Aldenham Fives Annual report 2014/15
22 May 2015
The Aldenham Fives Club had another busy and successful year with a ladder competition run every six weeks whilst the highlight of our season was victory in the EFA Trophy.EFA Trophy Final Aldenhamians 2 Salopians 1The Salopians have been the dominant force in this competition for the last couple of years and were heavy favourites to win again. But the match was much closer than anyone could have predicted!In the second pair the Salopians recovered superbly from the loss of the first game to beat Andrew Rennie and James Cobb 3-1. First blood to the Old Salopians. The Aldenham third pair of Graham Pulsford and Darshan Patel offered a similar blend of youth and experience and having been the Aldenham banker pair in the semi-final they managed to reproduce the same magic to see off the Salopian pair in four games. With the match poised at 1-1, all came down to the first pair match, which was incredibly tight and fiercely contested right from the start. Carl Rennie & Tommy Welt made the brighter start, winning the first game to 6, but a strong fight back and the Salopians took the next two games to 9 and 6 to go 2-1 ahead. The Aldenham pair had it all to do at this point and it is greatly to their credit that they kept fighting and began to turn the tide in the fourth game, always keeping their noses ahead to take it 12-10 and force a deciding fifth game. At this stage, one pair each and the decider at 2 games apiece, the weather went temporarily apocalyptic - a sudden deluge even forcing a change of court due to rain coming in – and the drama on court just kept on coming. The fives was of a very high standard with the fast reflexes and volleying of Tommy and the precision and coolness under pressure of Carl ‘the Elder’ produced some scintillating rallies. In the end, the Aldenham pair - as in the fourth - got ahead and then just about managed to stay there, moving quickly from 9-7 to 12-7 to clinch the EFA Trophy.Veterans Trophy In the Veterans we have players in two national winning pairs – in the over 50s Richard Dennis and Graham Pulsford and in the over 60s sections Joseph Seelig.Ladder and Other Fixtures The ladder is played every six weeks and is particularly popular with four courts regularly filled. Each winner is awarded the Phil Marsh Trophy which they retain until the next ladder competition. With fixtures against the Brigands, Westminster, North Oxford, Eton and the Jesters, there was plenty to keep Aldenham’s players busy.“Our enthusiastic players will continue to turn out every Tuesday evening over the summer. Players from other clubs are very welcome to join us,” says club secretary Phil Lyndon.