Ogier proves he has not lost his competitive streak
PHIL OGIER was delighted to prove that while he is ‘getting on a bit, I’m still not necessarily a pushover’ as he won this week’s Senior Group Tournament.
The 45-year-old added another title to his extensive CV on Monday night, beating a couple of this year’s successful Island Games team in the process, and admitted with a chuckle that it was ‘nice to mix it up a bit’ among the newer generation.
‘I’m really pleased with the win. It was a little bit unexpected, but having said that it’s not a case that I have not been playing well of late.
‘They have always been tight games against these guys, but in the last couple of seasons I have probably come out just on the wrong side of the results whereas [on Monday night] I came out on the right side.
‘The funny thing is, I really have not picked up a bat since the Inter-Insulars. I played maybe an hour over the summer and then the first league match last week, so it’s a little bit surprising in that sense, but I suppose I also did not put any pressure on myself because of that.’
Having dropped just one single in topping his group, Ogier beat Dan Collenette 3-1 in the quarter-finals to set up a last-four meeting with Ben Foss.
He came through that test 11-8, 5-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-3 to earn a shot at island champion Lawrence Stacey in the final.
The showpiece turned out to be a see-saw encounter, Stacey twice forging a set ahead only for Ogier to level things and force a decider, which he went on to take 11-7.
‘It was nip-and-tuck in the final. There was only a game in it at any time. I had a 10-7 lead in the first game but went on to lose it in deuce and I was thinking that might prove costly,’ Ogier said.
‘Probably the most satisfying thing from my point of view is that I maintained my performance through two hard five-setters and managed to get through against the best players there on the night, so that’s pleasing. To get wins against a couple of island players on one night is a good result.
‘It shows that they have to keep working. I might not play or train as much as I used to, but I have not lost my competitive streak and they know they are going to have to work hard on every point – I’m not going to give any away.’
More in Thursday's Guernsey Press.
