Edgerton joy as Stait clinches it

Apr 22 2008 by David Lockwood, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HUDDERSFIELD Squash Club are the Yorkshire Cup winners.

The Edgerton team rocked favourites Chapel Allerton on their own Leeds court.

First string Alex Stait clinched the deciding rubber to grab a magnificent 3-2 win.

It sealed a first county cup triumph for the Cemetery Road club.

And they managed it without regular No3 Eddie Charlton, who was in London auditioning for Noel Edmonds’ Channel 4 TV programme ‘Deal or No Deal’!

In his absence, stand-in Adam Wilbig proved to be the real deal as he pulled off a first-ever victory over Cheshire County teammate Nick Murrells in what was the crucial tie of the night.

The match began with Huddersfield coach Dave Hymas losing out 3-2 to Richard Wade, but Dave Barnett, playing at No2, levelled things when he fought back from trailing in the fifth game to beat Chapel Allerton’s performance director Neil Guirey 3-2.

The visitors suffered a massive blow in the next rubber however, when Jamie Sutcliffe, who had hit back from 2-1 down to level against Glen Ragu, tore a groin muscle at 6-6 in the fifth.

That left the Huddersfield man almost static and Ragu went on to claim the game and put Chapel Allerton 2-1 ahead.

Huddersfield must have feared the worst as Wilbig faced his nemesis Murrells, but were soon cheering as the Edgerton No3 produced the performance of his life to win 3-1 and send the match into a deciding rubber.

The contest was soon settled as Chapel’s No1 Steve Siveter was no match for Stait, who rattled out a 3-0 victory to bring the cup to Huddersfield.

On the way to the final, Huddersfield enjoyed a commanding 4-1 win at Harrogate.

Wilbig defeated Jenny Duncalf 3-1 and Charlton put his side ahead with a 3-0 victory over Andrew Widdowson.

Barnett ensured the Cemetery Road team would make the final as he beat Adam Nowakowski in straight sets.

Stait finished the job off with a 3-1 win over Mike Pearson, son of former Edgerton club pro Bryan.

The cup triumph completed a fine season for Huddersfield, who also finished sixth in the Premiership, and wound up a great year for Stait and Wilbig, both in their first season at the club.