Chelmsford C and Hatfield Peverel A remain separated by just four points in division two as they posted identical 8-2 victories in week 24, while Buttsbury A closed the gap on division three leaders Galleywood B to five points courtesy of the same scoreline.
Division 1
No change at the top of division one as both leaders OCA A and Chelmsford A were held to away draws. Paul Lucas fired a hat-trick of wins as the Old Chelmsfordians were well tested by Chelmsford B on Monday night. Lucas beat Kim Shead and Wiktor Delimat by 3-1 scorelines but had to recover from 2-1 down to beat Omar Wasi. Shead had earlier come back from 2-1 down to beat Mark Mulley. Ian Wall’s treble helped ensure fourth-placed Danbury B shared the spoils with unbeaten second-placed Chelmsford A. Wall beat Nikita Tkachuk and Kaung Htet Paing in straight games but had to rally from 2-1 down to get the better of Gary Young. Young beat Dan Anderson in a fifth game decider having earlier teamed up with Tkachuk to recover from 2-0 down in the doubles encounter with Wall and Anderson. Chris Penrose secured three wins as third placed Danbury A won 6-4 on the road at Writtle A, while Sanjay Saptarshi fired a hat-trick as Danbury C edged Galleywood A 6-4.
Standings div 1: 1: Old Chelmsfordians A 123 points (from 16 matches), 2: Chelmsford A 110 points (16 matches), 3: Danbury A 98 points (17 matches).
Division 2
Chelmsford C’s lead at the top of division two remains four points as both themselves and their closest rivals Hatfield Peverel A posted identical 8-2 results. Julie Johnson scored a hat-trick in Hatfield Peverel A’s home win over OCA B. Johnson beat Michael Hayes in three games, David Porter in four and Mick Richardson in five, while teammate Martin Archie was denied a treble of his own as Richardson recovered from 2-0 down to take their match. Victor Chan and Waseem Qureshi were both undefeated in Chelmsford C’s away win at Danbury E. Qureshi fought back from 2-0 down to beat Tim Cramphorn while Cramphorn got a measure of revenge in the double match where he and Neil Want came back from the same scoreline to beat Chan and Mark Allaway 3-2. Fourth-placed Danbury D beat third placed Maldon A 6-4 thanks to another Sanjay Saptarshi treble – the two teams are now tied on 86 points though Maldon have a game in hand. Chelmsford D beat the two-person team of Writtle B by a 7-3 scoreline with Omar Wasi winning both of his matches.
Standings div 2: 1: Chelmsford C 107 points (from 16 matches), 2: Hatfield Peverel A 103 points (from 16 matches), 3: Danbury D 86 points (16 matches)
Division 3
With division three leaders Galleywood B not in action second-placed Buttsbury A were given the opportunity to take a chunk out of their thirteen point gap and they duly obliged with an 8-2 home win over Writtle E on Friday night. Caroline Cole and Evie Knaapen were both undefeated – Knaapen did not drop a game in her three wins while Cole took five games to beat both Dave Moles and Malcolm Storey. Third-placed OCA C fell to a 7-3 loss at Danbury H thanks to an Ian Whiteside hat-trick as well as two wins from Alan Scammell, while fifth-placed Writtle D got the better of fourth-placed Hatfield Peverel B through three wins by Bob Garson and a double by Pete Layzell. A Bob Garson treble boosted fifth-placed Writtle D to a 6-4 home win over Hatfield Peverel B – Garson dropped just one game on the night while teammate Malcolm Henstock’s two losses were both over five games. Two more 6-4 scorelines as Danbury K beat clubmates Danbury J in a match which saw a treble from Dave Powell while Chelmsford F edged Chelmsford E – Felix Reeve and Sami Osman winning twice for the F side while Alesha Ellis-Austin won twice for the E side.
Standings div 3: 1: Galleywood B 112 points (from 15 matches), 2: Buttsbury A 107 points (15 matches), 3: OCA C 80 points (from 15 matches).
Division 4
#3 Maldon B v #5 Highwood A
Unbeaten leaders Galleywood C edged closer to the division four title with a comprehensive 9-1 win over ninth-placed Hatfield Peverel E. Will Goodchild and Colin Blore were the unbeaten players with James Brooks the only point scorer for Hatfield. Second placed Chelmsford G kept their hopes alive with a 9-1 win at Hatfield Peverel C – Cleon Fernandes and Dion Fernandes both earned trebles for the visitors. Farooq Ahmed was undefeated as OCA D won 7-3 at Buttsbury B. Ahmed dropped just one game in his three wins while both of teammate David Bishop’s two wins were earned over five games.
Standings div 4: 1: Galleywood C 124 points (from 15 matches), 2: Chelmsford G 96 matches (from 14 matches), 3: Maldon B 78 points (from 12 matches)
Division 5
Division five leaders Danbury M extended their lead with a 7-3 win at Galleywood D. Steve Martin was Danbury’s hat-trick hero while Galleywood’s Nick Rounce got the better of both Graham Naggs and David Smith. Kelvin Edeh treble helped Anglia Ruskin gain a 6-4 win over second placed Chelmsford J. Edeh also teamed with Douglas Bawuah in a 3-2 doubles win over Mark Nolan and Elliot Hawthorne – Bawuah had earlier seen five-game action in his come-from-behind win against David Parker. Buttsbury C moved into third place with a 10-0 home win against sixth placed Writtle F. Oscar Hutt, Torsten Greenan and Richard Pond did the damage for the hosts – Pond’s three wins were all achieved via a deciding game. Shirley Carroll won all three of her matches as Maldon C won 7-3 at OCA E. Carroll beat Stuart Wintle in three games, Mike Morecroft in four and held off a Suzanne Shaw fightback from 2-0 down to win in five.
Standings div 5: 1: Danbury M 109 points (from 15 matches), 2: Chelmsford J 89 points (15 matches), 3: Buttsbury C 78 points (from 15 matches).
Chelmsford Junior League division 2A
The Buttsbury Bears moved into top spot in division 2A with a 5-0 win at Chelmsford Cougars thanks to two wins apiece for Lewis Woods and Joseph Hutt. Chelmsford Eagles earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory at Danbury Dragons – Joshua Freeeman’s wins over both Oliver Martin and Peter Harverson went the distance.
Standings CJL 2A: 1: Buttsbury Bears 11 points (from 3 matches), 2: Hutton Hawks 10 points (3 matches)
Chelmsford Junior League division 2B
Joseph Hutt and Lewis Woods won twice each as the Buttsbury Bulldogs beat the Chelmsford Tigers 5-0 – opponents William Guilloux and Ryan Peiris took a 2-0 lead in the doubles only for the Bulldogs duo to storm back for the win. Hutton Hyenas beat the one person team of the Chelmsford Leopards 4-1.
Standings CJL 2B: 1: Buttsbury Bulldogs 11 points (from 3 matches), 2: Hutton Harriers 10 points (3 matches)
Chelmsford Junior League division 2C
Chelmsford Jaguars moved to the top of division 2C with a 5-0 win over the Chelmsford Rhinos – Sean Kwan and Atharv Srivastava with the wins for the Jaguars, while Archie Giles and Spencer Giles were undefeated in the Hutton Hammerheads’ 5-0 win at the Hutton Hornets.
Standings CJL 2C: 1: Chelmsford Jaguars 15 points (from 3 matches), 2: Chelmsford Panthers 15 points (3 matches)
Chelmsford Junior League division 2D
Buttsbury Bats moved to the top of division 2D with a 4-1 win and in doing so handed the Chelmsford Pumas their first loss of the season – Zac Berry won both of his games while teammate Ethan Ferris took the deciding game 11-9 in his clash with Hari Gumbeer. Amelie Lucas and Georgiana Major both won twice as the Chelmsford Lions beat the Buttsbury Bees 5-0 – Major won the deciding game against Rayhan Sudheer by a nail biting 13-11.
Standings CJL 2D: 1: Buttsbury Bats 12 points (from 3 matches), 2: Hutton Hares 10 points (3 matches)