Surbiton beat Bristol to win the AC Inter-Club Championship 5-1
[<<] [>>] by Stephen Mulliner
at Surbiton
3rd October 2021
(AC - Inter-Club)
Surbiton and Bristol contested the final in surprisingly good conditions given the inundation of the previous afternoon and evening which had forced the cancellation of the Mary Rose final.
Bristol made a good start in the doubles when Richard Smith hit on turn 4 and went to 4-back, conceding contact. Stephen Mulliner laid up near hoop 1 and, after David Goacher cornered, completed a TPO. Goacher did not progress and Samir Patel completed a tidy 3-ball break to give Surbiton an early lead.
Mulliner wasted no time in the top singles with a +26tp defeat of Goacher while Phil Eardley made the score 3-0 to Surbiton by beating Dave Kibble +22. Ed Duckworth kept Bristol's hopes alive by winning a close encounter with Alison Maugham +6.
Before lunch, Patel went to 4-back against Smith with POPs to 2 and 3. Smith hit the lift (they were playing ordinary advanced) and got going with the hoop 2 ball. His progress to 4-back seemed so inevitable that Patel decided to have lunch and ready himself for the lift shot. But Smith unfortunately cross-wired himself at 2-back and Patel, now refuelled, made no mistake with a 9 yard lift and finished +17tp to seal Surbiton's sixth successive victory since 2016.
Maugham beat Kibble +17 to give a final score of 5-1 to Surbiton with the Eardley/Duckworth game not played.
Jeff Dawson, a CA Vice-President, made the presentation of the magnificent Beddow Cup to the home side, paying tribute to Surbiton's catering and court preparation which enabled them to recover so quickly from the torrential rain of the previous day.
SN Mulliner & SR Patel beat DJ Goacher & RM Smith +13 tpo (M)
Mulliner beat Goacher +26 tp
Patel beat Smith +17 tp
P Eardley beat DJ Kibble +22
A Maugham lost to E Duckworth -6
Maugham beat Kibble +17