Eldon 3 found themselves in somewhat uncharted territory in the 2021-22 season, with a new captain in Matt Barnes and playing their "home" games at The Northumberland Club. On top of that, having finished 2nd in the curtailed 2019-20 season and the league being restructured after a number of teams dropped out after the covid pandemic, the team were given a double promotion into Division 4! The squad had a different look this season too; a few new additions along with 7 of the previous season's players made up our squad of 12.

The season started off well, with a strong showing against Ashington 1, taking a 4-1 win, including a debut win for ex-W*lker player Neale Pattison! The next 4 games didn't go our way, losing to Northern 5, Boldon 3, Sunderland 4 and a dominant-looking Boldon 2, but still picking up a respectable 26 points along the way. 

There were 2 big games before the Christmas break, with a "home" game against Chester-le-Street 3 and a long trip to Consett 2 on the cards. First up was a fellow relegation rival in Chester-Le-Street, a fixture that was tipped in our favour due to a last-minute drop-out by the opposing no.5 giving Eldon a narrow and somewhat fortunate 3-2 win! The Consett match was another important one to help the 3rds stay clear of the bottom 2 and, boosted by the return of the talismanic Richard Martin, they came out on top 3-2 to finish the 1st half with back-to-back wins!

The 2nd half kicked off with a walkover and a welcome 20 points against Ashington 1, but the following months would prove to be a real rough patch for the 3rds. We struggled to get a full-strength team out for the majority of February and March with a combination of illness, injuries and poorly timed holidays (Umer!), and despite the best efforts of those who stepped in the 3rd team took 5 losses on the bounce and looked destined for relegation with 1 game left to play.

In their final game, against a strong 3rd place Sunderland team, Eldon needed a minimum of 14 points to secure their safety and for the only time in the entire season our top 5 players, lead by Chris(tiano) Dunlavy, were available! Eldon got off to a quick start with Dave Brocklehurst storming to a 3-0 win at no.5, followed shortly by a mammoth 3-2 win by the captain Matt B at no.4! Umer was up next and took a 2-0 lead, but he ran out of steam and was unfortunately defeated 3-2. Up next at no.3 was the ever-reliable Richard M, who despite the pressure, lived up to expectations and cruised to a 3-0 win! With that win the 3rds had done the unthinkable, they'd pulled off the great escape with 1 game to spare! Then star player at no.1, Chris, sealed the match in style, winning 3-1 to give Eldon the 4-1 victory and see another season in division 4! 

The 3rd team definitely didn't have an easy ride in division 4, but to avoid relegation after being promoted form division 6 to division 4 with a squad that was severely depleted for large parts of the season is a minor miracle and a testament to the team as a whole! Well done guys!

Player of the Season:

After team voting and long debates (and threats to resign from the team), the player of the season is:

Chris Dunlavy, after winning all 10 of his matches this season and being awarded the Player of Division 4 by Northumbria Squash. Not only that, but Chris extended his unbeaten run to 2 full seasons, a massive 21 games without defeat for the 3rd team!

Honourable Mention:

Matt Barnes for doing an excellent job stepping up as captain, which is an unenviable task, especially when juggling injuries, unavailable players and the odd questionable post-match meal!