Stu Wilkinson has been a regular in the Leopards’ side in
Division Three of the Clacton League since he joined the
Nomads club ten years ago, and he’s developed into a reliable
seventy per cent player at this level without ever hitting the
headlines.
But the often under-rated Wilkinson stepped into the limelight
this week as Nomads Leopards’ unlikely hero in their encounter
with Windsor Magpies, putting in a notable unbeaten
performance. Playing without their number one Dominic Joannou,
the Leopards did well to record a 6-4 victory, Wilkinson taking a
fine maximum.
He picked up impressive singles wins over John Plummer, Alan
Rutledge and Dave Sweetland, and shared an important doubles
victory with Bob Jillins 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 against
Plummer and Sweetland. Jillins won two for the Leopards but was
denied his own hat-trick by Sweetland who edged their match 11-
8 in the fifth.
The Magpies had a second tough match, this against Brotherhood
E. Four matches went the distance, each side winning two of
them, but Brotherhood came out on top 7-3. Fred Gallone won
three, Tricia Salter two and Tony Edmonds one. Gallone’s
maximum included an 11-8 in the fifth win over Dave Sweetland,
the same score by which Salter defeated Alan Rutledge. For the
Magpies, Sweetland won two and Rutledge one, both players
edging out Edmonds by the same 11-7 in the fifth score.
Brotherhood E also played twice this week and they followed up
their success against the Magpies with an 8-2 win against
Nomads Bobcats. Duncan Dunne and Fred Gallone took maximum
points, with Rodney Betts defeating Alex Baldock 11-5 in the fifth
for a point. Jack Riddleston and Matt Sage, with a debut League
win, took the Bobcats’ points.
Walton E overcame Nomads Lynx 8-2, with Lynette Sparks

unbeaten, and Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton winning a pair
apiece. Ian Gwillim took the Nomads’ points with two close wins,
11-7 in the fifth against Earle and 11-4 in the fifth against
Sexton, whilst Gerry Widnell narrowly failed to get on the score
sheet, going down to Sexton 11-2 in the deciding set.
Finally in Division Three, Windsor Harriers defeated Nomads
Ocelots 10-0, none of the matches extended beyond a third set.
Jenny Higgins, a late call-up for the Harriers, recorded hat-tricks
in successive weeks for the first time in seventeen years.
In Division One trebles for James Denyer and John Hatley, and a
couple from Gill Locke, saw Nomads Panthers home 9-1 against
Walton B. The only match which went the distance was Locke’s
11-4 in the decider win against Graham Buxton. Gavin Price took
the Walton point.
Three for Daniel Young, two for Andy Vincent and a crucial 12-10
in the fifth win for John Barton against Russell Hillier gave
Windsor Hawks the edge 6-4 against Brotherhood A. Gary Young
won two and Kevin Gowlett one for Brotherhood. Highlight of the
match was the final encounter of the evening where son Daniel
earned the bragging rights over Dad Gary with a 14-12, 11-9, 7-
11, 11-6 victory.
For a second week running, Walton A lost 9-1 to a Windsor side –
last week it was the Hawks, this week the Eagles. Mel Rampton,
Phil Smith and, making a rare appearance for the Eagles, Gary
Cattermole all stayed undefeated. Walton’s point came from a
five-set doubles win for Colin Dearman and David Binns over
Smith and Cattermole.
In Division Two Brotherhood D extended their lead at the top
with another convincing performance, defeating Windsor Penguins
9-1, Simon Smith-Daye and Sam Plummer unbeaten. James
Smith-Daye’s two wins for Brotherhood were both five-setters,
11-6 in the decider against Sharon Gowlett and 11-8 in the
decider against Annabelle Stallwood. But he couldn’t get the
better of Scott Campbell who took the Penguins’ consolation
point.
Brotherhood B were predictable 10-0 winners against Windsor
Kestrels. John Owen returned to League action with an
undefeated three, whilst there were trebles also for Barry Allen,
his first wins of the season, and Paul Alden. Debra Found was the
Kestrels’ best player, narrowly going down 11-6 in the fifth to
Allen and 11-9 in the fifth to Owen.

Finally, Walton D were 6-4 winners against Brotherhood C, Andy
Foster winning three and Clive Allenby two. Walton’s Paul
Woolnough will consider himself the unluckiest player of the
week, if not the season, losing three tight five-setters – 11-5 in
the decider to John Gallagher, 11-7 in the decider to Paul Metcalf
and 11-9 in the decider to Mark Beckham. Brotherhood’s fourth
point, and Gallagher’s second win of the evening, also came from
a match which went the distance, Gallagher enjoying an
unexpected win 11-5 in the fifth over Allenby.

• Members of the League will be saddened to learn of the death
  this week of its most senior Vice-President, Brian Baines. As a
  player, supporter and official, Brian had been associated with the
  League for over seventy years. A full appreciation of Brian’s
  contribution to the League will follow in due course.
• 
  RESULTS
  Division 1
  Walton A 1 Windsor Eagles 9;
  Nomads Lions 9 Windsor Buzzards 1;
  Walton B 1 Nomads Panthers 9;
  Brotherhood A 4 Windsor Hawks 6.
  Division 2
  Brotherhood C 4 Walton D 6;
  Windsor Penguins 1 Brotherhood D 9;
  Windsor Kestrels 0 Brotherhood B 10.
  Division 3
  Nomads Bobcats 2 Brotherhood E 8;
  Windsor Magpies 3 Brotherhood E 7;
  Nomads Leopards 6 Windsor Magpies 4;
  Nomads Ocelots 0 Windsor Harriers 10;
  Walton E 8 Nomads Lynx 2.

Three games from week 7 of the Southend Premier Division but first a late result in from week 6 and it was a tremendously close battle between two very evenly matched teams in the shape of Rayleigh Mill and Irons A. Only one of the eight games was settled in three ends with four matches going the full distance, the closest being a 14-12 win for Eric Green over Dave Bowles. Green picked up another win over John Monk but like the other two Millers could not get the better of player of the match Reece Seddon. Seddon’s three games and a win for Monk over Colin Chatfield was their lot for the evening and the two wins for Green along with Bruce Kettle’s brace and the win for Chatfield meant a 5-4 win for the Millers.

Rawreth A and Thorpe Bay A continue their good form as they picked up 7-2 and 8-1 wins over Hockley A and Brand Identity A respectively. Hatricks a piece for Liam Squirrell and Kevin Read for Rawreth along with a single win for Charles Sweeny over Sanjay Saptarshi in the first match and maximum wins for John Poysden and Paul Sayer and two for Mark Stones in the second fixture. A good win for David Jacob over Stones for the consolation in that one.

Hadleigh Forum have been busy in the transfer market and new signing Mark Mulley got off to a flying start in his Southend career as he won his three games to help Hadleigh to a 5-4 win over Rawreth B. Teammate Neal Barker continued his early season good form picking up wins against Arron Chandler and Kim Shead but he couldn’t pick up the scalp of Peter Barrett who won two on the night.

Stanford Le Hope A hung on to first place in Division 1, thanks to a 6 – 3 home win over Canvey A. Yet again Mitchell Jones was their star. His maximum POTM performance was assisted by two wins from Russel Bright and one from Dave Hancock. Ray Wilson won two for Canvey and Joanna Hills the other one.

Lentern surprisingly lost at home to RESSC 5 – 4 and consequently slipped down the pecking order. The visitor’s John Holland won all his matches to take the accolades and skipper Bob Skews got the other two. Paul Sims was responsible for both Lentern’s successes.

Invicta A’s fine 7 – 2 away win at Mapledene moved them into second place. POTM Lee Marson was unbeaten, as was his team mate Steven Marr. Lin Roff and Anthon Ranjit-Singh got one victory each for the home side, and Tony Ayliffe one for Invicta.

Brand Identity B took advantage of Lentern’s slip up to move up the table. They overcame Rawreth Megazone C 6 – 3 away. Adam Jackman had an unbeaten evening to earn the POTM prize. Veteran John Lott added two and Michael Grout one. The home side’s victories came from Garry Hartgrove, with two, and Trevor Ward with one.

Hadleigh Forum B could only muster two players for their visit to Hockley C and consequently, the home side were able to record their first win of the season. Ollie George was Hockley’s hero, being unbeaten and Eamonn Hall picked up a point on debut. The visitors’ Mick Tappenden won two, and David Woolmer one.

Rawreth Megazone D obtained a 6 – 3 victory from their visit to Hadleigh Forum C, despite only having two players. Mike Hayes and George Davis were both too strong for the home side.

Matchpoint A returned to the top of the Division 2 table this week after a crushing 9-0 victory at Runnymede. Needless to say Evie Knaapen turned in another perfect POTM performance and was backed up by Harry Sawford and Jeremy Giffin. The only real sign of resistance from the home team came in the first match of the evening where Andy Humphris took Harry to five sets but after that it was plain sailing for Matchpoint six matches ending in straight sets.

Basildon A relinquished their position at the top by one point as a result of their 7-2 defeat of Wakering. It seems you have to be pretty near perfect to keep top position at the moment! The father and son combination of Paul and Zac England did the damage by both beating Robert Platt but otherwise Basildon’s Les Hoey and Arun Joy reigned supreme Arun completing the perfect hat trick. Robert’s point came with a win against Stewart Mills.

Matchpoint B’s young team beat Basildon B 7-2 with Jack Riley’s hat trick supported by braces from Alexander Deacon and Ben Murray but they met strong resistance from Jenne Seibolt who beat Alex and Ben and took Jack to five sets. No joy for Richard Reibold and Andy Roff.

Stanford B maintained their winning run chalking up their sixth successive victory by beating bottom of the table Rawreth Megazone E 8-1. Robert Salvage and Adrian Armstrong were the hat trick heroes with Mark Downey picking up two wins but succumbing to Richard Kidd in the final game of the evening thus preventing the whitewash. Stanford stay third in the table.

The return of Andrew Murray to the Canvey B ranks has given them a significant boost in their last two games and his hat trick was the cornerstone of their 7-2 win against Hockley D. Braces from Tony Westwell and Des Duffield helped clinch the win whilst single wins for Tony Molisso against his namesake and Paul Strutt against Des got the points for a still winless Hockley. The final game of the night produced the closest match as Paul let slip a 2-1 lead against Tony eventually going down 13/11 6/11 12/10 5/11 9/11.

Team of the Week – Matchpoint A

Player of the Week – Arun Joy

In Division 3 another Trevor Hayes maximum was the cornerstone of a 6-3 win for Canvey ‘C’ over Matchpoint
‘C’. Stephen Parker with two wins and Andy O’Rawe with a single win added the extra points for the
Islanders. Max Mayo with a brace and Blake Stewart were the points scorers for Matchpoint.
John George led the way for Hockley ‘E’ with an unbeaten performance as they narrowly overcame
Matchpoint ‘D’ Teammates Gary Beck and Keith Denyer added a win apiece to ensure a 5-4 win.
For Matchpoint there were two wins each for Richard Sloman and Oliver Milchard but it was a blank
night unfortunately for Jeff Gritzman.
A young Evolve side hosted Stanford ‘C’ and were on the wrong end of a 7-2 defeat. However, the
final scoreline does not reflect how close this match actually was. Three of the games went the full
distance with the Evolve player narrowly falling short in the deciding set on each occasion.
Stanford’s Randy Santiago, with a hat-trick, was the POTM, well supported by Karen Kempster and
James Parker with two wins each. For Evolve, there was a win each for Reuben Stracey and Aaron
Price. No wins for George Key, but he came so close, recovering from losing the first two sets
against Karen to take it to the closest of final sets, 9/11, 9/11, 11/8, 11/9, 9/11 being the final score.

The juniors of Hockley ‘F’ were involved in a close contest against Hadleigh Forum ‘D’. They led 4-2
but were eventually pegged back with Forum winning the last 3 games for a 5-4 win. Elliot
Brackenbury and William Evesham both won two games for Hockley, whilst for Forum there was a
brace each for Douglas Brown and Todd Barker with Jean Catley chipping in with the extra point.
Finally, Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ were unable to field a team for their match against Invicta ‘C’ and so,
unfortunately, had to concede.

• 

The cream of Essex table tennis was on show this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as Cold Norton A threw everything they have at the Galacticos of league leaders Mapledene A.  Four recent men’s Singles Champions were on show in what could have been a preview of this year’s tournament semi-final line up.  Mapledene arrived at the Latchingdon arena boasting a squad of Reece Seddon, Daniel Young and Burnham debutant Peter Barrett.  Some line-up you would admit and a sure fire winning team – but by how much.  Just as the Mapledene boys were getting acquainted with the playing surface Cold Norton unveiled their team response and it was as impressive as it could have been – Duncan Taylor, Kevin Read, and Charles Sweeney.  “Gladiators are you Ready….”  Young took an early scalp with a 4 sets opening victory over Sweeny, but this lead was quickly erased as Taylor and Read got to work winning all their opening matches to see the Nortonians take a 4-2 lead into the half-time break.  Not as easy as it sounds as Young took Taylor to 5 sets, and Seddon replicated this in his showdown with Read.  Not sure what was said by the psychologists and coaches during the interval but the one ‘banker’ was surely Taylor and Read in the Doubles – well that didn’t go so well for them as Seddon and Young blasted their way to a very impressive 4 set bonus point.  With the match evenly poised at 4-3 to Cold Norton it was now time to see if the Mapledeners were up for the fight.  Well three 4-set losses in succession suggests a fight but not quite that dedication that Roy Castle used to sing about back in the day.  Final Score 7-3 to Cold Norton A but Mapledene A remain top of the tree. 

In other news, Fambridge were back to their normal winning ways with a tighter than expected 6-4 turnover of Stow A with hat-tricks for Messrs Poysden and Kettle.  A point a-piece for the Stow clan, and an exceptional 5 set Brucie bonus doubles win for Keith Martin and Gary Brignall as they defeated Kettle and Poysden.  In the Battle of Cold Norton this week the B team outshone and outfought their own C team to lay down an 8-2 score.  The B team were led by Sir Eric of Green, who went undefeated throughout the course of the evening, with the C team’s only real threat coming from their shaven headed assassin Chris Buer who on the night took two scalps home with him.  In the final match of the week Woodham A maintained their 100% win rate despite fielding no regular A team players.  In the 6-4 win away at Maldon A Sanjay Saptarshi was dominant with 3 wins in his singles and then combining with Dan Patynski for the extra doubles point.  Patynski recorded the remaining 2 points and then just lost out on his own hat-trick with a close 5 set loss to Harrison Hill.  That win pushes Woodham A into second place with a game in hand over wounded leaders Mapledene A.

Like their A Team in the top Division, Woodham C are the only Division 2 side with a 100% record this season, and in Graham Briggs and Chris Hancox they have two of the high flying candidates for the divisional player of the season.  Both of these fine paddle bashers were in top form again this week as they both recorded untouched hat-tricks in the 8-2 win against Blackwater B, although their doubles victory was a bit tougher as they were taken to 11-8 in the fifth by Blackwater’s Louis Gunn and Gary Smith.  Mapledene C continue to put down big results, and their big talisman continues to dominate their matches.  An 8-2 victory over Blackwater B and yet another Barrie Delf 9-set hat-trick.  It was the same winning margin for Stow D as they took on Maldon D – with hat-tricks for Ken Sheard and Tim Huxtable.  This one was much closer than it sounds as half of the contests went to 5 sets and the Stow boys won 4 of those.  But even the 4 set matches were long affairs with the winning leg in the Huxtable versus Chris Ravenhill marathon going to 22-20. 

Maldon B continued the theme with their own 8-2 turnover of Woodham D with Hamish Innes chopping and pushing his way to a very well deserved hat-trick.  He was ably supported by team-mates Brian Riedling and Dawn Baldry who both won 2 of their singles.  The Woodham thorn was Trevor Collin who took good wins over Riedling and Baldry as he plays his way back to fitness and form after his recent knee replacement surgery.  Peter Hance was the steady star of the drawn match betwixt Stow B and Blackwater A with 4 wins across the night.  These teams know each other very well and this showed in the scoring as half of the matches went deep into fifth sets and the overall contest went on long into the night.  For Blackwater Alan Scammell and Merv Perriman each took a brace of wins but the game that swung the result was Dave Marsh’s unexpected victory over Neil Freeman.  Given recent form you might have thought that the big news coming from the Maldon C versus Cold Norton D match was that Steve ‘hat-trick’ Aspland failed to win all of his games but this was only a subheading – the real story was that Gordon ‘flatbat’ Gatheral lost to Garry Eames in his opening match but then went on to win against both Aspland and Colin Barrell.  A combination no-one else has achieved this year.  Great concentration and determination shown by Eames to hang on until late in the 5^th set to get the better of the gutsy Gatheral, and he followed this up with another win over Peter Lucraft for his first wins of the season.  Aspland and Barrell did recover from their Gatheralling to win their other matches and the doubles for an overall 7-3 win for Maldon C.  Mr Barrell had some night of it as he played the maximum 20 matches across a very long evening of ping pong.

Division 3 leaders St Lawrence just about held onto their unbeaten record as Roy Hutchins defeated Maldon F’s Roger Warren in the final match of the week to secure a draw and hold onto the coveted top spot.  Maldonian John Leavett was on fire for the salt growers as he brushed aside all his opponents with some aplomb.  Hutchins picked up 2 wins was but was somehow discarded for the doubles – but St Lawrence first officer David Siggins knows a thing or two as his chosen pairing of himself and Mick Robinson had enough in the tank to overturn Leavett and Roger Warren for the vital doubles point.  Kath Little was the star player in her Blackwater C teams 6-4 triumph over stablemates Blackwater D – and like modern day school sports days it was a true club affair as every player went home with at least one win.  The C team edged it with 2 wins each for Little and Mike Burton, and by taking the all-important doubles.  Woodham E and Maldon E battled out a hard-fought draw with Woodham’s Chris Crooks taking out all the opposition in both singles and doubles.

Pic 1 – The impressive Kevin Read in destruction mode this week

Pic 2 – Dynamic Doubles pairing of Dan Young and Reece Seddon

Pic 3 – Charles Sweeny versus Burnham Debutant Peter Barrett

Pic 4 – Eric Green Cold Norton B in action this week

Pic 5 – Woodham’s Sanjay Saptarshi on loan against Maldon this week

Pic 6 – Dave Siggins picking up a point for St Lawrence against Roger Warren

It’s been a lean start to the season for Windsor Eagles, last year’s
runners-up in Division One of the Clacton League, but they got
their campaign into gear this week with a first win, 7-3 against
Walton B.
John Pattrick’s maximum for the Windsor side included an
excellent win over Gavin Price, whilst there were two for Mel
Rampton and one for the Eagles’ long-serving skipper John
Hobson. The closest match of the evening was the doubles,
Pattrick and Rampton beating Price and Graham Buxton 10-12,
11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 11-6. Price won two for Walton, including a
good win over Rampton.
Windsor Hawks made it three wins out of three with a 9-1 success
against a Walton A side who were hampered when Kevin James
was forced to concede two of his singles matches through
unwellness. Daniel Young and Andy Vincent stayed unbeaten for
the Hawks, with both players combining to take an exceptionally
tight doubles 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11 15-13 against Colin
Dearman and Derek Willis.
It was also 9-1 for Brotherhood A who eased past Walton C, Kevin
Gowlett and Gary Young unbeaten, and Russell Hillier winning a
couple. Mark Gale took the Walton point with an 11-8, 11-13, 11-
9, 11-9 victory over Hillier.
Even at this stage of the season, it looked to be a top v bottom
Division Two encounter when Brotherhood D faced Windsor
Kestrels and, predictably, it was Brotherhood who came out on
top 10-0. Kevin Pryor, Simon Smith-Daye and James Smith-Daye
all took trebles. Graham Bunce battled hard for the Kestrels but
couldn’t quite get a consolation point, going down 11-4 in the fifth
to Simon Smith-Daye and 11-8 in the fifth to James Smith-Daye.
Lawford maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a
hard-fought 6-4 win over Walton D. There were a couple each for
John Colvin and Richard Spence, and one for Ian Sherwood, with

Colvin and Sherwood combining to take the doubles. Andy Foster
stayed undefeated for the losers although he had a struggle with
Sherwood before eventually winning 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 12-14,
11-6.
Brotherhood B’s torrid start to the season continued when they
came up against Nomads Jaguars’ top three, Chris Parr, Daryl
Lott and Chris Petrou. All three Nomads’ players stayed unbeaten,
although Petrou needed five sets to beat Grant Sharpe, as did
Lott against Paul Alden. Sharpe and Barry Allen had the
consolation of taking the doubles 13-11, 11-2, 12-10 against Parr
and Lott. Things can only get better for Brotherhood!
Nomads Tigers and Brotherhood C are beginning to look like two
solid mid-table teams and their clash this week ended in a close-
run 6-4 win for the Tigers. Denes Somodi won his three, including
a 13-11, 11-8, 15-13 win against Mark Boyland, whilst Dave
Miller won two tight matches, 11-8 in the decider against Mark
Beckham and 11-9 in the decider against Paul Metcalf. Boyland
won two for Brotherhood, and Beckham and Metcalf one each.
In Division Three Nomads Leopards were forced to field a guest
player in their fixture with Brotherhood E and so will feel pleased
to have secured a share of the spoils. The much-improved
Dominic Joannou won three and Bob Jillins two, but they failed to
take the doubles, Tricia Salter and Rodney Betts winning 11-7,
11-7, 11-7 to maintain Brotherhood’s unbeaten doubles record.
The old hands of Windsor Harriers proved a little too wily for their
Brotherhood F opponents, winning 10-0. But it was not all one-
way traffic, Jenny Higgins, in her first appearance of the season,
taking her maximum but tested by both Joe Sherwin and JJ Barry,
beating Sherwin 2-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-8, 11-8 and Barry 8-11,
13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9.
Brotherhood G were also 10-0 victors, this against Nomads
Bobcats. Dan Grindrod, Danny Still and Gary Simpson all stayed
undefeated but the Bobcats will feel unfortunate not to have
squeezed at least one win, Alex Baldock going down 11-8 in the
fifth to Still and Matt Sage losing to Grindrod by the same score.
Finally, in the all-Nomads clash, there were hat-tricks for Dave
Wright and Ian Gwillim as the Lynx defeated the Ocelots 7-3.
Anne Bonny, Norman Jacobs and Hazel Blanche got a point each
for the losers.
RESULTS

Division 1
Walton C 1 Brotherhood A 9;
Windsor Eagles 7 Walton B 3;
Windsor Hawks 9 Walton A 1.
Division 2
Nomads Tigers 6 Brotherhood C 4;
Walton D 4 Lawford 6;
Brotherhood D 10 Windsor Kestrels 0;
Brotherhood B 1 Nomads Jaguars 9.
Division 3
Nomads Lynx 7 Nomads Ocelots 3;
Windsor Harriers 10 Brotherhood F 0;
Brotherhood E 5 Nomads Leopards 5;
Brotherhood G 10 Nomads Bobcats 0.

• 

There was no surprise in the Southend Premier where Thorpe Bay A overcame their B side 8-1. Worth noting though a great win for Rich Stubbington over Paul Sayer in the last game of the evening. It was a great win to save the whitewash. There was a great battle between Gurj Bhambra and John Poysden which Poysden managed to take 3-1 but the standout game was the third which went all the way to 20-22. Interesting to see if any player can win a longer game than that this year.

Brand Identity continued their strong start to the season with a thumping 9-0 win over Hockley A. Simon Jacob, Richard Jackman and Steve Muth all going unbeaten although Jacob and Muth were pushed all the way by Tarun Goel and Sanjay Saptarshi, both just getting over the line late in the 5^th game.

In a game from last week there was a very tight affair as Rawreth B beat Brand Identity 5-4. Player of the match Keith Adams took all of his three games while team mate Norbert Fullerton weighed in with a brace. David Jacob, Simon Jacob and Richard Jackman all managed to beat Sid Dorn for the visitors while David also notched a great win against Fullerton.

There was a clash between first and second in the Division 1 when Lentern entertained Stanford A this week. The visitors came away with an impressive 7 – 2 win and consequently leap frog their hosts into top spot. Stanford’s POM Mitchell Jones continued his unbeaten run, and Ian Sangster and Pat White added a further two each. Lentern’s Paul Sims got both their victories.

Perennial high finishers Brand Identity have started to rise to the surface again. A 6 – 3 home win over Hadleigh Forum C moves them into third place. Yet again veteran Barrie Delf was POM with a hat trick, whilst Jennifer Harrison got two and Dale Gutteridge one. Tony Mace was the visitors’ best player taking two wins. Mark Everard got the other one, edging past Dale in the fifth set.

Invicta A retain fourth place courtesy of a narrow 5 – 4 win away at RESSC. No player was undefeated. John Holland and Bob Skews each got two for the home side, a feat matched by Invicta’s Tony Ayliffe and Steve Marr. Lee Marson’s single win for the visitors was enough for the result to go their way. Closest rubber of the night saw Marr overcome an unlucky Holland in the fifth set 13-11.

Canvey A had a fine win at home against struggling Hockley C. Ray Wilson’s unbeaten three gave him the POM award and both Peter Cray and Joanna Hills got two wins each. Brian Bissenden and Paul Strutt got one each for the visitors. Veteran Strutt had to work particularly hard to overcome Hills.

There were two hat tricks for Hadleigh Forum B in their excellent 8 – 1 demolition of visitors Rawreth Megazone C.  Skipper Dave Woolmer took the POM accolade, but Paul Fawell also won all three. The sole success for the visitors was Garry Hartgrove’s five-set victory over Mick Tappenden.

Rawreth Megazone D’s Mike Hayes extended his unbeaten run to take the POM honour in his side’s 7 – 2 home win versus Mapledene. Noah Unstead also won three and George Davis one. Andy Seaman and Charles Yeung shared the Mapledene’s points. The home side are now level on points with their C team.

With Division 2 league leaders Basildon A out of action this week focus fell on the challengers and, in particular, second placed Matchpoint A who had an opportunity to take the top spot. Their opposition were Hockley D, yet to win a match this season, so perhaps the result was never in doubt. A 7-2 win for Matchpoint proved the point but it was not enough to elevate them to the top and they stay in second just one point behind.

The match itself was a little closer than the score suggests with four games going the distance but that certainly didn’t include Evie Knaapen who raced through her games in three sets to take another POTM award. She was supported by Harry Sawford and Jeremy Giffin who both won two games but failed to get the better of Paul Strutt who won both matches in five sets. Jeremy, back from injury, had his fitness fully tested as all his games extended to five sets. He set the tone for his matches as his first set against Paul Ogden went to 18-16 before winning 12-10 in the fifth. That 18-16 scoreline featured again in his match against Ben Cook, this time losing, but he successfully came back from two sets down winning the last two sets at a canter 11-2 11-2. His final match against Paul Strutt again found him two sets down but, despite levelling the score, the more experienced man held on to win 11-8 in the decider.

Fourth and fifth placed Wakering and Matchpoint B both fell to surprise defeats and it was the in-form Stanford B who took advantage crushing Basildon B 8-1 to record their fifth successive win and move up to third place in the table.

Robert Salvage completed a perfect hat trick with Adrian Armstrong winning his three and David Arnett weighing in with a brace. Ross Letham did best for Basildon beating David and taking Aidan to five sets. This defeat leaves them one but bottom of the table.

Biggest surprise of the week was probably Canvey B’s 6-3 win against Matchpoint B. The Islanders, languishing near the bottom of the table, brought in Andrew Murray for his first match of the season and he responded with a hat trick to lead them to their second win. Des Duffield weighed in with two wins plus one from Tony Westwell. Alexander Deacon, Debbie O’Neill and Dan Stewart all collected a point each for Matchpoint.

The other result that stood out was Wakering’s 5-4 defeat at home to Runnymede. The home team were without their top player this season, Callum Turner, and then found themselves up against an in-form Dmitry Kisil and his hat trick ensured a narrow victory although Steve Wisbey was the match winner beating Stewart Mills in five sets in the final game of the evening. That was one of four five set matches as both teams fought for the win. Andy Humphris had got Runnymede off to a good start in the opening match for Runnymede but a brace each for Andrew Deadman and Paul England ensured the tightest of matches. Wakering drop to fifth with Runnymede in sixth.

Rawreth Megazone E picked up their first win of the season 6-3 against Invicta B who, after their opening week win, have now lost five games in succession. It was an all round team performance from Rawreth with two wins each for Steve Mcquillan, Amar Al-Soufi and the returning Bob Garlick. Good to see him back to full health. Barbara Chabior recorded her own double for Invicta with David Barnes picking up the other point.

Player of the Week – Andrew Murray

Team of the Week – Rawreth Megazone E

In Division 3 Trevor Hayes maintained his 100% winning record, but his hat-trick was not enough to prevent his Canvey ‘C’ side slipping to a 5/4 defeat at the hands of Stanford ‘D’.  Stephen Parker added the other point for Canvey but two wins each for Martin Winter and Peter Moxham plus a single win for Andrew Jessop won the match for Stanford.

The match between Hockley ’E’ and  Matchpoint ‘C’ was another close affair, only decided in the final game when Alex Bowden completed his hat-trick, to give Matchpoint a 5/4 win.  Alex was well supported by Max Mayo who added the other two points.  Hannah Harbour was the best player on the night for Hockley with two wins.  Richard Coulson and Graham Gregory with a win apiece.

Matchpoint ‘D’ entertained Stanford ‘C’ in a match where every player made a contribution.  Stanford’s Randy Santiago was the POTM with a maximum supported by Peter Moxham, with a brace, and Mandy Till who recorded her first win of the season, 11/9 in the final set against Oliver Milchard. 

League leaders Invicta ‘C’ had skipper Keith Baxter to thank as they visited Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ and came away with a 5/4 win.  Keith was unbeaten on the night and teammates Jonathan Gould and Brendan Raja added a point each.  There were two wins each for Forum’s Dean Johnson and Douglas Brown but a blank night for Sineh Ball.

The battle between two of our junior teams went in favour of Evolve who ran out 7/2 winners over Hockley ‘F’.  Our reporter at the match was impressed with Evolves’s Aaron Price and Benjamin Berwick who both recorded maximums and proved to be too strong for the Hockley team.  Josh Cane, playing his first match for Evolve picked up the other point with a win over Boris Kolev.  Hockley’s points came from Perry Lazell and Amelia Taylor who both came from behind to get the better of Josh in the fifth set and notch their first wins of the season. Watched by her father, who admits he was a bag of nerves, Amelia remained calm and held her nerve during a close final set, where she trailed 5-4 before going into a 10-7 lead, eventually taking the match with her second match point.

Only two results to report on for week 5 of the Premier Division of the Southend & District Table
Tennis league but two resounding victories for two of the top sides.
Thorpe Bay are used to winning and often winning 9-0 but seldom will they come out from a game
having not lost a single set. But that is indeed what happened last week when they crushed Hockley
B by the maximum win margin. The result may have been slightly different but Hockley were
without their talisman Andy Cunningham who may have troubled the triumphant Thorpe Bay trio of
Paul Sayer, John Poysden and Ian Wall.
The second game was nearly as one-sided as a Rawreth A side of Liam Squirrell, Kevin Read and
Charles Sweeny beat Hadleigh Forum A 8-1. Neal Barker with a good consolation win for Forum over
Sweeny.

Lentern consolidated their position at the top of the Division 1 table with a comprehensive demolition of home side Hockley C. Only Hannah Harbour, playing up from Division 3, offered any resistance for Hockley, as Lentern ran out 8 – 1 winners. Hannah’s five set win over John Tendler was one of the biggest upsets so far this season.

An 8 – 1 home win for Stanford Le Hope A over RESSC moved them up into second place. Mitchell Jones was their POM with a maximum, a feat matched by colleague Peter Weatherall. Veteran Mike Worship got the visitors’ consolation, overcoming Ian Sangster.

Stalwart Trevor Ward’s steady defensive style was the foundation for Rawreth Megazone C’s home win over Canvey A. His hat trick, together with two wins from Garry Hartgrove and one from Gary McCarthy, saw them come out 6 – 3 winners. Ray Wilson got two wins, and Joanna Hills one for Canvey.

Invicta A had a similar 6 – 3 result when they entertained Rawreth Megazone D. Steve Marr was again POM with three wins, with Tony Ayliffe adding two, and Lee Marson one. Cleon Fernandes was the away side’s most successful player with two wins, whilst Adi Kamma got their other victory.

The clash of the two Hadleigh Forum sides saw the “away” B team easily overcome their C team hosts 7 – 2. Paul Fawell was POM, winning all his ties, as did team mate Tony Jacks. Mark Everard and Tony Mace recorded one win each for the “home” side.

Mapledene and Brand Identity B contested a close-fought match, with Brand edging it 5 – 4. Skipper Barrie Delf was again POM and made the difference on the night. Jenny Harrison and Mick Grout got their side’s other successes. Dawn Baldry and Mike Johnston each won two for Mapledene.

The youngsters of Matchpoint A finally found themselves up against some stiff opposition this week in Division 2 as they came up against promotion hopefuls Wakering both teams with unbeaten records so far. The fact that Matchpoint just came out on top in this one, 5-4, was down to the sparkling form of teenage protégé Evie Knaapen who maintained her own unbeaten record with the perfect hat trick. This included the scalp of Callum Turner who, prior to this, had not dropped a set so far, let alone a game. Callum has already experienced life in Division 1 and the Premier league so this is a good indication of just how far Evie can go. James Elliot provided the support with two good wins against Zac and Paul England whilst Callum had to be satisfied with two wins against James and Lucy Elliot. Paul and Zac both also got the better of Lucy albeit she was unlucky against Zac twice being in the lead before losing in five sets.

Whilst the youngsters were dropping points the slightly older Basildon A team were chalking up yet another 9-0 success against Rawreth Megazone E. They boast not one, but two, unbeaten players in Les Hoey and Arun Joy and their win now sees them eight points clear of Matchpoint A and ten points clear of Matchpoint B. The A team do have a game in hand. Szymon Jarka was the other hat trick hero for Basildon and Jaspreet Singh did best for Rawreth taking Arun to five sets.

The remaining three fixtures all finished with 6-3 scorelines with firstly Basildon B getting off the mark with their first win of the season beating Invicta B. Jenne Seibolt took the POTM honours recording a perfect hat trick and two wins for Richard Reibold and a single for Andy Roff completed the scoring. Mike Keeble, Steve Lennox and Sarah Ball all chipped in with a win each for Invicta.

A strong start and finish for Canvey B against Stanford where Tony Westwell and Des Duffield both recorded five set wins against John Handscombe but otherwise it was Stanford who dominated. Led by Robert Salvage with a maximum, two wins for Adrian Armstrong and one for John their win keeps them fifth in the table with just one defeat so far. Tony finished with two wins for the Islanders.

Finally Matchpoint B maintained their place amongst the leaders with their 6-3 win against a still winless Hockley D. Hockley’s cause wasn’t helped by having to make a late team change but they did get off to a good start with Neal Klyman coming back from 2-1 down to beat Ben Murray in five sets. After that, however, Jack Riley led Matchpoint to victory with a maximum, Ben recording two wins and there was one win for Debbie O’Neill. For Hockley Neal picked up a second win against Debbie as did Tony Molisso but there was no joy for Gary Beck, called up from the E team, although he did take sets from Jack and Ben.

Team of the Week – Basildon B

Player of the Week – Jenne Seibolt

Derek Willis, the most senior of all the regular top-flight League players, continues to defy the years in Division One of the Clacton League, this week recording another hat-trick in Walton A’s 8-2 success against Walton C.

Now in his tenth season with the League, Willis produced a man-of-the-match display with his dogged and determined play to stay undefeated and help move his Walton A side, temporarily at least, to the top of the embryonic Division One table.

Kevin James also took three and Colin Dearman two, with the closest match of the evening seeing James defeat Mark Gale 11-6 in the fifth. Gale won a singles for the ‘C’ team and, with Paul Meikle, took the doubles.

There were a couple each for Andy Vincent, Ian Fielder and John Barton as Windsor Hawks won 7-3 against a Walton B team  fielding a reserve, but no-one could get the better of Gavin Price, showing his best form for some time, to stay undefeated on the night.

Reigning champions Nomads Panthers met last season’s runners-up Windsor Eagles but the encounter proved to be a more one-sided affair than might’ve been expected, the Panthers taking it 9-1, John Hatley and Gracie Edwards remaining unbeaten. Mel Rampton was the Eagles’ best player, defeating Gill Locke 11-7 in the fifth and just losing 11-9 in the fifth to Edwards.

In Division Two Daryl Lott made his first appearance of the season for Nomads Jaguars against Brotherhood D and took a fine treble, recording wins over Sam Plummer, Joe Plummer and Kevin Pryor. Alas for Lott, Brotherhood took the match 6-4, the Plummer brothers both winning twice.

Everyone picked up a point but no-one stayed undefeated as Lawford edged past Brotherhood C 7-3. There were two each for Ian Sherwood, Richard Spence and Alex Dunne of Lawford, Dunne just getting the better of Paul Metcalf 11-9 in the fifth. For Brotherhood, John Gallagher had a good win in three against Sherwood while Mark Beckham and Metcalf both won tight five-setters, Metcalf beating Spence 11-9 in the decider and Beckham beating Dunne 11-8 in the decider.

Windsor Penguins beat Walton D 7-3 to notch up their first success at this level, Scott Campbell, Neil Chegwidden and Sharon Gowlett, with her first wins of the season, all taking two. Five individual matches went the distance, the Penguins winning three of them, including Chegwidden’s 12-10 in the fifth win over Paul Woolnough and Gowlett’s 11-9 in the fifth win against Mo Hardy. Andy Foster took Walton’s three points, although he was tested by both Campbell and Gowlett, beating both players 11-6 in the decider.

Brotherhood B and Nomads Tigers had a good scrap before Brotherhood edged it 6-4, winning the three matches which went to five. Paul Alden recorded a fine personal maximum and clinched the Brotherhood victory with an 11-9 in the decider success against Denes Somodi in the final match of the evening. Mark Salter picked up two for Brotherhood while, for the Tigers, Somodi took a couple, with captain Dave Miller and Mike Wellum, making a welcome return to local table tennis, taking a point each.

Brotherhood F chalked up a second 8-2 win in as many matches in Division Three, this week beating Nomads Lynx. Joe Sherwin took three while there were a couple each for Ruby Gallagher and Tom Bryden. Dave Wright’s two points for Lynx included a narrow 11-8 in the decider win over Gallagher, a result which denied the Brotherhood player her hat-trick.

Lynette Sparks led the way for Walton E in their 6-4 victory over Nomads Ocelots, the Walton captain remaining unbeaten. There were a couple for her team-mate Maggie Earle, as there were also for Arthur Wells-Garrett of the Ocelots.

Nomads Leopards were 9-1 winners against Brotherhood G, Dominic Joannou and Bob Jillins taking trebles. Dan Grindrod picked up the Brotherhood consolation point with a good win over Stu Wilkinson.

Finally, it was also 9-1 for Windsor Harriers in a competitive match against Nomads Bobcats, Mike Vilka’s win over Isabel Barton saving the whitewash. Ferdy Rodriguez was unbeaten for the Harriers.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton B 3 Windsor Hawks 7;

Walton A 8 Walton C 2;

Nomads Panthers 9 Windsor Eagles 1.

Division 2

Brotherhood C 3 Lawford 7;

Windsor Penguins 7 Walton D 3;

Nomads Tigers 4 Brotherhood B 6;

Nomads Jaguars 4 Brotherhood D 6.

Division 3

Nomads Leopards 9 Brotherhood G 1;

Nomads Bobcats 1 Windsor Harriers 9;

Walton E 6 Nomads Ocelots 4;

Brotherhood F 8 Nomads Lynx 2.

.

• 

Ruby Gallagher and Lucy Carvell were the stars of the show for
Brotherhood F in their side’s 8-2 win this week against Nomads
Ocelots in Division Three of the Clacton League, the two
talented fourteen-year-olds displaying a deal of determination
along with their undoubted talent, and both recording fine hat-
tricks.
In a tight match, Brotherhood won four of the five matches which
went the distance, Carvell defeating Hazel Blanche in five and
getting past Arthur Wells-Garrett 11-6 in the decider, while
Gallagher defeated Wells-Garrett 11-7 in the decider in the final
match of the evening.
However, the closest encounter, as is often the case, was the
doubles, where Carvell, partnered with JJ Barry, edged past
Wells-Garrett and Blanche 11-4, 11-8, 14-16, 11-13, 13-11.
Wells-Garrett and Blanche picked up a point each for the Ocelots.
Another promising young player, Dan Grindrod, was Brotherhood
G’s unbeaten hero in his side’s drawn match with Windsor
Magpies. Gary Simpson and Dan Still took one each. There were a
couple apiece for Windsor’s Dave Sweetland and Alan Rutledge,
the pair sharing a crucial doubles, beating Grindrod and Still 9-11,
11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9.
Relegated Windsor Harriers’ first match at this level saw them
emerge with an 8-2 win over Nomads Leopards. But the score-
line concealed a much closer match, the Harriers scraping past in
all four matches which went the distance. Isabel Barton beat Stu
Wilson 11-6 in the decider and Bob Jillins 11-9 in the decider,
whilst Ferdy Rodriguez, who also won twice, had another tight
tussle against Jillins before winning 14-12, 10-12, 11-5, 13-15,
11-7. Dominic Joannou took the two Leopards’ points.
A strong Brotherhood E side, Duncan Dunne, Fred Gallone and
Tricia Salter, proved too good for a Walton E side who were

forced to use a guest player, winning 10-0. But Walton came
close to snatching a point, Gallone and Salter taking a close
doubles 12-10 in the fifth against Lynette Sparks and Adrian
Sexton.
The all-Nomads clash between the Bobcats and the Lynx ended in
a 6-4 win for the Bobcats. Mike Vilka returned to League action
with a treble, Alex Baldock took two and Jack Riddleston one.
Lynx captain Dave Wright won two while Gerry Widnell picked up
a debut League win with an 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 13-15, 13-11
success against Riddleston.
Brotherhood A got their Division One season under way with a
9-1 win against Windsor Buzzards, Kevin Gowlett and Russell
Hillier taking trebles and John Cleasby a couple. Dave Martin
ensured there was no Buzzards’ whitewash by exacting victory
over Cleasby in the last match of the evening, a hard-fought 11-9
in the fifth.
Nomads Lions chalked up their second win of the season, and
Adam Cuthbert his second hat-trick, as they defeated Walton 7-3

Jason Lloyd’s two for the Lions included a last gasp 11-9 in the
fifth win over Colin Dearman, while Adam Wilkin won one and
shared an 11-4 in the decider doubles victory with Cuthbert over
Dearman and Derek Willis. Former Mens champion David Binns,
making only his fifth appearance in the last eight seasons, took
two for Walton.
In Division Two Andy Foster recorded a hat-trick as Walton D,
last season’s runners-up, defeated Nomads Jaguars 6-4. Tigers’
captain Chris Petrou and Kevin Hogg, in his first Clacton League
match for almost twenty years, both won two for the losers. The
crucial match proved to be the first of the evening, Foster edging
out Petrou 11-8 in the decider.
Walton followed this with an 8-2 success against Windsor
Kestrels, Foster again unbeaten, with Paul Woolnough and Mo
Hardy winning two each. Foster and Hardy took a close doubles
11-9 in the fifth against Allen Denyer and Peter Aumord. Graham
Bunce was the Kestrels’ points-scorer.
Brotherhood D continued their promising start with a 7-3 victory
over Nomads Tigers, Simon Smith-Daye, James Smith-Daye and
Kevin Pryor all winning two. But none of them could get the
better of Tigers’ new signing Denes Somodi who recorded an
impressive treble.

Finally, promoted Windsor Penguins showed they’ll be no
pushover at this level, sharing the spoils with Lawford. Neil
Chegwidden remained unbeaten and Scott Campbell won two,
Campbell denied his hat-trick by John Colvin who took their
individual encounter 11-6 in the fifth. Colvin won two for Lawford,
with Ian Sherwood and Charlie Denholm winning one each.
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Buzzards 1 Brotherhood A 9;
Nomads Lions 7 Walton A 3.
Division 2
Nomads Jaguars 4 Walton D 6;
Lawford 5 Windsor Penguins 5;
Walton D 8 Windsor Kestrels 2;
Brotherhood D 7 Nomads Tigers 3.
Division 3
Windsor Harriers 8 Nomads Leopards 2;
Brotherhood G 5 Windsor Magpies 5;
Nomads Ocelots 2 Brotherhood F 8;
Walton E 0 Brotherhood E 10;
Nomads Lynx 4 Nomads Bobcats 6.