LATEST MATCH REPORTS...

After the excitement of the Hampshire game the result of this match was really one to forget and only served to show us that we have some way to go before we can fully compete with the big boys in the region. Surrey played well and fully deserved their win.

The scoreline speaks for itself but there are some positives to draw from this game and I'm going to focus on those.

We started well effectively drawing the first set on frames played and only being 6-5 down by virtue of the frame we gave away.

Team spirit was good - plenty of encouragement. The table layout didn't really lend itself to players getting the same amount of support on both tables but I saw players going out of their way to see what was going on and be supportive.

Since I had to help the ladies out this month it was also really good to see our players taking responsibility for themselves and eachother and if a player was missing someone went to find them.

I think this result has shown us that we need to put in some practice - particularly with the tactical side. I know we all have the shots and the ability to win frames but on several occasions the wrong shot was played and that ultimately cost a number of frames. There is no time limit in the juniors so get in the habit every shot of thinking about what you are going to do with the next few shots before getting down and playing the ball. If you run out of position - re-evaluate - it may be better to play safe than run further out of position and break down completely. If there is a tricky ball on the table is it really a good idea to leave it till last? If you have a tough last yellow and the black is in the open for your opponent is there an alternative to taking it on?

The next practice is on 13th August and the next match is against Sussex at Brighton on 14th August. If you need help with transport let me know asap.

Finally, we could really use another couple of juniors as we played again yesterday with a player down. If you know anyone who is interested in representing their county at pool please get them along to one of the practices or let me know.

Finally the joint Players of the Match were Shane O'Reilly and Liam Clancy who both won 3 out of 4 frames and I couldn't separate them so they earned £5 each for their efforts. Well done to both.

Onwards and upwards . . .