Only Connect: Series 9: Play-Off Matches Review

OK guys, so we now know the final four in, what has been, a good series of Only Connect. The Europhiles and the Welsh Learners came straight through undefeated; but which two of the four teams who'd lost once and won once (or vice versa) would join them?

Match 9: Heath Family vs Software Engineers
The Heath Family, Kip, Alan and Heather Heath, defeated the Exhibitionists before losing to the Europhiles, while the Software Engineers, Stephen Mcintosh, Chris Howlett and Anne Harrison, lost to the Welsh Learners before overcoming the Erstwhile Atheletes in a good match. They were the dominant team here, taking the lead early on, and though the Heaths did eventually get off the mark and score well, they never quite managed to catch the Engineers. Some very hard questions in this match too. In the end, the Engineers won by 16-10.

Match 10: Relatives vs Record Collectors
The Relatives, Hamish and Davina Galloway and Davina's son Nick Latham, lost to the Europhiles before overcoming the Exhibitionists (like the Heaths), while the Record Collectors, Adam Barr, Rachael 'Cherryade' Neiman and Richard Gilbert, defeated the Erstwhile Athletes before losing to the Welsh Learners (like the Engineers). The two teams stayed pretty closely matched in the first two rounds, with the Relatives taking a narrow advantage. The key round was the Walls round, where the Relatives swept the board, which the Collectors couldn't. That, coupled with a better showing in the final round, saw the Relatives win comfortably, 26-11.

Very well done to the Engineers and the Relatives, who are through to the semis! Bad luck to the Heaths and the Collectors, both of whom performed well throughout the series, and should not be dissatisfied with what they achieved.

So, the semi-final line-up is: the Welsh Learners vs the Relatives, followed by the Europhiles vs the Software Engineers. I'll be back in two weeks' time with summaries of these matches.