Newlands Senior Gold treats spectators to pulsating weekend of squash

The Newlands Senior Gold at the Newlands Lawn Tennis and Squash Club in Glasgow showcased some top-drawer squash from some of Scotland’s leading senior and emerging players. The Men’s Division 1 saw close rivals Alasdair Prott from Inverness and Elgin’s Fergus Richards duke it out in a hard-fought final, which top seed Fergus went on to win 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.

Both players were feeling the heat after two gruelling semi-final matches. Fergus was up against fourth seed John Meehan from Glasgow. After a pulsating first game which Fergus won 15-13, John hit back winning 8-11 in the second, only for Fergus to find another gear and win the final games 11-4, 11-8.

In the other semi-final, second seed Alasdair Prott was up against third seed Martin Ross from Inverness. After winning the first two games relatively comfortably (7-11, 4-11), Martin hit back in the third, overcoming his rival 11-5, before Alasdair came back in the final winning 8-11.

Fergus said: “I’m delighted to have won the senior gold. One of my big aims for this year is to make the European team and winning this event takes me one step closer to that goal. Also having played national league for Newlands, it was nice to be able to win the event there. 

I felt good in the lead up to the tournament, the only concern I had was playing back-to-back tough matches as I hadn’t done that since my spell out with Covid. However, I was pleased with how my body held up.

I felt the big stand out for me was my intensity throughout the event, which is what I’ve been working on in training. It was nice to feel the hard work paid off.

The match with Al was good. He is a very good player and has many ways to hurt his opponent, so to get it done in three was a massive thing for me. I was really pleased with my quality into the back and felt I didn’t give him much to attack. Also my concentration to stay focused on the task for the whole match and close it out was a massive plus for me.”

Alasdair said: “It was good to compete at the Newlands Senior Gold. It’s a lovely club and has been done up since I was last there which is nice!

I felt like I was playing well until the last couple games of my semi-final and the final. I was happy with my movement and positioning on the ball when I was playing well, however made a few too many mistakes when I wasn’t playing as well.

Fergus was playing well and didn’t give me anything in the front or middle of the court, which made it hard to win points. This caused me to force opportunities when they weren’t on, making me hit the tin too often. Next for me is the next senior gold event at Bridge of Allen!”

Other notable games across the draw included Kyle Penman’s epic five game first round win against Albeer Mehmood in the opening round. After Kyle steamed ahead 11-9, 11-3, Albeer found his form taking the next two games 7-11, 6-11 to square the match. But credit to Kyle, his head didn’t drop. He managed to wrestle back momentum in the fifth, winning 11-8 and booking his place in the quarters, where we was finally beaten by Fergus Richards 11-0, 12-10, 11-4.

Third seed Martin Ross and fourth seed John Meehan both had solid runs to the semi-finals. Martin beat Finlay Halton 11-3,11-7,11-3 in round one, James Taylor 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 in the quarters, before narrowly losing to Alasdair Prott in a classic semi-final match.

Meanwhile, John Meehan beat Scott Hay 3-0 comfortably in the opener (3-11, 4-11, 4-11) and Andrew Glen 5-11,7-11, 6-11 in the quarters, before being beaten by the eventual winner in the semi-finals.

Men’s division 1 standings. For a full list of results see here

  1. Fergus Richards
  2. Alasdair Prott
  3. John Meehan
  4. Martin Ross
  5. James Taylor
  6. Kyle Penman
  7. Matt Bedwell
  8. Andrew Glen
  9. Tino Mackay Palacios
  10. Rory Richmond
  11. Albeer Mehmood
  12. Fraser Steven
  13. Finlay Halton
  14. Scott Hay
  15. Oliver Hunter

Meanwhile in the Men’s Division 2, spectators were treated to some of the tournament’s most exhilarating matches. Sandy Niven overcame Joseph Ewen 13-11, 5-11, 11-6, 20-22, 11-5 to win the final, in what was probably the match of the tournament. It was a gripping see-saw affair, with Sandy taking the first, third and final games. Joseph showed incredible grit to win the fourth 20-22 to draw the match level but couldn’t quite maintain his energy in the final game. It was a classic final.

On the way to final, Sandy also secured a great 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-14, 7-11 win over number one seed Jesse Mills in the semi-final, another five-game thriller, as well as beating Andy McCally in a four-game nail biter 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 in the quarters. Winning two five game matches back-to-back is testament to Sandy’s stamina and will to win.

Sandy said: “I really enjoyed playing at Newlands. I used to train there with the West regional squad, so I know the courts pretty well. The standard was really high so it was a tough weekend.

The games in the semi final and final against Jesse and Joe were really close which I was pleased to win. They’re both really tough players.

Against Joe I had match balls in the fourth so when I went to a fifth I was focused on going for my shots and making him work for any point. Next up is nationals which will be my last junior tournament.”

Joseph’s run to the final was no easy affair either. After a first round Bye, he beat Ammar Alakrat 9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 5-11 in round two, followed by Andrew Turnbull in the quarters 11-13, 8-11, 9-11, before a double five game marathon in the semi-final and final against Andrew Roberts (8-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 3-11) and Sandy Niven (13-11, 5-11, 11-6, 20-22, 11-5) respectively. It was exhausting and thrilling to watch in equal measure.

Joseph Ewen said: “It was great to see the return of a senior platinum event after a long layoff due to the pandemic. Newlands itself has been refurbished since the last event and looked amazing. The standard of squash across the whole weekend was incredible, with some tight matches across all the divisions and a few upsets. Matt Bedwell and Kevin Moran did a great job in pulling the event together and I’m looking forward to the return of similar events in the future.

 Going into the tournament I had made some steady improvements and was looking forward to the pressure of being a higher seed, albeit in Division 2. My opening games were tough against Ammar and Andrew Turnbull, but I just about managed to scrape through despite valiant performances from both.

 My semi-final against Andrew Roberts was a real battle that could have gone either way. Andrew had beat me previously and despite the match being very close, it was great to find a way to win. Andrew is a far superior player technically and I was just about able to grind him down physically to make the final.

 I enjoyed playing Sandy in the final. He was significantly more patient that I had seen him previously and used his speed to deter from going short too often with some phenomenal countering. Despite a marathon fourth game (it was 22-20 in my favour) and feeling strong physically, Sandy was too good in the fifth and closed it out convincingly.

 This event has been great for me to measure my recent progress and given me a platform to push on from. With the Bridge of Allan Gold Event just a few weeks away, and an event down south at Edgbaston in April, I am looking forward to continuing my development.”

Across the draw, highlights included a great round one win for Robert J Phillips who beat Ibon Rodriguez 11-7, 11-2, 10-12, 4-11, 9-11 in the opening game of the tournament. Andrew Roberts’ back-to-back five game matches were also a joy to watch, including his quarter final 9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 3-11, 11-13 win against the number three seed Ben Ramasubbu and his epic 8-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 3-11 semi-final defeat at the hands of the number two seed and finalist Joseph Ewen.

Men’s Division 2 standings. Full list of results see here

  1. Sandy Niven
  2. Joseph Ewen
  3. Jess Mills
  4. Andrew Roberts
  5. Ben Ramasubbu
  6. Rob Clarke
  7. BYE
  8. BYE
  9. Scott Weir
  10. Robert J Phillips
  11. David Morrison
  12. Andrew Torbet
  13. Ammar Alakrat
  14. Paul Wynne
  15. James Newman
  16. BYE
  17. Archie Ross
  18. Ibon Rodriguez
  19. 19.Mark Sherrit
  20. Alex Yovanovitch
  21. 21-30 BYE

In the senior women’s draw, the long-standing rivalry between the number one seed Robyn McAlpine and number two seed Anna Halliday resumed. After Anna’s great win against Robyn in the final of the Junior Gold in Aberdeen last month, she was full of confidence going into the Senior Gold, but this time Robyn had the answer.

The final game between the two was one to savour, a five-game classic that stretched both players all the way. Having won the first two games, Anna was well on her way to another title when Robyn fought back in the third game which finished 14-12. This seemed to rock Anna who was not quite able to find her form again, losing the final two games 11-6-11-5.

Stamina was also a factor, with Anna putting so much into her second game with third seed Catherine Holland on court 3, another five-game thriller. Anna had to fight back from 2-0 down to finally pull through 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-4. It was an exhausting match and a carbon copy of her game with Robyn, though in reverse. Such is the game of squash, mentally and physically challenging in equal measure.

Robyn said: “I enjoy playing at Newlands, it’s a great club with nice courts. Playing the senior events is great as I know I’m going to get hard games. I’ve been working closely with Martin Woods my coach on improving areas of my game.

 I was happy with my movement this weekend as I knew I had to improve this from my last match with Anna. I did well to come back against Anna who’s playing well at the moment. I just had to keep fighting, stay calm and focused on the basics.

It’s my first year in the u17s and I’m looking forward to my first shot at winning the girls u17 at the nationals next weekend and then there is another senior gold at Bridge of Allan. Hopefully after these events I’ll get picked to represent Scotland at the upcoming Europeans.”

Catherine Holland had a tough tournament, but with some stellar squash along the way. She beat Lindsay Ackers 14-12, 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-2 in a great battle that could have gone either way. After an epic 14-12 opening game, Lindsay came back strongly in the second, only for Catherine to come back again in the third. Lindsay managed tie the match in the fourth before losing the final game.

Women’s results. Full details here

  1. Robyn McAlpine
  2. Anna Halliday
  3. Catherine Holland
  4. Lindsay Ackers

Next up is the much-anticipated BOASC Senior Gold at the Bridge of Allan Sports Club in Stirlingshire between the 19th and 20th March. For more information including entry requirements and player draw, please visit here