Munster Masters Over 35s and Over 40s 2016
AYERST & MOORE THE HEROES IN MUNSTER MASTERS OPEN IN ENNIS
Last weekend, Ennis CBS Squash Club once again hosted the elite of Ireland for the O-35 and O-40 Munster Open. There was huge interest among the local members with no fewer than four CBS players entering the fray. Needless to say, the standard of squash was marvellous with standing room only for the closing stages of each competition.
Newmarket man, Declan Devitt took on Waterford’s Kevin Knox in the O-35 section. With his opponent fresh from Celtic’s Munster League triumph, Devitt had a mammoth task. The second game was very well-contested before Knox edged it 11-9. Devitt continued to test Knox in the third but it proved unsuccessful in the end.
In the O-40’s, Clarecastle’s Fergie O’Loughlin faced the number one seed David Ayerst from Belfast. O’Loughlin took time to settle, finding himself 0-6 down early on, before a spirited revival brought him right into contention at 7-9. Ayerst then underlined his experience with a cool finish to 11-9. O’Loughlin continued to play positively and took a 6-2 lead before Ayerst surged back for another agonizingly close 11-9 game win. The same pattern was followed in the last game with O’Loughlin pipped by some ruthless kills by the Ulsterman.
Also in the O-40 section, the CBS’ own Clive Morgan had a tough battle with Dara O’Flynn. Morgan took control at 5-5 in the first to take an 11-8 win. O’Flynn maintained excellent consistency to comfortably take the second and weather a tough challenge from Morgan in the third. The frenetic pace continued in the last with O’Flynn just having too much on the night for a 3-1 win.
On Saturday morning, the re-drawn fixtures threw up an intriguing contest for local bragging rights between Morgan & O’Loughlin. In a terrific encounter, both players showed an extensive armoury of shots with lengthy rallies the order of the day. Morgan managed to take all three games by razor-thin margins. Declan Devitt had his second match against Northerner Joe McGoldrick. McGoldrick raced to a 7-2 lead but Devitt dug in to get right back to 7-9 before being edged out somewhat unluckily. McGoldrick was comfortable in taking the second game and had a material lead in the third before Devitt began to really fire up his standard and take six of the next seven points to force a tiebreak.
Unfortunately, he was just edged out and McGoldrick took the match. In their last matches, Clive Morgan was beaten 3-1 by Ciaran McCoy as was Fergie O’Loughlin by David Cassidy. With Declan Devitt injured, Ennis CBS club member Declan Downey stepped into the breach with a first-rate performance against John Nolan. Nolan narrowly took the first two games before Downey’s technical ability shone through to take the third. Nolan went on to close out the match 3-1 but like all the other local CBS entrants, Downey can be well-pleased with a very credible performance.
In the overall context of the competitions, the semi-finals had some top-drawer squash. David Ayerst and Dara O’Flynn in the O-40’s served up tremendous rallies with an array of tactical variations. The first game went point-for-point until Ayerst made a winning burst from 8-8 to the finish. Another close game went to Ayerst in the second before a relatively comfortable finish in the third saw him through to yet another final. In the other semi, Cork’s John Hurley was seeking to set up a repeat of last year’s O-40 final with The Curragh’s Neal Murphy standing in his way. Murphy was playing with energy and precision and took the first two games. Hurley responded superbly to take a tiebreak win to bring it to the fourth game. The result went Murphy’s way with a more consistent performance just proving too much for Hurley in the end.
In the O-35’s, Keith Moran and Kevin Moore won through to the final. Moran took the first in a 12-10 tiebreak after some fantastic drop-shot duels at the front. With Moran striding away to a 2-0 lead with a clinical 11-3 win, it looked ominous for Moore. However, he kept his composure and fought very hard to take an 11-7 game before a resultant surge in confidence helped him to repeat the dose in the fourth to bring it to a fifth and final game. With his opponent in bullish mood, Moran suddenly found himself in an impossible situation as Moore reeled off winner after winner to lead 8-2. Moran desperately tried to reel his opponent back in but to no avail and Kevin Moore completed a gutsy 3-2 championship winning comeback.
The O-40’s Final pitted the familiar figure of David Ayerst against Neal Murphy. Ayerst’s crisp finishing was instrumental in an 11-8 opening win before another bright start gave him a comfortable 11-4 second game. Murphy was competing fiercely and the final game was much tighter. With Ayerst 8-6 up, Murphy pulled out some cracking winners to get within striking distance of the game. . . but in typical fashion, David Ayerst’s irresistible finishing ‘kick’ proved decisive on an 11-9 score. It was his third successive Munster Masters Open win at the Ennis CBS courts. It was a brilliant weekend for all concerned at the New Road venue and kudos also to tournament director, Clive Morgan, for a slickly-run event.