Well, match reports are a bit thin on the ground this season, but PL's visit to Dulwich last night couldn't be allowed to pass off without comment.

Normally, the PL team go to Dulwich with much fear and trepidation, usually exiting with their tails between their legs clutching a 0-5 doughnutting (not donut - we are English remember). Not so last night.

Both team were in a somewhat weakened state. TG was busy organising a golf day just down the road, but his post was very ably filled by Jason. PL has 5 (count 'em) of their 8 man squad otherwise indisposed.

Anyway, down to business.

First up Hughes v Lennox.
This was a battle roal to set the scene for the rest of the evening. Nip and tuck with the match swinging first one way then the other. Coming to the end of the 4th Mark found himself 2-1 and a lot of point down. Not to be outdone though he scrapped his way back in in typical fashion, managing to also see out the 5th desipte going 4 poits down at the start. A battling performance.

Next door, Taylor v Bennett.
Michael came into this one as one of three PL subs with an enviable record at the top of the PL 2nd team. Sadly, this did him no good whatsoever as Paul proceeded to belie his lowly ranking with an imperious display of tight squash that never gave Mike a chance. All over in double quick time unlike the rest of the evening.

Next Browsden v London snr.
After a tight scrap in the first half, that the author knicked, Will was out for revenge. Aided and abetted by the usual flurry of mistakes from the author's racket, a 6-2 lead in the first was promptly lost as Will got into his stride. The 2nd reversed the scroeline, and the author got 8-5 up in the 3rd only to collapse again 8-10. The 4th continued the decline as Will went 7-2 up. Cue the recovery. Suddenly the shots (though not great it has to be said) were staying up, and the deficit was reversed to win it 9-7. All square and suddenly Will switched off completely. The author cruised through to take the 5th and set up an impossible dream. A potential win at Dulwich!

And so to the pros. Barry v Pett.
PL sub (and what a sub) Olly was favourite (in the PL camp) to take this one. The first two were very tight with Olly coming back at the end of game one to sneak it and Jason returning the complement in the second. After this point, the wheels seem to have come off the Pett bandwagon however, and Jason took advantage of an ailing Olly to see out the 3rd and 4th pretty comfortably.

So, PL's banker had lost and the match now all square. Over on the other court meanwhile Shapiro v Grey.
Simon was the final PL sub of the night, and had one of his best ever nights in a PL shirt. Another really tight match with honours being exactly even throughout the first four games. Massive amounts of earnest endeavour, and as Olly wilted next door the crowds flocked (ok there weren't that many, but a fairly full gallery nonetheless) over to watch Steve and Simon's game.
Steve got into his stride early on in the 5th and pulled away to a seemingly unassailable 8-2 lead. What followed took some believing. I imagine Steve is still wondering how it happened. Simon suddenly turned on a great mistake free vein of play. Six (or was it more?) match balls were saved, with Steve spurning at least two blatant opportunities to claim a stroke in favour of a cannonball back wall boast. Tight boasts, crisps volley drops and plenty of running were the order of the day from both players.
In the end though, Simon just did enough to sneak it 10-9 in the 5th to complete a famous victory.

I imagine Tim will be plotting revenge for this one in pretty short order, so we'd best make hay while the sun shines. The Dulwich boys didn't appear at all aggrieved at this outcome (they actually outscored PL before the win bonus), and entered into the spirtit of things in their usual fashion.

Will seemed quite prepared to pose for PL's resident photographer (Lennox) who could barely contain his glee. A late finish, but a gripping match with the outcome decided squarely by true club players.

Last night's match was a classic case (Dulwich in particular, as prime agitators, take note!!) for keeping with HI-HO scoring rather than PAR 11. Now admittedly this worked in PL's favour (altough in the author's case it would have meant a 3-0 win rather than 3-2), but with PAR the match would have had nowhere near the tight exciting finish that it in fact had.

A classic case in point was Olly coming off and saying (having been so used to playing PAR) that when he got a long way behind he thought there was no way he could get back into the game only to realise a bit too late that with HI-HO he could well have done!