Shetland v Orkney ’A’ County 05-06
Orkney ‘A’ team travelled to Shetland last weekend to compete the annual Inter County match. Many thanks to The Glass Shop, Kirkwall who sponsored the Orkney team for the event. With Orkney not having won the trophy for twenty years and some very heavy defeats over the last six years, they were going to have to play exceptionally well to take something from the match.
First on court for Orkney were Christine West and Elspeth MacLennan playing at third ladies. After a close first set which the Orkney pair won they found their rhythm better in the second set winning it comfortably 15-2 to give Orkney an early lead. Richard Bailley and Calvin Reid narrowly lost a close first set at third mens before finding more consistency in their play by winning the second set comfortably. They continued their good form and proceeded to win in three sets giving Orkney a 2-0 lead.
Shetland are a very formidable outfit and hit back strongly in the second pairings. Shetland’s Annette Gear returning after many years out of the game showed she hadn’t lost any of her ability and determination as she and partner Sarah Grogan got the better of Orkney’s Lynn Cursiter and Cath Bremner, winning in two sets. Best performance of the evening must surely go to Shetland’s formidable pairing of Graham and Gordon Keith at second mens as they produced a vintage performance of mens doubles in defeating Orkney’s mens doubles champions of Eoin Ballantine and Ross Groundwater. The Shetland pair dominated from start to finish, never letting their opponents find any rhythm, a masterclass in positional play, shot choice and applying unrelenting pressure that had to be admired. At first ladies Moira Nicolson and Elaine Gray produced an excellent performance against the very strong pairing of Anne Wood and Zoe Anderson. The Shetland pair not having things their own way as they won in two close sets. Trevor Kinghorn and Stuart Slater faced a difficult task at first mens against Colin Grant and Jason Jamieson.
After struggling to find their form in the first set the Orkney pair managed to hold their own in the second set until tied at 14-all. Bravely, Trevor chose to play straight through to 15 rather than play the usual choice of first to three. This meant they immediately faced match point against them, however Shetland served to high and Trevor played a decisive winning return. With the serve back in their favour Orkney found the winning point to win the second set. There was to be no fairytale ending though as the exertions of the second set seem to have more effect on the Orkney pairing as they struggled to maintain the high level of play in the third set with Shetland running out winners. Scoreline after the doubles was 4-2 in Shetland’s favour.
Due to team formation Orkney’s fifth mixed pairing of Elaine Gray and Calvin Reid were the first mixed doubles match on with the Orkney pair comfortably winning the first set 15-4. The second set went horribly for the Orkney pair as they lost the first eight points in quick succession, they tried to find form but the set slipped away. The final set saw Elaine and Calvin, playing against May Wiseman and Kevin Robertson dig in deep and re-discovered their first set form. After determined play they won the third set 15-7. Fourth mixed saw Elspeth MacLellan and Ross Groundwater play well to win the first set 15-8 against Sarah Grogan and Graham Keith. Shetland hit back in the second set winning 15-5. The third set was close with the Shetland pair always just having their noses in front, they eventually gained a 14-8 advantage. Credit here to Elspeth and Ross for not giving in and fought back well to go 14-12 down. Shetland regained the serve and won an entertaining and close match. The third mixed match was the most exciting of the evening with some tremendous play from both sets of players. Christine West and Eoin Ballantine played the very experienced Annette Gear and Gordon Keith. A thrilling tie-break in the first set saw the Orkney pair snatch the set winning 17-16. The Orkney pair gained a lead of 9-4 in the second set and looked to be on the way to victory but as we’ve seen in the past you can never discount a ‘Keith’ until the match is over. The Shetland pair were never going to lie down and fought back well to win the second set 15-10. The third set saw some amazing rallies with all four players working their socks off.
Eventually Shetland gained match point at 14-11. An amazing long rally was then witnessed as Orkney returned about 6 shots that looked like winners before Shetland eventually claimed the match 15-11.
Moira Nicolson and Trevor Kinghorn played a well controlled game at sixth mixed as they overcame Angelina Jamieson and Brett Haining in two sets, winning the second set 15-0. Cath Bremner and Richard Bailley found things difficult against the very strong Zoe Anderson and Jason Jamieson at second mixed. The Orkney pair tried hard but went down in two sets whilst Lynn Cursiter and Stuart Slater overcame a difficult first set to play better in the second set against Anne Wood and Colin Grant. The Shetland pair went on to win in two sets.
Overall, an 8-4 victory for Shetland but a much better performance from Orkney than in previous years. With Shetland winning the two closest games of the evening at third and fourth mixed Orkney were not far away from drawing the match 6-all which would have been a tremendous result and leaves Orkney with optimism for next years match played at home.
Many thanks to the Orkney coaches/selectors, the Shetland players, the Clickimin Centre, spectators and everyone who helped.