Galleywood A have opened up a healthy eight point lead in division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League after beating Hatfield Peverel A 9-1. Gary Brignall and Peter Barrett were both undefeated whilst James Mullane won twice, only missing out to Alistair Piper (10-12, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11). James Mullane beat Neil Freeman by a last gasp (8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10) margin whilst Peter Barrett had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Julie Johnson (9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 12-10, 11-4). Second placed Danbury D fell back, as they could only beat Galleywood B 6-4. Sam Phillips was undefeated for Danbury but Gary Copsey and John Holland both won twice for Galleywood. Chelmsford D did well to beat OCA C 7-3. Nikita Tkachuk and Adi Kamma were both undefeated. Nikita Tkachuk gave his side a winning start by getting the better of Mick Richardson (11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6). Six games were decided in the fifth end as OCA B defeated Danbury E 6-4. Berti Makoli’s three wins gave OCA B the ascendancy and he beat Tony Forster (11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8), Neil Want (11-6, 11-8, 11-6) and Tim Cramphorn (9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6).  Chelmsford C were bolstered by the inclusion of Robert Shrimpton and his hat-trick helped them beat Writtle C 8-2. Shrimpton scored an all-important victory over John Webber in the opening game (6-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6).

In the first division the ultra-attacking OCA A side of Mark Mulley, Matt Mulley and Paul Lucas (it’s hard to think of a more attacking trio of players) raced to a 10-0 win over Writtle A. On that showing they will take some stopping. Writtle A were also on the wrong end of a 7-3 defeat against Danbury A. Babul McLeod and Bruce Kettle both bagged hat-tricks.  Babul McLeod defeated Lee McHugh (5-11, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 11-8) whilst Bruce Kettle beat McHugh (12-14, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9). Richard Storey made his mark for Writtle with a fine 9-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 victory over Eric Green.  Danbury B ran out 6-4 winners against Chelmsford B. Sam Lowman’s hat-trick of wins gave Danbury the edge. Sam Lowman was stretched by Victor Chan before he pulled away in the fifth end to win (5-11, 11-9, 16-14, 7-11, 11-7).

A strong Danbury F side of John Tendler, Gus Heath and Chris Buer powered to 10-0 win over Chelmsford F in division three. They top the table with 45 points out of 60. John Tendler was involved in three five enders. He beat Rev Mathews (8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5), Takunda Nerutanga (6-11 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8) and Dave Parker (8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8). Other games in this division were closer. OCA D were indebted to Richard Baxter as they beat Danbury H 6-4. Baxter completed his hat-trick with a 11-9, 1-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 victory over Peter Hance. It was also 6-4 when Chelmsford E played Writtle E. Dusan Doszkoty’s three wins gave Chelmsford F the edge. He had to dig deep to beat Malcolm Storey (11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9).  In yet another 6-4 result Ken Sheard won his three singles as Danbury G beat Danbury K. Sheard completed his hat-trick with a 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 success against Denis Balic; the win that secured his team’s victory. Maldon B (three wins for Dawn Baldry plus two victories for Brian Riedling) ran out 7-3 winners against OCA D. Dawn Baldry beat Richard Upson, the most successful of the OCA players (11-6, 13-11, 12-10). Division three isn’t division three without a 5-5 draw and Writtle D and Danbury H couldn’t be separated. Weittle’s Malcolm Henstock was unbeaten although he had to work hard to get the better of Dave Marsh (11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8).

Danbury M lead the way in division four but with 34 points from seven games their lead is less than conclusive. Danbury L (33 points from five games) and Chelmsford G (32 points from five games) are clearly better placed. Tim Pulham was undefeated as Danbury M beat Buttsbury A 7-3. Pulham gave his side a winning start by getting the better of Jamie Elliott (5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8) in the opening encounter. Danbury M also drew 5-5 with Chelmsford H. Cleon Fernandes won his three games for Chelmsford downing the challenges of Ken Wilding (11-7, 12-10, 11-6), David Smith (11-1, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10) and Paul Thirkettle (11-9, 11-6, 11-5). Danbury L raced into a 4-1 Lead against Chelmsford G before eventually winning 6-4. Dave Powell won his three singles for Danbury whilst Harrison Hill and Alesha Ellis-Austin both won twice for Chelmsford.  A good trio of wins for Dave Powell who has a 92 % record, and he beat Alesha Ellis-Austin (11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9), Harrison Hill (12-10, 11-8, 11-5) (Harrison’s first defeat) and Emilie Guilloux (11-1, 11-6, 11-6). OCA E ran out 7-3 winners against Hatfield Peverel D. David Newman and Farooq Ahmed were both unbeaten for the Old Chelmsfordians side. Farooq Ahmed overcame Bob Hillis (11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9) in the closest game of the evening. Hatfield Peverel E defeated Chelmsford H 6-4. Connor Payne’s hat-trick gave his side the ascendancy although he was hard pushed to get the better of Felix Reeve. He eventually triumphed (9-11, 11-8, 7,11, 13-11, 11-9).      

Highwood A made it seven wins out of seven in division five. They beat Hatfield Peverel F 7-3. Keith Fitz-John led the way with three wins beating Jackie Treacy (11-3, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7), Martin Kilbey (11-7, 11-6, 11-9) and Dave Benstead (11-5, 11-9, 11-6). Galleywood D did well to beat Maldon C 6-4. Nathan Blore won his three singles for Galleywood and this included a 13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8 win over Ella Sach, the best of the Maldon players. Steve Peacock sealed the Galleywood victory by beating Ross Wheeler (11-3, 8-11, 11-2, 11-8) in the last game of the night. Phil West won his three singles as Hatfield Peverel E beat ARU 8-2. Chris Rollison won twice and this included a hard-fought 7-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8 success against Douglas Bawuah. “Teamwork” – in the shape of Kath Little (two wins), Phil West (two wins) and Jackie Treacey (one win) was enough to see Hatfield Peverel over the line against Chelmsford J, with a 6-4 victory. Kath Little had to dig deep to beat Shengbing Zhu (3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8). In another close game Danbury N beat Buttsbury B 6-4. Graham Naggs and David Smith won twice for Danbury whilst Lucy Elliott and Oscar Hutt both picked up two wins for Buttsbury. Four games were decided in the fifth end and Steve Martin lost two of them. He missed out (11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11) to Oscar Hutt and (7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11) against Lucy Elliott.

Buttsbury Bears took a giant step towards the Junior division 1A title. Callum Walker and Lucy Elliott won all four singles in their 4-1 win over Chelmsford Lions. Callum Walker got his team off to a winning start with a very hard-fought (11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10) victory against Luka Ha. Chelmsford Lions returned to winning ways by beating Danbury Dragons 3-2. Amir Chetitah won twice beating Oliver Martin (9-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-8) and Alex Wilson (11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-3). Danbury Dragons also tasted success. Alex Wilson and Oliver Martin ran out 5-0 winners against Buttsbury Bulldogs.     

Junior division 1 B leaders Buttsbury Bees won twice and they lead the way with 16 points from five games with Chelmsford Cougars (15 points from four games) breathing down their necks.  Noah Middleton won twice as they beat Buttsbury Badgers 3-2 whilst Charlie Ware won twice as they saw off Chelmsford Antelopes 3-2. Buttsbury Bats also won 3-2. Thomas Lewis was their match-winner against Danbury Griffins with wins over Oscar Wyman (11-7, 11-3, 11-4) and Felix Ride (11-3, 11-6, 11 -4). Buttstbury Bats didn’t fare so well against Chelmsford Antelopes and lost 4-1. Jayden Bandari won twice with two hard fought victories – beating Torsten Greenan (5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6) and Thomas Lewis (12-14, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-6) .  

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League