GUERNSEY narrowly lost to Wales on the squash court on the second day of the ‘Alternative Games’. At Beau Sejour, the three Sarnian men of Martin Watts, Ross Kneller and Dave Merrien all lost to their Wales opponents, while Alison Strobridge and Gemma Coquelin both won theirs.

‘It went down to the wire,’ said Guernsey team manager Peter Bridgeman.

The best match featured Coquelin, who has been suffering lately with an injured foot. The 25-year-old project manager lost the first two games of her clash with Pat Harris, 9-7, 9-4.

After a change of trainers that eased her problem, Coquelin rallied back to win the next two 9-2 and 9-7 before taking the last 9-5. The match lasted 45min.

‘I’ve been injured the last couple of weeks with a foot injury, so I sorted my trainers out, sorted my head out and went back on,’ she said.

‘Obviously I’m pleased with the win – any win is a good win. But I made it harder work than it should have been.’

Strobridge’s victory was relatively easy in comparison. The 23-year-old Island Games star is currently living in Bristol where she is training to become an accountant.

She has been keeping her hand in by playing for the Bristol David Lloyd club. And it showed as she crushed Karen Workman 3-0 with the scores 9-3, 9-4, 9-4.

‘I was quite pleased with this,’ she said afterwards.

‘I felt quite confident and sharp. I didn’t let her get into it.’

It was depressing stuff for the home men.

Merrien lost in straight games to Alan James, while Kneller on his 25th birthday, also lost 3-0.

Kneller was part of the Guernsey team that took part in the Indoor Cricket World Cup at the end of last month.

‘I’m just not squash fit,’ said the accountant about his defeat.

‘I’ve not been playing enough and I’ve not been going to the gym.’

Watts, Guernsey’s number one player, also lost 3-0 to Nick Birt, who is undoubtedly the best player in the team tournament. Watts, 28, lost 9-2, 9-5, 9-4.

‘It was tough and I knew it was going to be,’ said Watts, who is the island’s assistant director of squash.

‘He’s pretty special. He cuts the ball off in the middle of the court and it was difficult to get the ball past him.

‘But I played all right. He was just a better player on the day unfortunately.’

Newport’s Birt is currently ranked number six in Wales and is a squash coach in Cardiff.

‘It was a tough game – he’s a good player,’ he said.

‘He likes to chop the ball in down the front which was difficult to get back at the start. When I got the ball back a bit deeper it stopped him doing that.’

The previous evening, the home side got off to a flyer when they got the better of the Cayman Islands 4-1. Watts and Kneller won their matches 3-1 and 3-2 respectively, while Laurence Graham went down 3-1 to Alain Murdeen.

Strobridge and Coquelin also won theirs.

In all Bridgeman, who is also the tournament’s organiser, has been pleased with opening couple of days of the competition.

‘It’s gone very well,’ he said.

‘I’m glad that we’re now here and not still in the planning stages. Everything is going on time but not to plan – we should have beaten Wales. People should come down and see some good squash. We’ve arranged it in the evenings so that people can come down and watch.’