Southsea hosted Handcross for a Div 3 (East) match on Thursday 12 July.

Southsea’s triples were Peter/Andy/Colin who faced Jane/Nigel/Mike, and Matt/Trevor/David who faced Maria/Gerard/Bill.   Pete/Andy/Col raced into an 8-0 lead with some great shooting and pointing.  They then edged up to twelve however during that section allowed Handcross a ‘big end’ to come back into the game.  In the end it was a Handcross win to 12 as Southsea couldn’t quite close it out.   Over on the other terrain though Matt/Trevor/David had a much easier time of it, winning quickly to 2. Well done David on his first league victory.

So although it could easily have been 2-0 going into the doubles it was 1-1 and all to play for………..

Doubles were Peter/Andy vs Mike/Bill, Matt/Dawn vs Maria/Gerard, and Trev/Brian vs Nigel/Jane.  Peter/Andy stayed ahead most of their game with Mike/Bill finding it difficult to adjust to the terrain, ending up 13-7 winners.  Matt/Dawn struggled in a game they could have won and lost 13-7.  That left the full weight on the shoulders of Trevor/Brian playing the Handcross top pairing.  Trev/Bri had took an early lead, and although Nigel/Jane came back at them a bit, the Southsea pairing kept their nose in front and closed the game out for a 13-9 victory.

In the end a great finish, but overall slightly disappointing as I think with a little luck we could have utilised our home advantage to give a 5-0 win.  However a win is a win (and a bonus point), especially given it was a tussle for the top.  Well done Southsea, especially Trevor/Brian for a fine doubles win.

Southsea 3 – Handcross 2
Southsea now top of the Div 3 (East) league table.