Manchester/Pontefract Avenge Edgbaston Defeat

Title-holders Manchester/Pontefract avenged their only defeat of the season in fine style on Tuesday when they trounced Edgbaston Priory 5-0 at home in the seventh round of the National League to dramatically extend their lead at the top of the Group A table. The trans-Pennine cooperative is now 21 points ahead of nearest rivals Wolverhampton, who secured their third successive victory in the league with a 3-2 home win over Derbyshire's Benz Bavarian Duffield.

Despite being at full strength, Manchester/Pontefract failed to achieve the comprehensive victory they should have expected at Pontefract. Jenny Duncalf put the home side ahead with a 9-1 9-1 9-1 win over Priory newcomer Jennifer Knibbs - but the following two matches were close-fought affairs in which the favoured home team players were stretched to five games by their determined opponents.

Manchester stalwart Nick Taylor had to come back from a game down to overpower Edgbaston's Adam Stevenson 5-9 9-5 9-4 2-9 9-3 in 44 minutes, while tired team-mate Marcus Berrett also had to overcome a first game deficit before pegging back the visitors' Hadrian Stiff 9-11 9-4 9-4 7-9 9-6.

Playing at his home club, James Willstrop might also have expected an easier time against career-long rival Peter Barker, the opponent he regular met in finals throughout his junior career, most notably in the climax of the World Junior Championship in India in December 2002. The Essex 21-year-old kept Willstrop on court for 44 minutes - but the Yorkshireman ultimately prevailed 9-6 12-10 7-9 9-6 to maintain his team's winning run.

Maximum points were swiftly achieved by top string Lee Beachill, the world No2 who is also Pontefract-based. It took the 27-year-old just 25 minutes to beat his England team-mate Adrian Grant 9-4 9-2 9-1 as Manchester/Pontefract crept nearer to ensuring an early place in the end-of-season play-offs.

"I felt I was moving well, and was pleased with my performance tonight," said Beachill to www.squashsite.co.uk. "The whole team played well."

After an indifferent season last year, Wolverhampton are heading confidently towards the play-offs for the first time. Inspired by a positive women's win by Dominique Lloyd-Walter, who beat Duffield's full-time fireman Laura Hill 9-4 9-4 9-5, the team owed its success to 'veteran' contributors Alex Gough and Mark Cairns.

Welsh champion Gough, 34, took 74 minutes - and twice had to come from behind - to subdue higher-ranked Frenchman Renan Lavigne 7-9 9-6 8-10 9-4 9-5. On an adjacent court, 37-year-old retired English international Cairns battled past Essex's 23-year-old Phillip Barker to earn an impressive 5-9 9-6 9-5 7-9 9-5 victory in 71 minutes.

Duffield's Jonathan Kemp, however, overcame a lack-lustre Scott Handley 9-6 9-6 10-8 to score his second National League victory over the Wolverhampton third string this season. And in the final match of the night, an excellent all-round game by Nick Matthew saw the Duffield No1 beat Australian Anthony Ricketts 9-4 6-9 9-2 9-3 in 37 minutes. It was Matthew's first win over the former world No6 after a succession of losses over the past four years.

Group A:
Manchester/Pontefract 5-0 Edgbaston Priory
Lee Beachill beat Adrian Grant 9-4, 9-2, 9-1 (25m)
James Willstrop beat Peter Barker 9-6, 12-10, 7-9, 9-6 (44m)
Marcus Berrett beat Hadrian Stiff 9-11, 9-4, 9-4, 7-9, 9-6 (43m)
Nick Taylor beat Adam Stevenson 5-9, 9-5, 9-4, 2-9, 9-3 (44m)
Jenny Duncalf beat Jennifer Knibbs 9-1, 9-1, 9-1 (16m)

Wolverhampton 3-2 Benz-Bavarian Duffield
Anthony Ricketts lost to Nick Matthew 4-9, 9-6, 2-9, 3-9 (37m)
Alex Gough beat Renan Lavigne 7-9, 9-6, 8-10, 9-4, 9-5 (74m)
Scott Handley lost to Jonathan Kemp 6-9, 6-9, 8-10 (29m)
Mark Cairns beat Phillip Barker 5-9, 9-6, 9-5, 7-9, 9-5 (71m)
Dominique Lloyd-Walter beat Laura Hill 9-4, 9-4, 9-5 (37m)