Bognor are short of a man - but long on spirit to beat Midhurst

They did it the hard way, managing to pull off a win despite forfeiting the No5 string match.

For the second game in a row, Bognor travelled a man short because of illness and were therefore a rubber down when their first player, Steve Carruthers at No4, met Simon Milner.

Carruthers made a confident start, taking the first game, but Milner managed to squeeze the second game 10-8 to level and went on to take the match 3-1.

Bognor’s third string was Luke Allen, making a welcome return after injury, and he started the Bognor recovery with a great win over Paul Fairminer.

The home player looked to be well on the way when he took a 2-0 lead but Allen found his rhythm after several weeks out, coming back strongly to 2-2 to set up a fifth-game thriller in which he used his speed around court to good effect, finally taking the match after the closest of games. The score was 4-9, 7-9, 9-6, 9-0, 10-8.

Bognor’s two top seeds, Steve Enfield and Steve Porter, proceeded to turn the match on its head with straight-games wins.

Enfield took on Dan Page and was not too troubled in coming out on top 9-5, 9-2, 9-2, then Porter made short work of the deciding rubber, beating Christian Brown convincingly 9-2, 9-1, 9-0 to give the visitors an unexpected but welcome win. Midhurst took eight points to Bognor’s 15.

The next home match at Hawthorn Road is Friday, March 4 (7pm), when the second team take on Middleton. Visitors are welcome – details on 01243 865462.