Wolverhampton Secure Sensational League Triumph

Wolverhampton, beaten twice by the trans-Pennine cooperative earlier in the season, pulled off a sensational 3/2 victory over defending champions Manchester/Pontefract in tonight's final of the National League at Nottingham Squash Club to win the title in their first appearance in the final.

Wolverhampton fans were relishing the prospect of a 2/0 lead after the opening two matches when Shelley Kitchen upset the form book to beat Jenny Duncalf, and Mark Cairns took an unexpected 2/1 lead over the Manchester/Pontefract No4 Nick Taylor.

Kitchen, the world No13 from New Zealand, recorded her last win over England international Duncalf in the British Open in October 2003 - since when losing on four occasions, the most recent being in the teams' third round National League clash last November. The 25-year-old Aucklander was in fine form, however, despatching Yorkshire's world No9 Duncalf 10-8 9-2 10-8 in 50 minutes.

"We always have good battles, but I've been working hard on my game over the past few months with my coach Mike Johnson in Caversham (near Reading) and have made a number of improvements," said a delighted Kitchen afterwards.

Manchester/Pontefract soon levelled the tie when team stalwart Nick Taylor overcame his 1/2 deficit in games, and a 5-3 lead by Cairns in the fourth, to beat the former British National champion from Oxfordshire 3-9 10-8 5-9 9-7 9-4 in 68 minutes.

Taylor, the former world No14 from Manchester, boasts an unbeaten record against fellow retired pro Cairns this season - and admitted later that this was playing on his mind midway through the match: "Mark is so consistent - it takes a long time to break him down," explained Taylor, now coach at the National Squash Centre in Manchester. "I wasn't playing particularly well tonight, and he played really well to take the third game.

"I came out for the fourth saying to myself 'this is pretty much the last game of the year, so just dig in'. And after winning the fourth, it was pure adrenaline which took me through the fifth - spurred on by the great crowd support."

Cairns is enjoying a successful squash career in 'retirement' - managing Winchester Squash Club and competing regularly on the British league circuit. "I got home last night after a match at 2.00am, then did a full day's work today in Winchester before travelling up here. It's not the sort of preparation that the pro's do - it really takes the edge off your game."

The third string battle between Pontefract's 21-year-old world No8 James Willstrop and Wolverhampton's Alex Gough, a former world No5 now ranked outside the top twenty, proved to be the 'banker' that Manchester/Pontefract fans had hoped. Willstrop powered through to a 9-3 9-7 9-6 victory in 33 minutes to put the initiative back into the defending champions' hands.

"We're all suffering a bit really, as it's the end of the season, but I put in a decent performance in what felt like a 'must win' match," said Willstrop, recently voted the 'Young Male Player of the Year' in the World Squash Awards.

As the final two matches took to the courts, Manchester/Pontefract fans must have felt confident of their anticipated victory: Team No1 Lee Beachill, the world No2 from Pontefract, had twice beaten his Wolverhampton counterpart Anthony Ricketts in previous National League encounters, and third string Marcus Berrett was following three successive British league wins over his opponent Scott Handley.

But history was not to be repeated as Oxfordshire-based Handley ground down Berrett 10-8 5-9 13-11 10-12 9-5 in a 61-minute marathon and in-form Ricketts brushed aside a tired Beachill 9-2 9-3 9-1 in just 26 minutes - remarkably, the two matches finishing almost simultaneously to give underdogs Wolverhampton a 3/2 win which few would have predicted!

"To say we are very pleased would be a massive understatement," said Wolverhampton team manager Stephen Russell, almost looking as if he had won the Lottery! "It's been a remarkable team effort, not just tonight but throughout the season. Whilst I am extremely proud of the players, I am also delighted for the club, winning this prestigious title in only our fourth season in the League."

Wolverhampton 3-2 Manchester/Pontefract
Anthony Ricketts beat Lee Beachill 9-2, 9-3, 9-1 (26m)
Alex Gough lost to James Willstrop 3-9, 7-9, 6-9 (33m)
Scott Handley beat Marcus Berrett 10-8, 5-9, 13-11, 10-12, 9-5 (61m)
Mark Cairns lost to Nick Taylor 9-3, 8-10, 9-5, 7-9, 4-9 (68m)
Shelley Kitchen beat Jenny Duncalf 10-8, 9-2, 10-8 (50m)