Great stuff yesterday as the Dutch PSL playoffs kicked off with the quarterfinals. In Apeldoorn Frans Otten Stadium did what they had to do and comfortably beat Squash Apeldoorn, who unfortunately saw their top-three all play in the Black Ball open.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fXMvxrfg1PsOzObJD2iiR?si=5lidwTZnTXeAGMBp4wdk6A
Yannik Omlor and Blessing Muhwati were no match for Youssef Soliman and Juan Vargas, but Fabian Igelbrink managed to squeeze out a game against Sebastiaan Hofman which left Apeldoorn with a little lifeline. It is not definitive yet, but latest news is that Apeldoorn will have the stronger line-up in the return with Tom Walsh, Robertino Pezzota and Fabian Igelbrink playing Omar Meguid, Sebastiaan Hofman and Andrew Widdison. In next weeks match Frans Otten only needs 2 single games…
Second match of the evening between Ridderkerk and Houtrust started off with a little upset as veteran Rene Mijs beat youngster Sam Gerrits 3-1.
After this Iker Pajares and Velavan Senthilkumar beat Mahesh Mangaonkar and Valentin Rapp giving Houtrust a 10-3 win, but Mijs really shook things up for the return. Next weeks line-ups will probably put the Dutchmen on court against eachoter as well namely and how will Gerrits perform under pressure against a player he just lost to?
The two remaining matches, Ivan Perez vs. Mahesh Mangaonkar and Velavan Senthilkumar vs. Edwin Clain should open a world of possibilities for Ridderkerk if Mijs is able to repeat yesterdays upset…
Preview :
Exciting times as the leg of playoffs quarterfinals are set today at 19:30 GMT+2. This is what the teams have been fighting for since September.
First match is between Squash Ridderkerk and Houtrust. Houtrust look the favourites, but Ridderkerk line up with some of the home crowd’s favourites so they might have a surprise in store. Ridderkerk must win at least one match today to keep hopes alive for the return.
For the second match a very strong Frans Otten Stadium is traveling to Apeldoorn. Apeldoorn however can’t line up their top three due to the Black Ball Open. With that difference Apeldoorn probably hopes it at least wins some games so they can retaliate in the second leg.
Matches are of course broadcast via Squash Bond TV
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fXMvxrfg1PsOzObJD2iiR?si=5lidwTZnTXeAGMBp4wdk6A
