^nd game by using up all bar 2 of his remaining bisques. At 1-1, the match was well balanced. Norman then proceeded to pull ahead by taking the 3^rd game, and by stretching into a 7-4 lead in the 4^th. With no bisques remaining, Geoff had to draw on all his years experience to pull himself back into the match. After an extremely tough game, Geoff eventually took the 4^th game (letting out a roar of approval at the end.)

 With the match now perfectly poised, 2-2 in matches and 2-2 in games, a nail biting finish was ensured. The gallery was hushed; Nerves began to show in the two players as mistakes crept into their games, who were giving everything they had. A final game of excellent squash was finally taken by Geoff, who ‘roared’ to the gallery and punched the air in delight, sealing a brilliant victory by the relevant newcomers - Perth3.

 After the final, the ever genial Glenalmond team treated the victors to the perfect after-squash refreshments, Steak sandwich and chips washed down with ‘Thrappledouser’ ale at the Inn at Chapelhill. Several attempts were made by the Glenalmond team to beat Perth3 at pub games, but unfortunately they failed in this venture too. Therefore rounding off a perfect evening for Perth3.