Alba Storm thunder to top of Premier Squash League after clean-sweep win
Alba Storm thundered to the top of the Premier Squash League with a resounding 4-0 victory over the Birmingham Lions at Newlands on Tuesday night.
And Scotland’s sole representatives in the UK’s top-flight squash league now lead the pack with just two fixtures left to play.
There was some bad news for the home side before the match got underway, as Georgia Adderley was forced out of the line-up due to injury.
Australian squash ace Donna Lobban answered the call and took to the court in her place.
The Scots got off to a great start with Alison Thomson earning a 3-0 win over Megan van Drongelen.
Rory Stewart was up next, and he clinched a 3-0 win against Will Salter, including a tense 11-10 win in the final game.
Donna Lobban secured the victory with a 3-1 win over Kiera Marshall and was followed by husband Greg who won the game of the night 3-1 against Mostafa El Sirty.
Three of the four games went to a deciding point adding maximum drama, and maximum joy for the triumphant Scots.
Reflecting on his match, Greg Lobban said: “I knew it was going to be a tight match with our world rankings being so close together.
“I watched and was inspired by the rest of the team winning and I think that spurred me on to win it.
“It was great to have such a good support there, and I’m really happy that squash is being supported like that in Scotland.”
Team Coach Paul Bell said: “It was really good to get the result, I kind of expected us to get the win on paper but the PSL throws up some interesting results, so it was great to get the win.
“Playing in the PSL ticks a lot of boxes for us in that it gives our top players competitive matches and gives lots of development opportunities.
“We’ve got to the top of the league and put ourselves in the mix by getting big results and putting in big performances, and that shows that our players can mix it with the best.”
The near sell-out crowd at Newlands Lawn Tennis Club got behind Alba Storm from the beginning, and they clapped, cheered and roared for every game and match won.
With four wins from four plus two bonus points, The Storm secured a maximum 14 points, taking them six points clear at the summit.
The Premier Squash League has been won by an English team every year since its formation in 2006.
The Scots players know that they have the chance to make history, with two matches standing between them and potential glory.
Greg Lobban said: “We’re making a real effort in putting out a strong team every week.
“We’ve definitely got a couple of tough matches ahead, but it would be really nice if we could win it.
“I personally haven’t won it in my career when I’ve played for a few clubs in England, so to win it with Scotland’s team would be pretty sweet.”
Next up for Alba Storm, it’s a trip to London to face RAC before the last fixture of the season at Newlands against Crawley on the 18th April.
Tickets are on sale for that match on Eventbrite now.
