Squash: Chichester beat Exeter to stay in play-off hunt

First on court for fourth-placed Chichester was Lauren Briggs, who played Rhianne O’Donnell. Briggs found a better length on a cold court and used her short game to great effect to win 3-0 in 14 minutes.

Chichester’s Robbie Temple defeated Luke Bishop 3-0. Bishop retrieved well but Temple’s all-court game of holds, flicks and general deception caught out the Exeter man on numerous occasions.

Sanjay Singh played Robbie Keefe, who was making his debut for Exeter. Keefe gave a good account of himself and was rewarded with a second-game win.

Singh swiftly regained control and with clean hitting and accurate touches to the front, he took a 3-1 victory.

The second-string match between Rex Hedrick and Exeter’s James Snell saw Hedrick’s retrieving cause Snell a lot of problems. Snell showed signs of fatigue towards the end of the rallies which allowed Hedrick to pick up the points and win 3-0.

At four up, Chichester ended with Adrian Waller facing Exeter’s Tim Vail.

Vail got off to a great start, playing with fantastic touches coupled with discussions with the referee which distracted Waller and upset his concentration. Vail won the first 11-9.

The Exeter player continued in the same vein in the second but Waller held his nerve to take the game 12-10. Waller’s confidence continued to grow as he took the pace beyondVail’s comfort zone to wrap up the third game and forge a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth Vail began to tire but was was still in the match, although he was increasingly doing more work to remain so. Waller forged ahead to take the match 3-1 and give Chichester a 5-0.

The penultimate match away to St George’s Hill will be crucial. A good win is needed but, until March 9, when round nine takes place, everything is wide open.