Danbury A hit top form against Chelmsford C

The battle for second place in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League couldn’t be closer. A mere nine points separates second placed Danbury C and seventh placed Danbury B who have two games in hand on some of their rivals. The big shock this week was the 10-0 roasting that Danbury A dished out to Chelmsford C. Eric Green, Dave Richardson and Babul McLeod were all on top form and Chelmsford C just couldn’t find a foothold however hard they tried.  Eric Green gave Danbury A the perfect start by beating the hard-hitting Simon Jarvis 12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-3. Danbury C fared no better against the all-conquering Chelmsford A. Daniel Young, Gary Young and Kim Shead powered home 10-0 and with 87 points they lead the way by a huge 31 points. Kim Shead impressed this time. He beat Wiktor Delimat (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7), Simon Jarvis (12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-4) and new signing Adam Cuthbert (10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7). Three excellent wins. Danbury C also dented Writtle A’s hopes of finishing second by beating them 8-2. Trevor Lloyd and Sanjay Saptashi were both undefeated. Ryan Pitt was on target for the losers and he defeated David Gatheral 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9. OCA A with the “brothers Mulley” in tandem are a force to be reckoned with. Mathew and Mark captured all six singles plus the doubles as they beat Chelmsford B 7-3. The doubles went to “the wire” with Matthew and Mark sneaking home 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9 against Josh Bickles and Harry Buckle.  

OCA C impressed in division two and the upturn in form of League Chairman Dave Porter has been particularly impressive. OCA C’s 6-4 win over second placed Writtle C owed a lot to Porter’s excellent hat-trick of wins. He beat John Parodi (11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9), John Webber (11-9, 11-9, 11-6) and John Gagg (11-9, 11-2, 11-6). Leaders Danbury G won again, 7-3 against Danbury E. Their top player – Sanjay Saptarshi (88 %) again led by example and he powered home to three wins. He beat Tim Cramphorn (11-6, 11-6, 11-7), Neil Want (11-2, 11-2, 11-6) and Dick Wyman (11-3, 11-3, 11-4). “First division” written all over that performance. Team-work saw Hatfield Peverel A beat Danbury F 7-3. Gareth Davies, Neil Freeman and Martin Archie all won twice in a match where the last six games were all decided in the fifth end. Sam Phillips won twice for the losers and this included a fine 4-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 win over Martin Archie. The match between Danbury E and Writtle B finished tied at 5-5. Paul Sturton was unbeaten for Writtle A.  Dick Wyman did well to beat Trevor Collin 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5.

Danbury K had the misfortune to have to play against the two outstanding sides in division three in successive weeks. They lost 9-1 to second placed Maldon A and 8-2 to the leaders Galleywood B. Peter Hance was on target against Maldon A with a fine 11-6, 3-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8 win over Lloyd Bennett-Smith but Hamish Innes and Dawn Baldry were both undefeated. Mark Glenister and John Holland were both undefeated for Galleywood with Peter Hance beating Bryn Thomas narrowly 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 12-10 for their sole singles success. Maldon A also beat Danbury J 7-3. Hamish Innes, Dawn Baldry and Brian Riedling all bagged two wins whilst Dave Marsh won twice for Danbury J. Dave Meah showed up well with a fine 13-11, 11-5, 11-7 win over Hamish Innes. In another match where no single player stayed undefeated Writtle D beat OCA D 6-4. Dave Carter secured the Writtle victory with a superb 12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-6 win over Richard Baxter.  Baxter had also been involved a in hard fought five-setter with Bob Garson. This time he won 11-8, 13-15, 11-7, 2-11, 12-10.  The match between Chelmsford E and Chelmsford F also finished 6-4, with the Chelmsford E team edging it. Rev Matthews won his three singles and he sealed the victory for his side by beating Andy Swales 13-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8 in the last game of the night. The match went to form when Danbury H played Hatfield Peverel B. Dave Hancox won his three singles as Danbury H won 7-3. Richard Allen gave Danbury H a winning start by beating Paul Mulley – the best of the Hatfield Peverel players 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10.

Danbury L scored their ninth win of the season to move 19 points clear in division four. Denis Balic and Denis Crapnell were both undefeated in their 8-2 win over Maldon B. Denis Crapnell (21 wins out of 21) retained his 100 % singles record. Writtle E are third and they beat Chelmsford H 9-1. Malcolm Storey and Dave Moles both won their three singles whilst Harrison Hill was on target for Chelmsford H. He beat Neil Thompson 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 13-11. Highwood A did well to beat Galleywood C 6-4; their second win of the season. Keith Fitz-John excelled. He beat Will Goodchild (11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11), Nathan Blore (8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 15-13) and Ron Salton (5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5). An excellent evening’s work. OCA E led by the reliable Farooq Ahmed beat Chelmsford G 7-3. David Newman provided the support with two wins. Chelmsford G in turn beat Chelmsford H 8-2. Dusan Doszkoty led the way with a hat-trick and he sealed this by beating Cleon Fernandes 12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 5-11, 12-10 in nail-biting last game of the evening. Galleywood C scored their third win of the campaign by beating Highwood B 6-4. Will Godchild led the way with three wins.

OCA F top the table in division five with 64 points, just one point ahead of Hatfield Peverel E. OCA F beat Chelmsford J 7-3; Stuart Wintle’s hat-trick giving them the edge. Chelmsford’s John Wickins beat Bob Francis 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 7-11, 11-9 in the closest game of the night. Hatfield Peverel E also won 7-3, beating Hatfield Peverel D. Gary Simmons won his three singles whilst Deb Ginn and Bob Hillis both won twice. Simmons was also undefeated as Hatfield Peverel E beat Maldon C 8-2.  Five games were decided in the fifth end and Hatfield Peverel E won four of them. Bob Hillis also won his three singles on this occasion beating Kym Eames (11-5, 11-3, 11-3), Ross Wheeler (11-5, 12-10, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7) and Brian Dixon (11-9, 11-3, 11-6). Danbury M came out on top 6-4 against Maldon C. Ron Tam led the way with three wins. His third win could have gone either way before he got the better of Ella Sach 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9.        

Steve Kerns Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League