​Last game of the season saw Bridgend C team playing at home, against Cardiff E, on 4th May 2023.The last minute withdrawal of a Cardiff player, (Covid), saw a Walk Over (WO) for us at number 5.Crispen took a 3-0 win easily over a bewildered opponent, with signs of Crispen then pining for his usual 5 setter game when his match ended sooner than he perhaps wanted it to.
Chris Beale had a tough battle, but sustained a 1-3 loss against his Cardiffian opponent. As always, Chris gives his all, and then some.
Our regular number 1 stalwart (Paul Miles) had a battle on his hands, this time against a fast, lithe and wiry opponent, who looked as though he had overdone intermittent fasting. However, this proved a battle too far and Paul sustained a loss at 0-3. Also notable was that Paul had played for the B team the evening before and so additional stamina was needed and demonstrated throughout.
Because of our ‘Walk Over’ and with Crispen winning his game, this left Zac who needed to seal his win and secure us a (rare) victory, if nothing but for C team pride. Unfortunately, whilst Zac played some of his best squash witnessed in a long-time, he had to pull out with an injured ankle in the 4th game, resulting in his game finishing as a 2-3 loss.
Fortunately, I was able to lend Zac my crutches (from a previous and ongoing injury against Cardiff Medics!). This enabled him to successfully hobble his way to the bar post match. Wishing Zac a speedy recovery and all the best for his soon to be (we think) move to Rhiwbina.
Final overall C team match result was a 2-3 (narrow) loss (ten points to 14).
Unlike our amazing A’s and blistering B’s, the C’s have, unfortunateley, not done so well this season.
A bottom of the league position will now seal our fate for the next season. All players however gave
100% and cannot be faulted for their gutsy determination and grit.
Note the team did win one of their games! (whilst also accumulating a total of five ‘close’ 2-3 losses).We also found ourselves, whilst initially expecting to be playing in a lower tiered division, actually playing in a higher division. This was due to the sudden and unexpected withdrawal of one of the teams.
All 3 Bridgend teams suffered various injuries throughout the season. The C team suffering a raft of mainly calf and ankle injuries, proving the high level of physical demands when playing team squash.
In fact, 3 matches this season involved the withdrawal of certain C team players whilst playing in
their games due to their injuries.
New emerging and keen players were brought in at opportune and occasional moments during the season. Appearances from Steve Davies (non trucker), Mike Walsh, Eliza Hales (junior) and Stan Hawrylak adding to the mix and provided these players a great taste of the experience and demands of team squash.
The C team may be regarded, by some perhaps, as an ‘experimental’ side, developing new players etc., However, the ethos to be selected to play in the first place, revolves around that a potential player must be considered to be able to at least ‘hold his or her own’ against their potential opponent. Any player selected to play, even for a single appearance, should therefore feel proud that a certain level of achievement has at least been attained.
Well done to all players and a mention to our junior player, Eliza Hales, who played 2 away games for the C team this season, securing a 3-1 game win and a narrow 2-3 game loss.

Note that the B team may sometimes need to ‘borrow’ a player or players from the C team when
short themselves. C team players who helped the B team this season included Paul Miles (4
appearances), Chris Chappell (1) and Ben Andrianiko (4). This affects team selection of course, but whilst this can prove awkward for Captains as they juggle their players, it is par for the course due to order of team priority. Well done for those players stepping up to the mark. Thanks also to Graham Bastion for stepping in for the C team this season, (2), no mean feat at 69yrs of age.
Thanks also goes to Linda (Mikes Phillips Mum) who provided the superb home cooked food and at an affordable cost.
Final Thank you to Jana and bar staff for looking after us all during the team evenings.
Author: Gareth Jones (presently incumbent team Captain, Bridgend C).

​Bridgend A travelled to Aberdare last night to take on Hirwaun in a title decider!
Bridgend took a six point league lead at the top of the table with them but secured promotion with a hard fought 3-2 win away from home.
Dai Howe and Rhys Prosser got the ball rolling with 3-0 wins. Dai Thomas closed out the win, returning from injury in style with a 3-1 win to clinch the match and seal promotion back into the Premier League 2 Division for next season.
As always, huge thanks to the club members who have supported the team all year.

​The last B team fixture before the Easter break was against our near neighbours, Cowbridge C. Comfortable wins at 4 and 5 for Chris Hampton and Mike Phillips gave us early hope but that was dashed as Phil Pook, Richard Barrett and Daf Watkins all lost 3-1. Special mention must go to Mike Phillips for tolerating very dubious behaviour when refereeing the last match of the evening. Thankfully tempers settled and we had an enjoyable session afterwards with the usual excellent food courtesy of Mike’s mum.

A narrow 3-2 win for Bridgend A v St Mellons at home on Thursday saw the Bulldogs maintain their push for promotion. At 1 & 2 St Mellons fielded the two best players in the league and they were in dominant form, showing their class. Rhys Prosser did exceptionally well against Welsh legend and former World No.3, David Evans. Dai Howe battled hard but was out played by Ricky Davies who was a step ahead all night. Stuart Bevan got Bridgend off to a winning start and set the tone for Harri Pugh and Neale Jones to close out the victory. A packed balcony cheered the players on and created a super atmosphere. Well done all Bridgend players and supporters!!

​A very late start to the match due to the Cardiff team getting lost for half hour along the 20 miles between us - For future reference, browse to https://goo.gl/maps/EiZXWcKzVBUVDeVP7 and click directions, simples :-)
1st to arrive was the Cardiff #1 which caused all sorts of angst to Phil Pook when it dawned that he would have to go on first and miss out on his usual 45 minute pre-game stretch protocol. Despite this setback, Pooky put in a sterling performance to overpower his opponent 3-1.


Next up was Mike Phillips. Mike was a bit off colour, like a kebab the morning after a night out, and went down 15-10 in each game. Unlike a kebab, that's good consistency at least!


Chris Hampton made the most of poor decisions from his city slicker opponent who opted for "1" when at 14-all. Not once, but twice! Another win for Bridgend Bs, leaving us needing 1 win from the remaining 2 matches to take the match.
 

The good doctor Richard didn't fare so well this time, going down 3-0 in a slug fest. Too much golf me thinks.


Match 3 was an epic. Forget Liverpool v AC Milan in 2005, France v All Blacks in 1999, the Medina Ryder Cup in 2012 or the Patriots in the 2017 Superbowl - Daf Watkins' 5th game comeback eclipses them all. He cruised to a 2-0 lead, but then Cardiff finally found their wheels and got back into the game clawing it back to 2-2. Daf then proceeded to chill for a bit only waking up to find himself 8-14 down, facing 7 match balls. Having retrieved his cojones, he got it back to 14-all before how opponent called "1". The incredulous balcony gasped in anticipation of what could be the comebacks of all comebacks. Surely Cardiff weren't about to make the same mistake for the 3rd time this evening?! A tight long rally ensued but the Cardiff lad was being played with like an injured wilderbeast on the great savannah. He made a last ditch attempt at a winner but hit the tin in desperation. Bridgend were gracious winners though, he wasn't reminded that he had 7 match balls to win the whole match for Cardiff at all in the bar afterwards.


Well played all, another Great win for the Bs! Thanks to Alex for working on to accommodate our late start.

​Super Saturday Squash this morning with seven junior squash players working hard on the court. Great start to the weekend!!!!! If anyone is interested in joining junior squash at Bridgend, please email Head coach Dai Howe on [email protected]