Sidmouth 3 (16 pts) , D & E 8ths 2 (7pts ).

Dukes-sponsored Sidmouth Squash club continued their winning run with a narrow victory over newly-promoted Devon & Exeter Squash Club 8ths, in the process moving up the league to second place, writes Rob Cann.

Paul Clare recovered from an opening game defeat to win his rubber with Welsh Veteran International David Hughes. David’s efforts in the opening game win were clear to see and Paul raced through the remaining games to record a 13-15, 15-11, 15-9, 15-7 win.

Despite a drop in the playing order, fourth string Paul Symington struggled in the early stages with opponent Andy Bastone. Andy dominated the "T" and set the pace of the match. Paul got a foothold in the game by winning the third. Moving much better and increasing the ball pace the match looked to be going Paul's way when he won the fourth, however, he played to Andy's strengths in the deciding game to gift the visitor the rubber 15-11, 15-9, 9-15, 8-15, 15-7.

Despite a heavy head cold, Dave Maskill dominated his rubber with fellow third string Jerry Bastone. Dave dictated the majority of rallies as the 15-10, 15-13, 15-9 suggests.

D & E levelled the match again when visiting second string Nick Steer defeated home player Nigel Desousa 15-7, 18-16, 15-9. Nigel’s chances of winning disappeared when he lost a close second game from a winning position.

The match was decided in a thrilling 60 minute top string rubber between Sidmouth Chris Woodruff and visitor Chris Key. With both players well over 6 ft, there was little room on court to find gaps and both players, wherever possible, moved forward, taking the ball early. This set up some exhilarating rallies that entertained the packed sports centre balcony. Despite losing the opening game, Chris had the game to win and proved this by taking the final three games to win 13-15,15-8, 16-14,15-11.

The team’s next fixture is a home tie to the unpredictable Exeter University. students.