Three results from the Southend Premier Division this week and two tight affairs to start off with. The first saw a 5-4 win for Rawreth B against Hockley A. All three Rawreth players chipping in with wins and it was great to see the lesser spotted Mike Hayes and Andrew Halling back playing this season with Halling picking up two wins as did Peter Barrett and Hayes picking up a win which in the end proved to be the difference. No Rawreth player could get the better of Player of the Match Matt Stringer though as he took all his three singles.
Equally tight but perhaps only because Thorpe B had 2 players was their 5-4 victory over Rayleigh Mill. Kieran Skeggs won all his against Eric Green, Steve Maltby and Steve Sawyer while Rich Stubbington also overcame the two Steve’s. Green beat Stubbington in a close 5 setter for the Miller’s extra point.
The final game of the week saw Irons A record a 7-2 win over Brand Identity A. Reece Seddon leading the way with another three wins ably backed up with two wins apiece from Babul McLeod and John Monk. One win each for Simon Jacob and Richard Jackman for Brand Identity.
Invicta A managed to keep a fingertip hold on to first place in Division 1 this week, courtesy of a strong 7 – 2 win away to Rawreth Megazone C. Steve Marr was again POM, winning all his three matches, a feat emulated by his team mate Lee Marson. Gary Hartgrove and George Davis (playing up) got one each for the home side.
Stanford Le Hope A remain second, but the gap between them and Invicta is now two points. They had a stiff test at home to Brand Identity B. Despite two wins by stalwart Barrie Delf for the visitors, another hat trick from Stanford’s Mitchell Jones, together with two successes from Ian Sangster, gave their side a 5 – 4 victory.
Lentern had a bit of struggle at home to an improving Hadleigh Forum B. However, thanks to a Martin Archie treble, they squeezed out a 5 – 4 result. The match was a close affair with several five setters. The visitor’s David Woolmer was unfortunate to lose out 11 – 9 against Lentern’s Paul Sims in the fifth set of their contest.
David and colleague Tony Jacks scored one success each, but Mick Tappenden was the visitor’s star performer with two wins.
Brand Identity’s setback has pushed them one place down the table, with Rawreth Megazone D taking the opportunity to leapfrog them by handing out a hiding away to bottom side Hockley C. Cleon Fernandez’s maximum gave him the POM prize, but his team mate Adi Kamma was also unbeaten. Ollie George got Hockley’s consolation win in an 8 – 1 drubbing.
RESSC are beginning to move in an upwards direction. This week they travelled to Canvey A and came away with a comfortable 7 – 2 victory. John Holland was POM and skipper Bob Skews also won all his contests. Peter Cray and Ray Wilson won one each for Canvey.
Despite a pair of wins from Dave Thomas Hadleigh Forum C did not have enough in the tank as they entertained Mapledene. An Andy Seaman threesome and two each from Charles Yeung and Bill Smith gave the visitors a comfortable 7 – 2 win.
What goes around comes around so they say and it did for Hockley D in Division 2 this week. In their match last week they could only field two players, lost 5-4, and missed a great chance to chalk up their first win of the season. This week they met Basildon B in a vital bottom of the table clash and found themselves playing a two man side as Covid had taken out Basildon’s best player this season Jenne Seibolt. Hockley took full advantage running out 8-1 winners, ending their winless run and moving up to eighth place in the table. Paul Ogden claimed his second POTM award with two wins, Paul Strutt also won two and Neal Klyman claimed the other point. Richard Reibold was Basildon’s lone winner.
There was no change in the bottom two teams with Rawreth Megazone also succumbing to an 8-1 defeat against Canvey B. The Islanders should possibly be renamed the Murraymints as their recent surge up the league table continues to be inspired by Andrew Murray’s performances. Four games, four wins and four POTM awards leaves them in sixth place and they are now closing the gap on fifth placed Wakering. To be fair to Rawreth the score could have been closer as four games went the full distance but only Steve McQuillan managed to claim a win beating Des Duffield. Kevin Walsingham also completed his hat trick.
Invicta B fell to their seventh successive defeat, not surprisingly against Matchpoint A, and they sit two off the bottom albeit with a six point advantage. Barbara Chabior provided their consolation point beating Jeremy Giffin in five sets but otherwise there was a perfect hat trick for Harry Sawford and another three wins for Evie Knaapen.
Having played a two man team last week Runnymede found themselves a player short against Basildon A. Steve Wisbey and Tony Millward both managed to beat Stephen Walters who unfortunately had to play with a wrist injury and Tony fully extended Les Hoey going two sets up before the Basildon man ran out the last three sets 11/4, 12/10, 11/3.
Closest match of the week was Wakering’s 5-4 win at Stanford B with Zac England’s hat trick proving to be the difference supported by a win each from Stewart Mills and Paul England. Mark Downey and Robert Salvage shared the points for Stanford but there was no joy on the night for David Arnett. Stanford stay in third place on games won as they Matchpoint B and Wakering all have 45 points.
Player of the Week – Harry Sawford
Team of the Week – Hockley D
‘Very much a derby game’ was how the meeting of the Stanford ‘C’ and ‘D’ teams in Division 3 was described. ‘C’ team skipper Mark Farley certainly thought so and, in determined mood, he recorded a flawless hat-trick and this, added to two wins from Randy Santiago, meant a 5/4 win and ensured the bragging rights for his team. All the ‘D’ team players contributed on the night with Martin Winter their best player with two wins. Andrew Jessop and Peter Moxham also chipped in with a win apiece.
Matchpoint ‘D’ picked up a couple of valuable points as they try to move away from the lower reaches of the Division 3 table. Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ were their opponents, and for them, Robert Garlick was the POTM with an unbeaten performance, well supported by Edward Philcox and Mike Webb with two wins each. Matchpoint’s Richard Sloman was their points winner with wins over Gloria Acheampong and Ethan Russell. Despite this defeat, the Matchpoint team were commended for their attitude and sportsmanship throughout.
The match between Canvey ‘C’ and Invicta ‘C’ was a close affair, notable mainly for the performance of Invicta’s Trisha Winter who put an end to the long unbeaten run in this division of Canvey’s Trevor Hayes. Despite her heroics, she ended up on the losing side as Steve Kemp’s maximum was the mainstay of Canvey’s 5/4 victory. Trevor added the other two points for the Islanders, whilst for Invicta there were two wins for Trisha plus a win apiece for teammates David Youngman and Jonathan Gould.
The meeting of two of our junior sides turned out to be a very one-sided affair as the Matchpoint ‘C’ trio of Max Mayo, Lotte Mills and Alex Bowden proved to be far too strong for the very young Hockley ‘F’ team and ran out 9/0 winners in double quick time. Alex was the POTM as he maintained his unbeaten record this season. Despite the scoreline, this match was played in good spirits by all the players. With this big win, Matchpoint have moved into third place in the league, hot on the heels of the joint leaders, Stanford ‘D’ and Invicta ‘C’.
Aaron Price led the way for Evolve as his team overcame the challenge of Hadleigh Forum ‘D’, a 6/3 win being the outcome. Aaron recorded a ‘perfect’, straight sets hat-trick, with his teammates Ben Berwick, two wins, and Teddy Kent, with a single win, completing a solid team performance. Todd Barker, with a brace, was Forum’s best player on the night with Douglas Brown adding their other point.