Despite road closures, a coach with no clutch and a militant driver who thought the highway code applied strictly to others and not him; the Winchester Massive (WM) arrived in Exeter excited to see the first match of the season.  Having consumed two crates of slightly warm, unnaturally fizzy beer, and energised by a Wagamama's feast, the WM's were louder than the home support even though they were outnumbered. A few Devon locals wished they had stayed at home to count their chickens for the evening instead of venturing into the city for their annual night out.

The team's first encounter saw last minute super sub Catherine Finlayson take on the British No.2 U18's lady, in what proved to be a tight and thrilling match. Lifted by the support from her WM fans and embarrassed by the support from her (definitely inebriated) dad, she stormed in to a lead in the first game, only to be pulled back and pipped at the post by the young Exeter girl, who showed a maturity beyond her years. Finding herself 2-0 down Catherine heeded the words of super coach Gary Hinton who furthered his already burgeoning reputation by inspiring a fight back which had her supporters cheering and her dad gurgling into one of the numerous pints he had parked ready to consume once her match was over. After taking the third game with some excellent dominance of the 'T', and backed with classy volleys, Catherine was finally defeated in a neck and neck fourth game losing the match 3-1 overall but earning plaudits for her performance and a spot on the team for future matches coming up.

The fourth string match featured the fighting performance of the night as Jethro Binns of Winchester took on James Snell in his first match for our team. Finding himself 2-0 down Jethro used his new found love of dance music to good effect as he skipped around the court in committed fashion chasing every single opportunity until he had exhausted any possibility it might yield him a point. He took the third game 12-10, debated art, philosophy and the nature of being, with the referee while winning the fourth and almost completed a huge comeback before finally subsiding 11-8 in the fifth.

With Winchester now two matches down, a response was needed, so when Tim 'I love it when someone bids for me' Vail stepped out on court for Exeter after ditching Chichester in a contentious deal, the WM's saw an opportunity to get fully involved. In spite of the crowd not being on his side, Tim played very well and took Winchester's Dylan Bennett to five games, before finding the enigmatic Dutchman just too strong, and eventually conceding that everyone must run out of sidewall nicks at some point in their career.

Thanks to Dylan's efforts, the tie was now firmly alive and the WM support found a new level of excitement as Marwan El Shorbagy stepped out on court for them. If nature had ever combined a sabre toothed tiger with a golden eagle the end result would have been the young Egyptian and what followed was a dazzling display of ferocity, power, precision and pure athleticism. Exeter's Campbell Grayson found his world ranking of 61 no support at all as he spent most of the match watching Marwan hit overhead volleys into the nick while pirouetting like an extra from Swan Lake at the same time. Conceding only 15 points in total Marwan showed once again what an enthralling player he is to watch and his next appearance at home for Winchester is likely to go down a storm with the crowd.

With the results standing at a 2 all tie, the outcome was dependent on the 1^st string match between Joey Barrington for Winchester and Stewart Boswell. A high class tactical encounter followed in which Boswell showed the powerful combination of touch, control, resilience and variation that had previously led him to a place in the World's top five. Although he was the first to say, post match, that the score line did not fully reflect the pressure Joey had exerted on him at times; both Winchester and Exeter supporters could see the class the likeable Australian possessed and felt that he was the deserved winner in straight games.

At the end of an entrancing night's squash, Exeter won 3-2 but the real winner was the sport itself as once again the PSL showed exactly why every country in the world has squash players and how much skill and athleticism is required to become a professional in one of the most demanding games there is.