THE new squash season saw a good start by Okehampton first team against Exeter Golf and Country Club in division three of the Devon Squash League.

Despite missing a couple of players the team fought hard in a number of tight matches. Both Shane Vallance and Shawn Jones playing up from the second team endured tough five game matches against opponents with differing styles.

At string five, Shane had a gruelling match against an experienced opponent, with both players having the upper hand at various stages during the match. With the match tied at two games all both players had match points to secure the victory, but eventually Shane just fell short losing a long final game 20-18.

In contrast, Shawn was able to pull away in his final game to take his match 3-2. Again, the match was close but Shawn’s superior length of shot eventually won out.

At string three Justin Gliddon played some very tight squash with good variation in his game. However, he was up against a young and mobile opponent who was able to retrieve well and who’s fitness eventually came to the fore to take the match 3-2.

At string two Phil Allin returned to the fold after injury curtailed the end of last season and Phil showed no ill-effects as he took a fairly comfortable 3-0 victory.

The overall team victory was sealed by a strong sowing by Phil Kemsley at string one who won his match 3-1. Phil was able to use his usual good quality variation and shot choice to start the season on winning terms.

Okehampton first team are away to Newton Abbot in the coming week with the seconds not scheduled to start their league campaign for a couple of weeks.