Playing the old enemy on their home ground is not the best start to a season that one can wish for, especially when half your squad are new recruits. Plus, as their manager reminded me, London also benefit from having the England captain and vice captain in their team. Nonetheless, I was quietly confident before the match that we could cause an upset to their plans and we did!
The first session started well with us winning 7 frames. London managed to slightly narrow the gap to 10-12 by half time but the third session saw us build up a dominating lead of 7 frames. So, 13-20 going into the last session and only 3 frames needed to secure the win. These were quickly gained within the next 4 frames and a significant margin seemed on the cards. Unfortunately, the momentum petered out, bringing the final score to 20-24.
Special mention goes to Tom Telford and Jack Smithers. Tom won 4 out of 4 earning him the Man of the Match award. Jack followed his 2009 Regional Title win with another 100% return.
Also, a very warm welcome and thank you goes to the 6 newcomers who attended. They all played in the match, making the result a true team effort.