Essex Under 19 Squash Juniors Storm to Inter County Stage Victory

The Essex Junior Squash Stars of the future Claimed convincing Victories over Rival Counties Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire this weekend.

The victory came during the first stage of the National Inter County Championships held by England Squash at Peterborough over the weekend.

Essex fielded a strong seven man squad that included Ben Coleman (England number 2 Under 19), Nial Engerer (England number 9 Under 17 and number 24 Under 19), Alex Lemom (England number 22 Under 19), Ross Brown (England number 14 Under 17), Jack Jago (England number 56 Under 17), Tom Chitty (England number 98 Under 17) and Rhys Taylor (England number 111 Under 17).

Team manager and coach Lee Drew, the head coach at Ardleigh Hall Squash Club, confirmed that having numbers in the squad was vital during the stage victory. Drew commented “it is quite a heavy work load for the Under 19’s to have three matches in a row and very close together” matches were played at 11am, 2pm and 5pm, Drew continued “to be able to rest and rotate players gave us (Essex) an enormous advantage as our players were fresh for every match. It is also great having players whom you can rely on to perform in any given situation, and all seven of our players are more than capable to perform against any opponent, in any situation regardless of the pressure”.

The first match saw Essex up against a relatively unknown Norfolk side, with the experience and class of the young Essex team showing. The team of Ben Coleman (Chelmsford), Nial Engerer (Romford), Alex Lemom and Jack Jago (Chingford) and Tom Chitty (Frinton and Ardleigh) won the match convincingly 5-0 with the Essex team only dropping one solitary game.

Next up was Lincolnshire, this time Essex rested Jack Jago and Nial Engerer who were replaced by the Lexden (Colchester) duo of Ross Brown and Rhys Taylor. The new line up didn’t disappoint either with comfortable 3-0 wins at numbers 2,3, 4 and 5 for Essex. The first string match however was far from a formality with Ben Coleman having to battle to a 3-2 victory; the two games won by Adam Auckland were the only points that Lincolnshire could prize from the in form Essex side.

The last match of the day saw Essex up against a strong Cambridgeshire side that had also won their first two matches of the Inter County Stage. It was a tense affair with both sides knowing that only the first placed side in the division was guaranteed to advance to the next stage. Nial Engerer and Jack Jago returned to the line up with Rhys Taylor and Tom Chitty resting. The Essex lads again rose to the occasion in some style claiming the match 4-1 and subsequently a very convincing stage victory.

Drew commented “it is great to see the team spirit within the squad, when the players aren’t playing they are supporting their team mates and helping them in between games. The other great thing about this side is that Ben apart they will all be eligible to play for Essex at Under 19 level again next season”.

The next stage of the competition is scheduled for January 24th 2010 with the Essex squad very much looking forward to competing against more of the country’s top county sides.