Southend League – Division 2
The final week of the season and whilst the top and bottom positions in the league had been decided the second promotion and relegation places had yet to be confirmed. Three teams were involved at the bottom of the table Invicta B (54pts), Matchpoint C (54pts) and Hockley E (58pts). Invicta had to play Hockley and Matchpoint C had to play their B team who were also involved in the battle for promotion. To avoid relegation Invicta needed 7 points to finish above Hockley, Hockley required 3 points to finish above Invicta whilst Matchpoint C require a minimum of 5 points to beat Hockley’s total but more depending on their result against Invicta. Invicta and Hockley played first so Matchpoint would know exactly how many points were required when they came to play.
The week started at Invicta and Hockley found themselves without the returning Dave Chenery who was unbeaten in his previous games so far, but got off to the best possible start with Richard Kidd beating Andrew St. John in straight sets. After that though the Invicta boys found little resistance racing through the next six games to lead 6-1 just one short of their target. Kidd then came to Hockley’s rescue again as he came back from two sets down against Keith Baxter to keep his team in with a chance of getting that vital third point, but only to see it all end in vain as St. John defeated John George in straight sets to save Invicta and leave Hockley on the brink. John Blackman, with three wins, made up the winning Invicta team.
All eyes now turned to the ‘derby’ match between Matchpoint C and B. The C team now new they needed 7 points to ensure safety and relegate Hockley and, at the same time, the B team needed just 2 points to overtake Canvey in second place and gain promotion to Division 1. On paper this should have been a straight forward win for the B team the C team having struggled most of the season winning just three games. Admittedly they were without injured captain John Lott but they did have Hannah Harbour who boasted an unbeaten record in the league this season. Surely if she played she should win her three games, enough to promote the B team and relegate the C. To quote a well known saying however, ‘the show’s not over until the fat lady sings,’ and when the teams lined up on the night you would be hard put to tell which team was B and which was C.
The B team fielded regular Colin Barham but then had to call on D team players Poppy Sherman and Gary Crouch whilst the C team turned out regulars Richard Sloman, Samuel Morgan and Zachary Samuels. What would the Hockley players be thinking when they saw that line up? Whatever they did they wouldn’t have expected what happened as the C team ran out 9-0 winners to save themselves and prevent the B team from going up to Division 1. Hockley must have been distraught! The match was remarkably one sided with one match going to five sets, two going to four sets but the rest all done in straight sets. The bookies would have done well on that one!
Turning to the rest of the games with the top two teams now confirmed, Hockley D, sitting in fourth place, thumped Stanford 9-0 and moved up a place into third after Matchpoint B’s unexpected defeat. In truth, they didn’t have to work too hard as Stanford had to call on Karen Kempster and Andrew Jessop from their D team to play with regular Randy Santiago but they were outclassed by the Hockley team of Brian Bissenden, Howard Collins and Paul Ogden. Not one set dropped all night!
Final match of the season saw already relegated Basildon C at home to Runnymede who, unfortunately, could only field two players. Having that advantage helped Basildon to a 7-2 win with Ross Letham winning his two games whilst Michael Elemide and Anton Kudyniuk weighed in with a point each. Andrew Humphris also got a brace for Runnymede.
Team of the Week – Invicta B
Player of the Week – John Blackman