Finals Night at Nenagh Squash Club

In Nenagh Squash Clubs second annual Club Championship, we saw a few familiar faces and a few new faces battling it out for the top spot in each of the four finals.

Leading into the night was returning finalist Mike Ryan and a new challenger Eoin Butler in the ‘B’ Plate final. Mike Ryan hadn’t managed to convert his previous finals appearance, and he was determined to break that streak. Ryan went into the game guns blazing and managed to pull a two-game lead on Butler. The heat of the court mixed with the intensity of the gameplay was starting to show its effects on Ryan and Butler started to pull back some points. Butler won the third game, carrying on that momentum to win the fourth game bringing the score to 2-2. Both players were now really starting to feel the effects of their four gruelling sets were starting to make some errors. Despite the momentum not being in his favour, Michael Ryan was able to dig that bit deeper and come out the victor.

The next competitors were Jack Sanders and Tadgh Dowling for the ‘B’ Championship. Although a relative newcomer to Nenagh Squash Club, Sanders does have some prior experience and is no stranger to finals. Dowling on the other hand has shown great prowess in the Squash scene in his rookie season.

The first game was a mighty battle, but Sanders was the one to get to the 15-point line first. Dowling had stoked the fire in his belly though and was ready to come out fighting in game 2 and that he did. Game 3 started off fiercely with both players trading points. Nearing the end of the game though we could see that Sanders experience coming into play. Both players were starting to feel the effects of their epic rallies but Sanders with more experience was able to keep his error count just low enough to win out the third set. Dowling gave it everything in the fourth, but Sanders had the experience and the momentum and managed to win 3-1.

The third final was the ‘A’ Plate decider between John Spillane and Eddie Fogarty. After being promoted to Division 1, Fogarty was determined to prove himself in front of everyone, beating Spillane in their league game, and carried that confidence into this match.

Spillane came out swinging in the first game, despite Fogarty playing exceptionally well. Fogarty had assessed his gameplay and came into game 2 with a new strategy. Spillane, not prepared for this new style was overrun with the barrage of shots and Fogarty brought the score to 1-1. Spillane was starting to show signs of fatigue in game 3 but years of experience meant he was able to keep the play to his speed and win. Spillane knew that he needed to finish it off in the next set before Fogarty changed up his play style again. After 32 harrowing points Spillane crawled over the finish line with a 17:15 win in the final set.

Rounding off an amazing evening of squash, Kieran Grace took on Eoin Brislane for the ‘A’ Club Championship.

These two players are used to meeting each other in the finals as they’re a step above the rest. Watching some of their rallies nearly feels like watching an entire match they’re so long. Both players had to adapt to this new level of intensity, and it was Brislane that managed to do this first. Losing the first game was enough to kick Grace into overdrive and he came out ready to win any point there was. With anther lung-busting set under their belts the score was now 1-1. In game 3, the ball was still flying, none of the audience dare even blink or you’d lose track of the ball altogether. Grace must’ve blinked too many times as it was Brislane who brought home won the set. Both players dug deep but Grace just dug a little deeper and managed to level at 2-2.

Both players despite not looking like they were slowing were starting to show signs of fatigue. There were more lets being called to give them time to recover in between rallies, more bouncing of the ball before serving, and there was more checking with the referee about the score. Time seemed to stand still in this epic final battle but alas Kieran Grace had managed to find enough energy to win the match.