Malory Eagles had a straight-sets victory against Division Two side Wessex to make it through to the National Cup semi-finals, writes Graham McConney.

Wessex would not give the game away and turned up at Ernest Bevan School in Tooting with a full strength team for this Cup clash.

Malory’s starting line-up of Luciano Pinter, Alex Bialokoz, Ashley Trodden, Marc Richardson, Mark Brown, Dave King and Stephen Fee took immediate control of the first set, rushing to a 9-3 lead before the young visitors called a timeout.

This tactic failed to arrest Malory’s progress with the Eagles able to attack comfortably. Eagles Coach Jefferson Williams showed his characteristic flair with a double substitution in the set’s twilight to maximise his attacking options for the finish. Malory closed the set 25-17.

Sets two & three, though closer, followed a similar pattern with Malory establishing a comfortable buffer and then pushing on to take the set, in both cases by 25-20.

The match saw a good workout for setting understudy Trodden and veteran King. Williams will be hoping that outside attacker Darius Setsoafia recovers quickly from the sprained ankle sustained during last week’s training.

The next month is critical for Malory’s hopes of silverware this year.

March 6 sees the return match against last year’s winners, Sheffield (the only team to beat Malory during the first half).

Later this month (February 27), Malory play Newcastle Staffs in the National Cup semi-finals. The next Eagles home match is a division 1 bout with City of Bristol on Saturday February 20.