Jason Fleming reports:
Dumfries A and B were in action this past weekend for the second round of fixtures of the Scottish National League. Necessitated by the host venue of Bells being out of action, Divisions 1, 2, and 3 were played at St Matthews Academy, Saltcoats, whilst Divisions 4, 5, and 6 took place at Inverclyde Sports Centre, Largs. Dumfries A again played in Division 2, whilst Dumfries B played in Division 5.
Apart from Callum Morgan, our B team all stayed overnight at Inverclyde’s accommodation – thus Paul, Maria, and Gordon got to experience what can only be described as the shortest trek in sporting history (they just had to get in a lift to go downstairs to the sports hall).
The B team started the day with a 3-3 draw against Murrayfield F, though Paul and Maria were both unfortunate to lose out in close five setters which would have swung the overall match score in their favour. A chance for a breather in the second game, occasioned by a walkover against Aberdeen C. In the final match, the team managed a solid 5-1 victory against Joe Wilson B. In a bizarre turn of events, Paul ended up receiving coaching from the opposition in a match played in an exuberant atmosphere. Callum was in fine form for the B team winning all of his matches. Thus Dumfries B finished the weekend in 3rd place; All to play for heading in to the final two games in February with matches against the two sides directly above them.
On to our A team – Dawid, Jason, Dylan, and Reuben made their way to Saltcoats to continue our aim for promotion back to Division 1. A much welcomed addition to our side was found in Kieran Walker who had last played for us in SNL in February 2022. A question for another day is whether we are the same calibre as his teammates in France. We too had a walkover against Aberdeen’s A side, allowing Jason the chance to try and string four successive forehands together in a practice – I don’t recall achieving it. In our first actual match of the day, Kieran and Dawid spearheaded the team to a brilliant 4-2 victory against a strong Grange B side – Kieran winning both of his games 3-0. Dawid later reflected on how unpredictable and awkward the opposition can be in this division, and one quick glance at the table would evidence just how competitive it has been this season. Dawid had to dig deep in many of his games, including coming back from 2-0 down to beat Alan Whitton. Our resident chef Dawid always likes to cook well under pressure and, in a personal highlight for me, watching him shout ‘Cho! I’m cooking’ at the top of his lungs in the fifth set will always live long in my memory.
In our last match, wins from an exhausted Dawid and Jason secured a 3-3 draw with Murrayfield C which leaves us unbeaten in second place, just behind Murrayfield B. Dawid having an excellent season with 100% wins in his debut season. All in all a successful weekend for Dumfries with it all to play for heading in to the final round in February. Well done to all our players for their efforts and extended thanks to the organisers for all their hard work in arranging these venues.