The 2019 Auckland Premier League started with a bang last night at the Henderson Squash Club, with only four of the sixteen matches being decided in three games.  

The host club Henderson had a tricky tie with Papakura, which was made even tougher with regular number two Aaron Kopittke having to withdraw on the day of the fixture.  Top junior Leo Fatialofa put his improvements on display by beating A1 Brad Robinson at the top of the order and setting up an eventual win for Henderson.  Also collecting a valuable two points was younger brother Apa Jr who took the higher-ranked Semo Old to five and securing a 8-7 win for Henderson on games, as well as the two bonus points on offer.

2018 runners-up Royal Oak showed their credentials once again with a maximum point haul in their tie against Titirangi with Ricardo Stanley pulling out the comeback of the night in bouncing back from 2-0 down against Michael Blanchard to get the win 11-9 in the fifth.  Jason Kereama, Michael Shelton-Agar, and Ben White also picked up wins for The Oak to see them sit tied at the top of the table after the first round.

Joining them atop the leaderboard is SquashXL who also had a maximum point win against Remuera.  With most of the players having competed in the PSA Satellite event at their home club earlier that afternoon, the Remuera players made the most of the opportunity against their higher-ranked opponents with the pick of the results being Vincent Robson's five-setter against Lwamba Chileshe, while David Matthews and Michael Fowke also picked up points against their respective XL opponents Connor Sheen and Joel Arscott.

The final fixture was another evenly-matched one with North Shore taking on defending champions Eden Epsom.  With the team number one's Sion Wiggin and Elijah Thomas also drawn to face each other in the first round of the SquashXL PSA event, the players agreed to double-up the result for interclub.  The match went the distance and then some, with Thomas emerging as the victor 13-11 in the fifth.  There were no easy wins down the rest of the order either, with North Shore's veteran Gary Duberly sneaking past junior Tarin Love 11-9 in the fifth, Ryan Kothe outlasting Nick Terry 11-5 in the fifth, and Mitchell White claiming a second Eden Epsom win beating Hayden Ross in four. 

The Premier League now moves to Titirangi for the first time in week two with plenty of exciting matchups on the card, including a rematch of the 2018 final between Eden Epsom and Royal Oak.

Week 1 Results

Titirangi (4) v Royal Oak (14)
Michael Blanchard v Ricardo Stanley - 10/12 9/11 11/6 11/5 11/9
Julian Conder v Jason Kereama - 13/11 11/9 6/11 12/10
Jack Conder v Michael Shelton-Agar - 11/7 11/7 17/15
Scott Crouth v Ben White - 13/11 5/11 11/9 11/5

Papakura (7) v Henderson (10)
Brad Robinson v Leo Fatialofa - 11/9 13/11 11/9
Shane Mouat v Neil Rossin - 11/3 11/9 7/11 13/11
Semo Old v Apa Fatialofa Jr - 10/12 11/9 6/11 12/10 11/3
Jason Browne v Trevor Walker - 11/7 11/8 11/3

Remuera (4) v SquashXL (14)
David Matthews v Connor Sheen 11/4 9/11 11/6 12/10
Vincent Robson v Lwamba Chileshe 10/12 11/5 11/5 10/12 11/6
Michael Fowke v Joel Arscott 11/7 7/11 11/1 11/5
Gareth Wilkinson v Kaitlyn Watts 13/11 13/11 11/8

North Shore (9) v Eden Epsom (12) 
Sion Wiggin v Elijah Thomas - 11/5 6/11 4/11 11/3 13/11
Gary Duberly v Tarin Love - 6/11 11/6 11/4 4/11 11/9
Ryan Kothe v Nick Terry - 12/10 6/11 8/11 12/10 11/5
Hayden Ross v Mitchell White - 11/7 13/11 5/11 14/12

Standings After Week 1
1. Royal Oak - 14 points
1. SquashXL - 14 points
3. Eden Epsom - 12 points
4. Henderson - 10 points
5. North Shore - 9 points
6. Papakura - 7 points
7. Remuera - 4 points
7. Titirangi - 4 points

Week 2 Matches
Henderson vs Remuera
Eden Epsom vs Royal Oak
SquashXL vs Papakura
Titirangi vs North Shore

Article added: Wednesday 01 May 2019