Club Championships 2012

A BARNSTORMING performance from club No 1 Liam Gutcher more than justified his top seeding as he walked away with his 3rd successive Northern Men's Championship - and his fourth in five years.

Gutcher, who had not dropped a game in seeing off Roland Orton, Craig Dowie and Glenn Ward on his way to the final, started in imperious form against club rival and long-term training partner Matt Hardy, and soon built up a convincing 2-0 lead (9-1, 9-3).

Hardy, though, is a seasoned performer himself and he came back strongly in the third (9-5) working hard early in the rallies then playing some superb winners to make it 2-1 in games and keep his hopes alive.

But with the crowds enthralled by another masterclass from the club's top two players, Gutcher reasserted himself with an immaculate 9-0 performance in the fourth, and another well-deserved championship win.

Hardy himself had progressed to the final with effortless 3-0 wins over Cai Younger, Alex Storey and Gary Candlish.

Another player who had not dropped a game on her way to the final was England Under-19 international Sam Ward.

Ward had booked her final encounter with Karen Heron after being in control throughout her matches against sisters Helen and Sarah Dowson, beating two very accomplished players 3-0 .

Heron herself had beaten Judith Furniss (3-0) and then produced her best form to beat No 1 seed and reigning Ladies Champion Emma Barnett 3-1 in the semi-finals.

Another upset seemed unlikely as the athletic Ward quickly took control, winning the first two games 9-1 and 9-5. But Heron found her range in the third and produced a string of accurate winners to clinch the game 9-2 and take the match to a fourth game.

Ward, though, is an experienced performer despite her tender years and she simply refocussed and went through the gears. She produced an impressive 9-0 performance to cruise home to a 3-1 win and take the trophy in front of an appreciative bumper crowd.

In the Men's A Event plate, Cai Younger took the trophy after hitting top form to triumph in three marathon five-setters - each match lasting well over an hour.

In the Plate first round, he started like a house on fire, crusing to a 2-0 lead over schoolmate Elliott Carr in a match which proved a great advertisment for Northern junior squash. Carr played some superb stuff of his own to level at 2-2, before a determined Younger took control of the fifth, winning it 9-2.

It was master v pupil in the semi-finals as Derek Collins struck first against a junior he has coached for three years - but whom he had never played in a competitive match.

Collins, with some clever cross-court lobs, levelled at 2-2 after Younger had established a 2-1 lead. Both players were killing the ball with aplomb but a punishing pace finally took its toll on the World Over-55 quarter-finalist, as his opponent pushed home 9-5 in the fifth game of an epic encounter.

Second team captain Neil Mason - who had gone down 3-0 to an inspired performance from junior Alex Robertson in the A event first round - was waiting for Younger, having found his form to beat the gifted Bob Aynsley (3-0) and livewire Roland Orton (3-2) in reaching the final.

Mason took first blood with a convincing 9-3 win but Younger, finding his rhythm, won 9-6 in the second before seeing a 7-2 lead whittled away in the third. Mason kept the pressure on to clinch that one 10-8 when all hope had seemed gone, reasserting his one-game lead.

The West Ham fan - having seen his team promoted to the Premier League earlier that afternoon - came close to a double celebration when he had match point in the fourth at 9-9. But it was Younger, defying his blistered feet, who prevailed to take a see-saw game and set up a fifth-game decider.

That too could have gone either way, with Mason proving the equal of his 15-year-old opponent in the speed and stamina stakes - Younger it was who closed it out, though, with a couple of crucial late winners to edge home 9-7, for another marathon win in front of a packed gallery who had enjoyed every minute.

Ladies Plate honours went to Helen Dowson, whose livewire movement proved too much for Judith Furniss. Dowson, who had beaten Michelle Robertson 3-0 in the semis, found her form again to win the final 9-4, 9-0, 9-7 despite a strong late effort from Furniss.

Men's B event glory went to the fast-improving James O'Neil, who beat another of the league's top performers of the season, Vinny Richards.

O'Neill got off to a flyer with a 9-3 win, and even Richards' trademark skid boasts could not put the tattooed Newcastle United fanatic off his stride as he worked his way round the court to double that lead (9-4).

Richards' tactics of deliberately sporting luminous colours to daze his opponent almost paid off in the third as he took an early lead - but O'Neill worked hard to peg him back and eventually clinched it 10-9.

Richards had progressed to the final with wins over Mike Paul (3-1), volley expert Steve Armstrong (3-0) and the fast-improving Sam Birch-Machin (3-1)

Special mention must also go to junior Matty Watling - who produced the shock of the first round to see off No 1 seed, his coach Richard Vitty 3-2 after five games of lung-bursting squash.

In the B Plate final, Mike Paul proved wily enough to see off a strong challenge from Lewis Wake.

Paul - who had beaten Dave North and Richard Vitty 3-0 and 3-1 respectively - won the first two 9-5 and 9-1 before Wake came back strongly to take an epic third game 9-7. The fourth was just as close, and Wake - who had beaten the hard-hitting Duncan Hunter 3-0 in the semis - fought hard to keep the match alive before eventually being edged out 9-7.

Josie Barker - still a few weeks shy of her 13th birthday - took the Ladies B event title with a superb 3-2 win over fellow junior Georgia Webster.

Barker, who had beaten both Anna Watling and Caitlin Vitty 3-0 to reach the final, took the first 9-4 then lost an see-saw second 10-9, with both girls showing great court coverage and determination.

Webster, 13, a winner against Ellie Watling (3-0) and Tegan Younger (3-1) in the earlier rounds, established a 2-1 lead with a 9-4 win in the third, only for her opponent to level at 2-2 with a 9-6 result. It seemed the trophy would go to Webster when she worked into a 6-0 lead in the fifth, but with Barker's retrieval skills to the fore, she stuck well to her task and fought back for an impressive 9-6 victory after a match in which both girls had impressed.

Ellie Watling took the B Plate trophy when her elder sister Anna (already two games down) sadly had to retire after suffering an asthma attack midway through their match.

14-year-old Sam Broughton - who took the award for the league's best performing player 2011/12 - showed how far he has come in recent months with a comfortable win in the C event.

Broughton lived up to his top seed billing with 3-0 wins over David Home and Dave Watson.

His final opponent, Dan North, had saved his best form for the right moment, beating Dave Edwardson 3-2 in the first round, then seeing off Anth Cummings 3-0 in the quarters and Tony Broughton 3-2 in the semis.

North, though, found Broughton Jr in top form in the final - the latter won the first two 9-5, 9-3 before North clinched a close third 9-7. It was a real clash of styles from two of the best of Richard Vitty's junior stable - North's shotmaking skills, though, could not keep the more consistent and hard-running Broughton penned in, as he won the fourth 9-3 to lift the trophy.

C Event plate honours went to the irrepressible Joel Birch-Machin. Edged out 10-9 in the fifth by Roger Tames in the first round of the competition proper, the Birch Machine took it out on Jack Cornell and Wayne Eastaugh without dropping a game, then saw off a very strong challenge from Dave Edwardson 3-1 in the final, with his trademark stunning retrieval (7-9, 9-5, 9-4, 10-9).

Many thanks go to top tournament team Alex Storey, Derek Collins and Richard Vitty (with a large Jim Beam and cream soda for Storey, who was tournament director, didn't you know!).