Best-ever season for BofA squash squads
Surprise promotion for seconds is icing on the cake
Bridge of Allan Sports Club’s men’s squash teams are celebrating a best ever East of Scotland League season a week after the ladies team were crowned Division One champions.
The early finish of the 2019/20 campaign due to the onslaught of coronavirus with just two games left to play, confirmed a highest-ever third place Division One finish for the firsts, while the thirds were promoted from Division Three after an impressive third-place finish.
And this week the second team’s promotion back to the top-flight for the second time in three years was confirmed after East League bosses decided that Edinburgh Sports Club fourths would not be promoted due to a technicality.
With the Crieff and District team finishing in respectable fifth in their debut campaign in the local leagues, it has all served up a remarkable cocktail of success for the Birds and the Beessponsored teams.
Number one player Fergus Richards has no doubt about the key moments of the firsts campaign.
“We are delighted to have finished third and split up the big Edinburgh clubs,” said Fergus. “To win 11 of our 18 fixtures was very satisfying but the other big factors were the emergence of Kyle Penman as our No.2 and also the way the likes of Andy Meldrum and Robin Bairner stepped up from the seconds and won some vital points.
“I must also send a shout out to our sponsors The Birds and the Bees - their patronage was vital to all of this.”
For second team skipper Robin Bairner, whose side finished fourth but made the step up after ESC IV were denied promotion, the end result was an unexpected bonus after a difficult start to the campaign.
Robin said: “A combination of injury and illness meant that it was a disappointing start to the season for us. The fact we lost five of our first seven matches, often by thin margins was very frustrating.
“But the return of James Dougan provided the catalyst for a strong recovery with a couple of great wins before Christmas setting the team up for a grandstand finish with six wins in our last seven matches.”
Meanwhile third team skipper Bert
Mitchell has no doubt his side over achieved. “When you consider there were three second teams and two first teams in Division Three, to finish third and go up was a tremendous achievement for us,” said the former Scotland A international.
“For me we had two stand out performers with Jamie Campbell emerging as our undisputed No.1 and young Ollie Hunter coming through very impressively in the second half of the campaign.”
Crieff and District team captain Stewart Penman was delighted by the way juniors came to the fore in his side.
“Our team is all about development with up to three juniors - Anna Halliday, Ollie Hunter and Rowan Niven - playing most weeks alongside a selection of more senior players. It was great to see the juniors develop and move up the order as the season progressed,” said Stewart.
“Undoubtedly our star player was Rowan Niven who had most team appearances and progressed from playing fourth at the start of the season to taking on the No 1 string in a couple of matches towards the end.”