NZ pipped by luck of the Irish

New Zealand has been defeated 2-1 in its pivotal pool match against Ireland at the Women's World Teams Championships in Canada this morning.

Seeded eight to New Zealand's nine, the Irish clash was highly anticipated as a fantastic chance for the New Zealand Squash Blacks to cause an upset and force their way into the quarter-finals.

The number ones got matters underway, with 43rd ranked Amanda Landers-Murphy facing a tough task against Ireland's Madeline Perry - currently ranked 14th in the world.  Rotorua's Landers-Murphy got off to a confident start, taking the first game 11-5.  Perry fought back in the second game to level the scores at 1-1, before Landers-Murphy once again established an advantage by taking the third game 11-4.  Perry then showed her immense experience in tight matches, upping her attacking intent and playing her best squash of the match so far in the fourth set to take it 11-2.  A titanic tussle in the fifth set ensued, Perry eventually clinching it 11-8 and scoring the first point of the day for Ireland.

Megan Craig then took the court for New Zealand, up against Ireland's Aisling Blake (WR#37).  Once again the Kiwis got off to a strong start, taking a close first set 11-9.  Blake, however, had other ideas about which direction the match ought to go in, and controlled the next three sets of a gruelling match to win 3-1, sealing the tie for the Irish, and all but ensuring a shamrock presence in the quarter-finals.

Kylie Lindsay managed to win the dead rubber for the Squash Blacks, taking out Laura Mylotte in four games.  Her only blemish came in the third set, which Mylotte sneaked 11-9.  Lindsay was comfortable in the fourth - 11-7 - to ensure a 2-1 scoreline.

Quotes from some of the Irish players are available in the blog section of the World Championships website.

New Zealand must now pick itself up for another match today - its final pool match against Colombia.  This match will be streamed live from midday on Thursday 4 December NZ time.

Results

New Zealand (9) lost to Ireland (8)

Amanda Landers-Murphy lost to Madeline Perry 11-5 5-11 11-4 2-11 8-11
Megan Craig lost to Aisling Blake 11-9 2-11 8-11 8-11
Kylie Lindsay bt Laura Mylotte 11-6 11-6 9-11 11-7

Full results: http://wwt2014squash.com/draws/.