Nations Cup : Day TWO

New Zealand, England and Europe make it two out of two on Day Two

New Zealand, England and Europe make it two out of two on Day Two

Hosts New Zealand A have risen to the top of Pool A after they overcame Canada on day two of the Carrus Nations Cup taking place at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Paul Coll and women’s Joelle King are starring on home soil this week and they achieved wins over  David Baillargeon and Hollie Naughton to put themselves on the verge of a place in Sunday’s final. They sit at the top of Pool A courtesy of winning four matches to second-place Canada’s two.

They face Australia tomorrow and a win for Coll against Rex Hedrick or a victory for King against Jessica Turnbull would guarantee them top spot in Pool A.

“I’ve gone into this week with a mindset to enjoy it and embrace the crowd,” said Coll after his match. “I wanted to enjoy it and try and put on a show for the crowd. It’s been a while since they’ve seen top level squash, and we’ve got some greats here, so I hope they have a good week.

“Catching up with friends and family is part of that, going out for lunch, enjoying the beach and the sea. I’m just enjoying my time here, enjoying my squash and hopefully that that transforms into some good performances.”

Scotland overcame Australia in the day’s other Pool A tie, with Greg Lobban beating Hedrick 4-1. Lobban’s compatriot, Lisa Aitken, went down to Turnbull in a seven-gamer, but only required two games to win the tie for Scotland, who sit in third in Pool A.

“I’m really happy with today’s performance, it was really enjoyable,” said Lobban. “The quicker and the easier I win, it takes a little bit of the pressure off. To lose the fourth, it could easily get away from you given that it’s only up to seven points with the Powerplay rule too. Before you know it, it could be 3-2, 3-3 and into a decider.”

Team Europe stay top of Pool A for the second day running after Belgium’s Nele Gilis and France’s Sebastien Bonmalais recorded wins against New Zealand B’s Kaitlyn Watts and Lwamba Chileshe.

Europe will go up against England in a blockbuster tie tomorrow to decide who will progress to the final.

“Seb inspired me to go out there and play well,” said Gilis. “I felt good out there, it was obviously Kaitlyn’s home crowd, so I knew she would be up for it and would be fighting, which she did. I’m really glad to get away in four. I’m looking forward to it tomorrow’s match, it’s going to be a great battle. We train together, so we know each other’s games, I’m really excited.”

England sit in second in Pool B. They have won the same amount of matches and games as Europe, but have scored less points so far despite their win over USA today. Mohamed ElShorbagy overcame USA’s Timothy Brownell in straight games, while his compatriot Sarah-Jane Perry required seven games to defeat Olivia Clyne.

“I think the new format we’re trialling here, I think the concentration is very different, I think we’re all getting used to that and it’s led to some topsy-turvy matches so far, including my match just now,” Perry said.

“I think it’s the the men first tomorrow, so I’ll be confident in Mo getting on there and doing the job as well. Hopefully he can get me onto the court in a good position and I’ll do my best to bring it home for England.”

The Nations Cup continues on Saturday when the pool stage draws to a close. All matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV.

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