ON Saturday, Abergavenny travelled to Wellington Squash Club in Somerset to defend the Aberwelly Cup, which they won in February this year. Sadly, the team came unstuck, being well beaten by five matches to one.

The event started with the sides being presented to Gary James, the Mayor of Wellington, who is a former player for the Somerset club, and is said to still play a canny game.

The match then commenced with ties four and five, with Tony Davies, the ‘E’ team captain, and Jiwan Gahunia both playing strong opponents. Tony was soon in trouble against a younger and fitter man, who was very quick around the court, and was beaten 3-0. Jiwan fared better, and at one stage was 2-1 up, but, carrying an injury, lost the last two sets.

Next up at tie six was Peter Sturgess, who fared little better against Wellington’s third team captain, losing 3-0. The match was competitive, with Peter running around more than usual, but he was always struggling to keep up with a wily opponent.

The following match was always going to be interesting, as it featured a return between Peter Steed and Simon Buttars, a player whom Peter had defeated at Abergavenny in February. However, this time, having learnt a lesson, Simon was more than ready, and won by three sets to one, thus ensuring that the match would go to Wellington.

The final two matches were shared between the two sides, with Gary Hortop losing a competitive match 3-1, and Mike Logan, the ‘C’ team captain, winning by the same score, giving Abergavenny its only victory on the day.

So the Aberwelly Cup returns to Somerset until next spring, when Wellington will bring it to Abergavenny for another fixture.