Lions on the March

Nomads Lions continued their quest for a top three place in Division One of the Clacton League with a 7-3 win over Walton B. There were hat-tricks for Adam Cuthbert and Martyn Green, although it was a narrow 12-10 in the decider for Green against Gavin Price. Price and John Marshall picked up a point each for Walton, and shared a doubles success.

Leaders Nomads Panthers fielded a reserve against Walton C but still ran out 8-2 winners, James Denyer and John Hatley unbeaten. Mark Gale and Paul Meikle picked up a point each for Walton.

Windsor Hawks v Windsor Eagles ended all-square, the first draw of the season for both teams. Mel Rampton with three and Phil Smith with two were the Eagles’ points-scorers, whilst Andy Vincent took a couple for the Hawks.

Dave Martin of Windsor Buzzards defeated Walton A’s Dave Binns in the opening match of the encounter, but that was the Buzzards’ sole success, Derek Willis and Colin Dearman notching up hat-tricks in Walton’s 9-1 victory. The closest match saw Binns come back from two sets down to beat Pete Bloomfield 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-6.

In Division Two Brotherhood D and Brotherhood B shared the four matches which went the distance, the ‘D’ side edging the encounter 6-4. Simon Smith-Daye took three and Kevin Pryor two, with the pair sharing a crucial 11-5 in the fifth doubles win against Mark Salter and Paul Alden. James Smith-Daye ended pointless, losing close in five to both Salter and Barry Allen. Salter won two for the ‘B’ team.

Lawford were comfortable 10-0 victors against bottom team Windsor Kestrels, a result which puts Lawford just five points behind Brotherhood D at the top. Alex Dunne, Charlie Denholm and Ian Sherwood were the winning Lawford threesome.

Daryl Lott made only his third appearance of the season for Nomads Jaguars and his treble was instrumental in his side’s 6-4 win over Walton D. Kevin Hogg’s two for the Jaguars included an excellent win over Andy Foster. Clive Allenby won two for Walton and took Lott close before going down 11-8 in the decider.

No-one stayed unbeaten as Brotherhood C beat Windsor Penguins 6-4 in a tie where only two matches were extended to a fourth set. For Brotherhood, Mark Boyland and Mark Beckham each won two, Boyland losing to Scott Campbell and Beckham to Neil Chegwidden. For Brotherhood, Campbell and Chegwidden both won two, Chegwidden going down to Boyland and Campbell going down to Beckham.

Nomads Tigers defeated Nomads Jaguars 8-2, Denes Somodi unbeaten, with Mike Wellum and Dave Miller each taking two. Chris Petrou won the two Jaguars’ points, whilst Kevin Hogg so nearly picked up another, going down 12-10 in the decider to Wellum.

In Division Three, the all-Windsor clash between the Harriers and the Magpies ended 7-3 in favour of the Harriers, Isabel Barton remaining unbeaten. The Harriers suffered only their second doubles defeat of the season, Dave Sweetland and John Plummer beating Barton and Jenny Higgins in four.

Five of the matches between Brotherhood F and Walton E went the distance, Brotherhood edging a tight match 6-4. Joe Sherwin emerged unbeaten, his closest match being an 11-6 in the fifth win against Maggie Earle. Lucy Carvell won two but lost 11-6 in the fifth to Earle, whilst Ruby Gallagher won one but went down 12-10 in the decider to both Earle and Adrian Sexton.  

There were debut League hat-tricks for Jack Riddleston and Alexander Baldock in Nomads Bobcats’ 9-1 win over Nomads Ocelots. But Anne Bonny of the Ocelots had the satisfaction of an excellent 11-5, 12-14, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7 win over Matt Sage.

Nomads Leopards were forced to field a guest player against Nomads Lynx but were still good enough to win 7-3, Dominic Joannou and Bob Jillins unbeaten.

* The draw for Round One of the Cup sees Cup-holders Brotherhood A face a tough tie against current Division Two pace-setters Brotherhood D. In the only all-Division One tie, Walton C take on Windsor Eagles. The full draw is : Nomads Bobcats v Walton D; Windsor Hawks v Nomads Leopards; Brotherhood A v Brotherhood D; Windsor Penguins v Nomads Tigers; Brotherhood F v Brotherhood C; Walton C v Windsor Eagles; Windsor Kestrels v Nomads Panthers; Brotherhood E v Lawford. The matches are to be played during week beginning 22nd January.

* The Handicapped Singles Tournament takes place on Saturday 3rd February at Windsor’s St James’ Hall venue, and entries should be sent to either Tony Oswick or Peter White. Entry will  be limited to 32 players on a first-come basis. Full details have been sent to all players and are also on the League’s website.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton C 2 Nomads Panthers 8;

Windsor Buzzards 1 Walton A 9;

Windsor Hawks 5 Windsor Eagles 5;

Nomads Lions 7 Walton B 3.

Division 2

Walton D 4 Nomads Jaguars 6;

Brotherhood D 6 Brotherhood B 4;

Lawford 10 Windsor Kestrels 0;

Brotherhood C 6 Windsor Penguins 4;

Nomads Jaguars 2 Nomads Tigers 8.

Division 3

Nomads Lynx 3 Nomads Leopards 7;

Windsor Harriers 7 Windsor Magpies 3;

Walton E 4 Brotherhood F 6; Nomads Ocelots 1 Nomads Bobcats

Stanford continue in style

Division 1 leaders Stanford Le Hope A made a bright start to the New Year. A 6 – 3 win away to Hockley C  extends their lead at the top to two points. Mitchell Jones was again their POM, easily winning all his matches. Dave Hancox added two and Peter Weatherall one. Hockley’s David Chenery, Aaryan Vatsa and Joseph Odegbami each won one.

Second place Invicta A overcame Brand Identity B 5 – 4 despite skipper Tony Ayliffe suffering with the flu. Mick Grout had an outstanding night for the visitors, taking the POM award and winning all his matches. However, two wins apiece for Steve Marr and Lee Marson and one from Tony won it for Invicta.

Bottom side Hadleigh Forum C recorded their first win of the season beating Canvey A 5 – 4. Ray Wilson will feel a little aggrieved having won all his contests for the visitors. However two each for Satwant Gill and Graham Farmer and one from Mark Everard saw the home side over the line. Jo Hills got Canvey’s other success.

Rawreth Megazone C could only muster two players for the visit of Lentern. It was a case of “what might have been” as the visitors won 6 – 3. Gary McCarthy won two and team mate Colin Clements one for the home side. Paul Sims was unbeaten for Lentern.

A Bob Skews hat trick led RESSC to a 6 – 3 win at Rawreth Megazone D, who also couldn’t find a third player. George Davis won two, and Charlie Kauders-Boothby one, for the home side.

The match between Mapledene and Hadleigh Forum B had to be postponed because Mapledene’s premises were not available.

Division 2

The New Year started with a bang for Debbie O’neill who picked up her first maximum of the season leading her Matchpoint B team to a 6-3 win against Invicta B. It was a match that could have been closer with three games going to five sets but two of those went in favour of Matchpoint to give them the edge. O’neill was pushed all the way by Mike Keeble who also lost another five set match to Ben Murray. Jack Riley’s brace backed up O’neill’s hat trick to add to Murray’s single point. For Invicta Mike Keeble eventually got a win defeating Riley whilst Sarah Ball and Keith Baxter also grabbed a single win each.

Biggest surprise of the week was Basildon B’s 9-0 thumping of Runnymede only their second win of the season. Andy Roff’s opening five set win, 15/13 in the decider against Andrew Humphris, must have inspired the ‘New towners’ to begin the New Year in style and they continued in fine form after that with Jenne Seibolt and Graham Bland proving just too strong for their opponents. Only Bland’s second match of the season and a POTM performance.

Elsewhere in the league leader’s Matchpoint A came away with an expected 7-2 win against bottom club Rawreth Megazone E but the scoreline didn’t tell the whole story. Apart from James Elliot, who recorded the perfect hat trick, team mates Jeremy Giffin and Lucy Elliot were pushed all the way by Rawreth’s Richard Kidd, Amar Al-Soufi and Jaspreet Singh with five matches going the full distance. Three of those matches involved Matchpoint’s Lucy Elliot who managed one win against Singh but Jeremy Giffin did better winning both his five set matches before completing his hat trick. This performance should give Rawreth some confidence as they enter the second half of the season.

In contrast to the last game the closest match of the week, Basildon A’s 5-4 win at Canvey B, was surprisingly straight forward as no less than seven games were decided in straight sets. Still with Christmas in mind Les ho-ho Hoey recorded another perfect hat trick whilst team mate Arun Joy brought some belated New Year joy winning two. Failing to add to their tally was Stephen Walters who missed out in the only five set match of the evening conceding a 2-1 lead to Tony Westwell. Andrew Murray picked up two wins for the Islanders with Des Duffield adding the fourth.

Player of the Week – Debbie O’neill

Team of the Week – Basildon B

No sooner had the Christmas and New Year celebrations ended before it was time for competition to
resume in Division 3.
League leaders, Matchpoint ‘C’ got off to a great start in their match against Rawreth Megazone ‘F’
and raced into a 4/1 lead before Megazone rallied to win the last 4 games for a 5/4 victory. For
Matchpoint there were 2 wins each for Lotte Mills and Max Mayo, including a fine win for Max over
the experienced Jan Thorpe. Both Jan and Ethan Nunn recorded 2 wins for Megazone and it was
Ethan who clinched the match in the final game of the night, beating Max in 4 sets. Graham Back
was the other point winner for Megazone.
Canvey ‘C’ kept up the pressure on the top teams with a 6/3 win against Hadleigh Forum ‘D’.
Another POM performance and hat-trick here for Trevor Hayes, ably assisted by Stephen Parker who
was also unbeaten. A win apiece for the Forum trio of Todd Barker, Sineh Ball and Douglas Brown
over John Saunders.
Second in the table, Stanford ‘D’ took on the juniors of Evolve and, to no great surprise, came away
with a 9/0 win. Vaughan Chambers was the POM with a ‘perfect maximum, with unbeaten
performances also from Andrew Jessop and Peter Moxham, although Peter had to dig deep in his
game against Aaron Price, recovering from the loss of the first two sets to crawl over the line at
13/11 in the decider.
The Hockley ‘F’ juniors came up against Stanford ‘C’ and another whitewash was on the cards as
Stanford reeled off the first 8 games with minimum fuss. However, Albie Richardson had other ideas
and he stopped the rot, beating Mandy Till in 4 sets and, in doing so, recorded his first win of the
season. Well done Albie! Randy Santiago was the POM here for Stanford with skipper Mark Farley
also unbeaten.

Chivers delivers Shivers

Harry Chivers and his Woodham A side are finally catching up on their postponed matches and following this week’s result are now joint favourites for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 1 title alongside the Galacticos of Mapledene A.

The majority of the league action this week took place on a cold and very wet evening at Champions Manor Hall in South Woodham – it’s on days like these that you really appreciate playing an indoor winter sport.  The two top division encounters saw two of the top contenders fight it out and the two bottom placed teams doing battle for that wooden spoon.  It’s fair to say there was a lot more tension in the top of the table clash and a lot more frivolity at the other end of the hall.  Woodham A have been the surprise package this year and continue to recruit well.  They remain the only top side with a 100% win rate and are looking like real contenders.  This week they welcomed current champions Fambridge into their manor – with both sides introducing their latest signings.  Woodham welcome back Harry Chivers and Fambridge revealed Reuben Okai as their latest marquee signing.  The two debutants met in game 3 with the match even at 1-1, and Chivers clearly won the battle of nerves as he came out all guns-a-blazing for a quick fire 3-0 victory.  4-2 at the break and Okai had notched his first point in a comeback 5-setter against Lee McHugh.  He went on to take another good scalp in the form of the unbeaten Chris Penrose but his team-mates could not cope with the continued pressure from the Woodham trio eventually losing out 7-3 with McHugh beating Mark Stones in the final match of the evening, and Chivers delivering the goods with a season debut hat-trick.  So Woodham maintain their unbeaten run and are now just 6 points behind leaders Mapledene A with a game in hand – let’s see how Fambridge react to this defeat in the return fixture next week.

   Woodham B took on bottom placed Stow Maries A in the Wooden Spoon Cup and got off to a flier as they took an early 3-0 lead before Stow’s Richard Storey came from behind to take the final two legs 12-10 against the hard-hitting Chris Hancox to finally trouble the scoreboard.  It was 4-2 at the break as Sanjay Saptarshi won his second match against Peter Chastin, and Gary Brignall scored Stow’s second point in an excellent straight sets victory over Dan Patynski – although one leg did go to 17-15.  Brignall and Storey absolutely stormed through the doubles to close the gap even further and then in the first of the run in matches Chastin outlasted Hancox in a 5 set clash of styles thriller to even things up at 4-4.  All to play for in the last two matches and Storey soon found himself 2-1 up against Patynski and looking for his team to sneak into an overall lead.  To his credit Patynski persevered with his rolling technique and it all finally clicked into gear and he was able to dominate the final 2 legs to put Woodham back in the ascendency. In the final match Brignall got off to a great start and took a surprise first leg lead before Saptarshi tweaked his concentration and got his block working correctly – once this was under control Brignall had lost his first set advantage and Saptarshi finished out the match for his hat-trick and to secure the overall victory for Woodham.

In Division 2 the Stow B side also travelled to Woodham and left with a decent 6-4 victory with Peter Hance unbeaten.  The opening game for Hance was the toughest of the night as he and Trevor Collin went toe-to-toe for the first 4 legs before finding themselves at deuce in the deciding 5th leg.  Hance had 6 match points on the trot – and if you believe Collin all of these resulted from nets and edges, whereas in truth it was only 5.  Eventually Hance had enough of the games and won out 18-16.  Collin showed great fitness levels playing a full 15 legs in the singles with 2 victories in his remaining games and then teaming up with Alex Wilson for a 4 set doubles.  The only other point for Woodham came from Alan Dadswell’s triumph over Dave Marsh.  With Hance picking up a hat-trick he needed the support of Nicky Reece-Ford with 2 wins and Marsh picking up a point against Wilson for the overall victory.  The only other league match over Xmas saw Maldon B victorious in the Maldon derby with their D side.  Comfortable hat-tricks for B team regulars Dawn Baldry and Colin Napper and they wrapped up the points with a doubles bonus point for the overall 7-3 result.  In the toughest match of the evening the D team’s Ella Sach looked like she had thrown away a 2-0 lead against James Raymond only to shake off the cobwebs and take the decider with a comfortable margin.

On a sadder note, the Burnham & District Table Tennis League would like to share their condolences with the Knights family for the recent loss of long term Treasurer and Committee member Martin Knights.  He was a great friend to many, and a great servant to our league – he will be sorely missed.

Pic 1 – John Poysden (Fambridge) versus Harry Chivers (Woodham A) – action from this week

Pic 2 – Gary Brignall (Stow A) trying to find a way past the block of Sanjay Saptarshi (Woodham B)

Pic 3 – Dave Marsh (Stow B) losing out to the fighting fit Trevor Collin (Woodham D)

Pic 4 – Fambridge’s new signing Reuben Okai in action at Woodham this week

Pic 5 –  Martin Knights RIP – Burnham League Legend

CUP-HOLDERS REPEAT FINAL SUCCESS

There was a repeat of last season’s Cup final in the deciding match in Group G of the Clacton League’s Knock-Out Cup, Brotherhood A repeating their success of April 2023 with a 5-2 win over Nomads Leopards, a win that sees them top the Group.

Gary Young was unbeaten in his two singles and one doubles for Brotherhood, with Russell Hillier (-8) sealing the victory with an 11-7 in the decider win over Stuart Wilkinson (+2). Despite this, the Leopards qualify alongside Brotherhood for the Knock-Out stages.

Windsor Harriers finished third in the Group, thanks to a 5-3 success against Walton B, Isabel Barton unbeaten. Walton fielded three left-handers in this match, and it was good to see Paul Newbould back in table tennis action after eighteen months away from the game through illness and injury.

In Group A Nomads Jaguars were unable to cope with the generous grades of the much-improved Nomads Bobcats trio, the Bobcats winning 5-1 to top the Group. Lawford, who had a walk-over against Brotherhood G, finished second.

Nomads Lions played with a guest in their Group B tie against Windsor Kestrels and needed to take all five individual matches in order to win. And they so nearly did, Jason Lloyd and Ethan Lloyd each winning their two singles before Debra Found and Allen Denyer (+1) defeated the two Lloyds (-8) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.

So the Kestrels finished second and go through to the next stage alongside Brotherhood C who beat Walton A 5-1 to maintain an impressive unbeaten Cup record.

Brotherhood D also completed their programme in Group C undefeated, beating Brotherhood B 5-3 in a tie where all but two of the matches were played off scratch. The ‘D’ team took all three matches which went the distance, Joe Plummer and Kevin Pryor (0) defeating Paul Alden and Barry Allen (0) 11-6 in the fifth, Sam Plummer (0) defeating Mark Salter (0) 11-8 in the fifth, and Pryor and Sam Plummer (0) defeating Salter and Allen (0) 11-8 in the fifth. Pryor remained unbeaten on the night.

Windsor Penguins took second place in the Group after a crucial 5-4 win against Windsor Hawks, this after being 3-0 and 4-2 down. During the match, the Hawks’ Felipe Rodriguez (on -8) beat sister Annabelle Stallwood (+1) 11-8 in the decider but lost (on -8) to wife Kayley (+2) in three-straight.

Despite this defeat, the Hawks go through to the next Round as one of the best third-placed teams.  

Brotherhood E topped Group D following two 5-2 victories over teams from Walton. First it was against Walton E, Duncan Dunne, Tony Edmonds and Rodney Betts the successful trio, whilst Dunne was joined by Fred Gallone and Tricia Salter against Walton D. Dunne stayed unbeaten in the latter match.

The defeat mattered not for Walton D who, having won their first two Group matches, also qualify for the Knock-Out stage.

Group E always looked as though it would be a two-horse race and that’s how it turned out, Division One Walton C and Nomads Tigers from Division Two confirming their positions as the top sides, Walton C this week beating a two-player Nomads Ocelots 5-0 and the Tigers defeating Nomads Lynx 5-1.

Nomads Panthers made it three wins out of three in Group F,

James Denyer unbeaten in the 5-3 success against Third Division Brotherhood F who, at the half-way stage, led 3-1. Although the Panthers took the next four matches, it was by no means easy, Denyer and John Hatley (-18) beating Joe Sherwin and JJ Barry (+4) 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 in the middle doubles, and the Panther’s skipper Hatley (-18) wrapping up the match with a 7-11, 11-6, 13-11 win against Barry (+4).

In the other Group F tie, Windsor Magpies defeated a two-man Windsor Eagles 5-3, a result which meant the Eagles, the Magpies and Brotherhood F all finished equal on four points. The Eagles and Brotherhood F both had better win-lose match ratios than the Magpies, with the Eagles placed second behind the Panthers by virtue of having defeated Brotherhood F in their opening Group game.

However, Brotherhood F still qualify for the Knock-Out stage as one of the best third-placed teams.  

The sixteen teams who go through to the Knock-Out stage are : Windsor Hawks, Walton C, Nomads Panthers, Windsor Eagles, Brotherhood A (Division One); Lawford, Brotherhood C, Windsor Kestrels, Brotherhood D, Windsor Penguins, Walton D, Nomads Tigers (Division Two); Nomads Bobcats, Brotherhood E, Brotherhood F, Nomads Leopards (Division Three).

That’s five teams from Brotherhood, four each from Windsor and Nomads, two from Walton and one from Lawford.

The final Group tables can be viewed on the League’s website – ‘KO Cup Results & Tables’.

The draw for Round One of the Knock-Out stage will be circulated, and available on the League’s website, by Saturday 13th January at the latest. Matches are to be played during week commencing 22nd January.

RESULTS

Knock-Out Cup : Group stage

Group A

Lawford (w/o) v Brotherhood G;

Nomads Bobcats (w/o) v Brotherhood G;

Nomads Jaguars 1 Nomads Bobcats 5.

Group B

Walton A 1 Brotherhood C 5;

Nomads Lions 4 Windsor Kestrels 5.

Group C

Windsor Penguins 5 Windsor Hawks 4;

Brotherhood B 3 Brotherhood D 5.

Group D

Walton E 5 Windsor Buzzards 2;

Brotherhood E 5 Walton E 2;

Brotherhood E 5 Walton D 2.

Group E

Nomads Ocelots 0 Walton C 5;

Nomads Tigers 5 Nomads Lynx 1.

The Cup Runneth Over for Cold Norton

Holders Cold Norton B stormed into the semi-finals of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Handicap Cup – can anyone wrestle their crown away from them?. 

With a break in league action for the Xmas Party season it was down to the serious action of the Handicap Cup quarter-finals.  A different format and new players to face as competitors are penalised or awarded points depending on their ability with the aim of levelling the playing field – or in our case 15 year old wobbly tables!  First up were the holders and bookies favourite Cold Norton B.  In the opposing corner was a solid Division 3 trio from Blackwater D hoping their headstarts would somehow discombobulate their Division 1 opponents.  Alas that hope soon dwindled as the Cold Norton trio of Ian Wall (-18 handicap), Eric Green (-16), and Dan Anderson (-12) got to work with patience and consistency and ate away at the considerable gaps in what can only be described as a professional deconstruction.  The starting positions ranged from -16 points to -26 points each game in favour of  Blackwater.  Green in particular did well to contend with a 16 point deficit and the attacking play of Noah Sage to squeeze through in 2 close sets. In fact Cold Norton only dropped a single set all evening as Jacqui Treacy (+9) edged her first set against Anderson but couldn’t go on to repeat that effort as Anderson literally dug in and wore down his opponent albeit in two more close sets.  A fine effort form Cold Norton and one that sees them odds on favourites to repeat last year’s victory. 

The next quarter-final saw the Cold Norton C and D teams meet in the ‘Battle of Latchingdon Hall’.  A much closer affair all round with the handicaps working well such that 4 of the 7 matches went into the final leg, and 2 of those went to 20-20 in those final legs before a winner emerged.  For the C team Tim Cramphorn (-10) and Neil Want (-11) went unbeaten all evening and this provided the bedrock for their 5-2 victory.  Cramphorn in particular was in fine fettle as he won both his singles and both his doubles including a tense 3rd set singles deuce encounter with Peter Lucraft (-5).  Want went through similar emotions in his singles encounter with Terry Hylands (-2).  At 1-1 and 20-20 it could go anyway and ‘where there’s a will there’s a Want’ – probably finishing with 2 nets if history and reputation are anything to go by.  These two early very close victories for the C team were enough to turn the tide heavily in their favour.  For the D team Roy Gandy (+1) was able to outlast Dick Wyman (-10) in 3 long sets, and Hylands repeated this scoreline in his later encounter with the unfortunate Wyman.

Maldon C hosted a Woodham B side made up of players from their C team so for this encounter the handicaps were relatively even throughout as both teams are in the top half of Division 2.  Another 5-2 victory but a very long and tiring night for all involved as the first 6 matches all went to a deciding 3rd set.  For Woodham Graham Briggs (-9) and Adi Kamma (-4) opened up with a tight 21-17 third set doubles victory over Colin Barrell (-7) and Tony Stonell (-3).  Then Barrell and Steve Aspland (-9) both won their next singles again in very tight deciding sets.  But that was the last time Maldon troubled the scoreboard as Woodham got into their stride and won the next 4 straight.  Kamma won both his singles and Stonell fell to David Meah (-5).  The second round of doubles couldn’t have been any closer as Briggs and Meah held on for a third set 24-22 victory over Aspland and Barrell that probably swung the game.  And for all this effort Woodham’s prize is a semi-final against the ‘unbeatables’ from Cold Norton B!

In the final match of the quartet last year’s runners up Woodham D hosted Blackwater A and very quickly found themselves 3 matches down in a first to 5 knockout.  Blackwater’s Denis Balic (-5) and David McHattie (+13) took their time to gel but came back from a Ist set loss to take the opening point.  Balic and Alan Scammell (-5) then won the next 2 matches to extend the lead before Woodham decided to play. Woodham’s heavily cut Alex Wilson at +2 handicap was 13 points worse off than the previous year – a true reflection of his improvement in that time.  Despite this reduced handicap Wilson still managed to get the better of McHattie in two close sets.  So on the board and raring to go Woodham’s dynamic duo of Alan Dadswell (-1) and Gus Heath (-7) powered their way to a doubles victory over Balic and Scammell that saw the overall gaps close to 1 point.  Could Woodham kick on and try and go one better than last year and lift the coveted trophy?  Well in a word – ‘No’.  Their recovery was rudely interrupted by Scammell who took the next singles against Wilson and Blackwater now had 3 attempts to wrap up the victory.  The first attempt was a tremendous effort as McHattie used his wholesome headstart against Dadswell to great effect only to be pipped 22-20 in both legs – close but no cigar.  So onto the eighth match and Woodham’s Heath took a comfortable first leg 21-12 against Balic.  But Balic is a fighter and he soon began to familiarise himself with the uniqueness of the Heath style of play.  So at 20-20 in the important second leg could Heath use his experience and see his team through to a final match winner-takes-all showdown.  Balic held strong and denied Woodham that opportunity and won out 22-20, but then unfortunately Heath was unable to continue given his momentous exertions over the course of the evening and had to concede the frame and the match.  Never a great way to finish a match – win or lose – but it had been a very competitive and intense evening of table tennis.  So Blackwater edge into the semis.

Semi-Final Draw – to be played week of 19 February

Woodham B v Cold Norton B

Cold Norton C v Blackwater A

Pic 1 – Ian Wall and the Brick Wall (Eric Green) – Cold Norton B stalwarts in action this week

Pic 2 – Dan Anderson (Cold Norton B) – in tricky handicap Cup action against Jacqui Treacy this week

Pic 3 – Mr Undefeated Tim Cramphorn in fine fettle for Cold Norton C this week

Pic 4 – Graham Briggs and Dave Meah partner up for Woodham B in their handicap match against Maldon C

Pic 5 – The victorious Woodham B side – Adi Kamma, Graham Briggs & Dave Meah

Happy Christmas Matchpoint A!

Top met bottom in Division 2 of the Southend Table Tennis League but there was no Christmas cheer for bottom club Basildon B who fell to a 9-0 defeat compounded by the fact they only had two players. Victors Matchpoint A did receive a small present from their own B team however, who took two points from second placed Basildon A giving the A team a five point lead at the top of the table as we enter the Christmas break. Elsewhere the chasing pack of Stanford B and Wakering both chalked up wins against Invicta B and Rawreth Megazone E respectively, whilst the clash between Runnymede and Canvey B turned out to be the closest match of the week ending 5-4 in favour of the Islanders.

Matchpoint’s A demolition of Basildon B was pretty clinical with only two matches going beyond three sets, closest of which was Lucy Elliot’s five set defeat of Jenne Seibolt taking the decider 11/8 after Seibolt had recovered a two set deficit. Harry Sawford and James Elliot made up the winning team.

Rivals Basildon A beat Matchpoint B 7-2 and the most resistance came from Stephen Heard who beat Szymon Jarka and Arun Joy and pushed Les Hoey hard going down 11/6, 11/13, 10/12, 12/14. His first defeat this season. Otherwise the Basildon boys were too strong for Roger Sherman and Debbie O’neill.

Barbara Chabior put on a virtuoso performance for Invicta B against high flying Stanford B picking up just her second hat trick of the season with excellent wins against Rob Salvage, John Handscombe and  Mark Downey. Unfortunately team mates Sarah Ball and Mike Keeble were unable to provide sufficient support and they slipped to a 6-3 defeat.

Another player recording a second hat trick of the season was Wakering’s Paul England who, together with son Zac England, led their team to a 7-2 win over Rawreth Megazone E. Dad outshone son on this occasion not dropping a set all night whereas Amar Al-Soufi and Jonathan Allen both took the younger England to five sets. Either way England rules! Andrew Deadman got the other point for Wakering.

The final game of the week played out by Runnymede and Canvey B turned out to be a real Christmas cracker as the home side, 1-0 and 2-1 up, then went 3-2 and 4-3 down before forcing a last game play off. There were three five set matches and the star performer for the second time this week turned out to be a player on the losing side, Andrew Humphris. His closest match was against Tony Westwell coming back from two sets down then winning the last three 11/8. 11/6, 11/7. Steve Wisbey got Runnymede’s other point whilst for the Islanders Des Duffield and Kevin Walsingham both won two and Tony Westwell, one. Walsingham got the crucial final game beating Wisbey.

Team of the Week – Canvey B

Player of the Week – Barbara Chabior

Division 1

Invicta A’s lack of strength in depth was again highlighted this week with only two regular players available for their away match at Hadleigh Forum B. Whilst they still managed to win, the narrow margin of their 5 – 4 victory leaves the door open for their rivals for the top spot. POM Steve Marr was unbeaten and Tony Ayliffe got two victories. Tony Jacks was Forum’s star, winning two. However, he was pushed all the way by Invicta’s stand-in player.

Stanford Le Hope A seized the opportunity to move above Invicta to the top of the table (yet only by one point) with an emphatic 7 – 2 home win over Rawreth Megazone C. POM Derrick Pearson and Russell Bright were both unbeaten, but Rawreth were unfortunate to lose Garry Hartgrove through injury in his very first contest of the evening. Team mates Trevor Ward and Gary McCarthy won one each.

Third placed Brand Identity B made up ground on the leaders by virtue of an 8 – 1 home win over Rawreth Megazone’s D team. However, they greatly benefited from two no-shows for their opponents. The match went ahead as one of the visitors was said to be on their way. Unfortunately, they never arrived. This must have been particularly galling for the one Rawreth player who did make it – Caroline Cole – as she had travelled back from France on the day of the match. Still, she had the satisfaction of beating Brand’s John Lott to ensure her visit wasn’t entirely wasted.

After a couple of postponements, Lentern made up for lost time with a 7 – 2 home win over bottom of the table Hadleigh Forum C. The visitors (like Rawreth Megazone C) were unlucky to lose David Thomas through injury in his first encounter of the evening. Paul Sims was Lentern’s POM and Wayne Farmer was also unbeaten. Mark Everard got both Forum’s successes.

The clash between Canvey A and Mapledene was a very close run affair, with no less than five rubbers going to five sets. The usually dependable Ray Wilson slipped up against Dawn Baldry, losing 11 – 6 in the fifth set. However, Peter Cray took over responsibility for his side, winning all his contests and taking a well-deserved POM honour. Dawn was Mapledene’s star player with two victories whilst Andy Seaman and Anthon Ranjit-Singh got one each, leaving the home side 5 – 4 winners.

Hockley C entertained RESSC a little too generously. Their visitors went away with an 8 – 1 victory, thanks to hat tricks from both Bob Skews and John Holland. Brian Bissenden saved the hosts from ignominy by overcoming Alan Dadswell.

Division 3

The clash between the ‘C’ teams of Stanford and Invicta opened proceedings in the last round of fixtures before the Christmas break.  Trisha Winter turned in an unbeaten performance for Invicta and, with a couple of wins by Keith Baxter and one by David Youngman, they came away with a 6/3 win.  Randy Santiago recorded two wins for Stanford and James Parker added the extra point.

Stanford ‘D’ were only able to muster two players for their trip to play Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’.  This was not a problem for Martin Winter and Vaughan Chambers who were both unbeaten on the night and Stanford headed back up the A13 with a vital 6/3 win to maintain their challenge at the top of the table.

Hockley ‘E’ were also 6/3 winners in their match against the juniors of Hockley ‘F’.  John George led the way for them with a hat-trick and the POTM honours.  Keith Denyer chipped in with two wins and Ben Brown scored their other point.    For the ‘F’ team, Elliot Brackenbury had good wins over Keith and Ben, with Kris Chankov also getting the better of Ben.

League leaders Matchpoint ‘C’ made the journey to Westcliff to take on Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ and, thanks to maximums from Roger Sherman and Max Mayo plus a brace from Richard Sloman, they were comprehensive 8/1 winners.  Forum’s only point on the night came courtesy of Douglas Brown who beat Richard in 4 sets.

Finally, Canvey ‘C’ travelled to Rayleigh for their match against Evolve only to discover that the fixture had been cancelled because the venue was not available.  After a discussion between the team captains, it was agreed that Canvey should be awarded the 9 points.

And so, at the end of the year it is Matchpoint ‘C’ who head the table with 81 points from 12 matches.  Stanford ‘D’ occupy second place with 74 points, but they have played one game less.  Canvey ‘C’ and Invicta ‘C’ lie in joint third place, both with 70 points from 12 matches played.

The leading players so far are Alex Bowden (Matchpoint ‘C’) with a 100% winning record, 24/24 and Trevor Hayes (Canvey ‘C’) with a 97.22% winning record, 35/36. 

Pulham pushes the leaders

Tim Pulham was the star turn this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as he took on the two top teams in Division 2 with his Stow Maries comrades and came out unscathed against the best players the Division  could throw at him. 

At the top end of Division 2 Mapledene C had a very busy week fitting in 3 fixtures and hoping they could steal a march on leaders Woodham C.  In a full gamut of emotions the Mapledene C team managed a win, a draw, and a loss across the week but failed to impose themselves at the top of the league.  In their first match they faced up to Stow Maries D and were truly Pulhamed as they limped away with a draw as Stow’s Tim Pulham went through the card without dropping a set including the doubles where he paired up with the tricky Graham Naggs.  Naggs also bagged a singles point with an excellent 5 set comeback victory over Sue Body winning the final three legs all 11-9.  For Mapledene both Mick Tappenden and Lin Roff won 2 singles.   In their second encounter the Mapledene Club had 3 new competitors and this trio fared much better as they produced a whitewash 10-0 victory over bottom team Maldon D – hat-tricks all round for Barrie Delf, Dave Woolmer, and Bill Smith.  If Monday and Tuesday had been hard Mapledene next hosted Blackwater A on the Wednesday – and they were in for a tough time as Blackwater A are an accomplished side, all with their unique and disruptive styles.  Mapledene were 4-2 up at the interval and looking cushty for another victory but in the key games Neil Freeman beat David Woolmer, Denis Balic got the better of Barrie Delf over 5 sets, and in the key doubles encounter Freeman and Scammell just pipped Delf and Woolmer to secure the final 4 points for Blackwater and to register a shock of a win at 6-4.  Meanwhile back at Stow Maries Tim Pulham carried on his galactico destroying streak as his team invited leaders Woodham C into their arena and the chance to face the mighty Pulham.  Ok it might have been a bit tougher this time but the Pulham Tornado was in full destructive mode with another fine hat-trick of singles wins and of course he bagged the doubles bonus point with partner Tim Huxtable.  So 4 points to Sir Pulham, but the other 6 went to Woodham as they maintained their 100% win rate with 2 wins each, all in straight sets, for Chris Hancox, Dave Meah, and Adi Kamma. 

Maldon B had a good week as they were on the right end of the 8-2 scoreline against Stow C with Colin Napper chopping his way to a fine hat-trick including a 5 set victory over Stow’s best player on the night Pete Layzell who won his team’s two consolation points with noteworthy wins over Dawn Baldry and Hamish Innes.  With so much action early in the week we almost forgot there was still one game to play on Thursday and Stow B used their home advantage to good effect as they beat Woodham D in a close 6-4 battle.  Stow’s Mr Reliable Peter Hance was at it again with a hat-trick of wins, although he only squeezed passed Malcolm Henstock right at the death.  Hance paired up with Dave Marsh for a professional doubles win that ensured the spoils would stay with Stow.  For Woodham both Alex Wilson and Henstock won their remaining singles.

Division 1 remains as open as it has been for many a year with 4, possibly 5, teams still in the running.  Each week we expect Fambridge to storm to the top, and the unbeaten Woodham to drop a clanger.  But, as we hit the half-way mark of the season, neither has happened and Fambridge have it all to do and Woodham A are genuine contenders with the only 100% win rate intact.  Fambridge sidled up the hill to Cold Norton B this week but they were unable to conquer their foes as the Cold Norton defence held firm and they sent the Fambridge boys home nursing a 6-4 loss.  Lots of long and tough games in this one – a real top-of-the-table clash – and a very late finish.  3-3 at the break, then a run of 3 wins for Cold Norton before Fambridge’s Mark Stones came from behind to beat Eric Green in 5 for the final point and a semblance of pride restored.   For Cold Norton there were braces for Ian Wall and Sam Lowman, which were matched by Fambridge’s Bruce Kettle and Stones.  Green and Lowman won out in the momentous 5 set doubles against Kettle and Stones, and Green added another 5 set point in his victory over John Poysden.  Green was asked to pay double the weekly match fee as he had hogged the table all evening playing in the maximum 20 legs. 

Top met bottom twice at the Woodham venue this week as the two bottom teams took on the top 2 – would either team be able to dent or leave any impression against their higher rated opponents.  The simple answer is no, as both Woodham A and Mapledene A ran out comfortable 10 victors against Stow Maries A and Woodham B respectively.  In the Woodham A match captain Dan Piglet led the way with a 9 leg hat-trick and was barely troubled throughout – he was matched by team-mates Chris Penrose and Kaung Htet Paing but without the 9 leg stardust.  In fact Htet Paing had to come from 2-0 down in his match with the spinny Keith Martin to preserve his unbeaten evening, and Piglet and Penrose almost slipped up in the doubles against Gary Brignall and Martin but came back from match point in leg 4 to win out 11-9 in the decider.  On the other side of the hall Mapledene A arrived bruised from their loss to Woodham A the previous week and fielded a much younger side – with both Gary Young and Daniel Young in attendance.  Daniel Young was on fire and blasted through the card with ease – 4 points in 12 short legs.  The rest of the match was at least a bit closer despite the 10-0 outcome.  Woodham’s Eamonn Hall took a shock 2-1 lead against Babul McLeod and went all the way to 6-6 in the fifth with some uncharacteristic attacking verve before his luck run out, and that was as close as Woodham B got to troubling the scorecard.  Derek Balding continued his fine start in the Burnham League with another hat-trick for Maldon A – this week his victims were Mapledene B.  Those 3 points were enough to help secure the draw with Mapledene’s David Jacob and Colin Chatfield each scoring 2 points and combining for the doubles.

Drama in Division 3 this week as leaders St Lawrence fell to their first loss of the season.  Who could have inflicted such pain on the Baysiders?  Well take a bow Maldon F.  Talisman and main points scorer John Leavett was in fine fettle with 2 good wins but it was debutant Ross Kirby – the secret weapon – that did the majority of the damage with an unexpected hat-trick of wins against the leaders.  St Lawrence captain David Siggins was his trickiest opponent but Kirby kept his nerve and held on in 5 sets.  Kirby and Leavett teamed up for the important doubles point that ultimately earned the victory.  Blackwater D took home the bragging rights this week having defeated the lovable Blackwater C team 6-4.  Jacqui Treacy was on top form for her personal hat-trick and was ably supported by David Smith with 2 wins and Chris Rolison with a point.  For the C team Phil West gave it his all including two 5 set victories including a 15-13 final leg triumph over Rolison.

Pic 1 – Woodham A still on 100% win rate – Kaung Htet Paing, Chris Penrose & Daniel Piglet

Pic 2 – Tim Pulham (Stow A) – player of the week this week

Pic 3 – Eric Green finishing off his 20 leg marathon this week for Cold Norton B

Pic 4 –Dan Young in tremendous form for Mapledene A this week

Pic 5 – Chris Hancox (Woodham C) versus Tim Pulham (Stow A) – action from this week

Teamwork the key for Brotherhood C

Brotherhood C are looking good for a last sixteen place in the
Clacton League’s Knock-Out Cup after defeating fellow-Division
Two side Windsor Kestrels in their Group B match. No-one stayed
unbeaten but a solid team performance from Mark Boyland, Mark
Beckham and Paul Metcalf saw them to a 5-2 victory.
The Brotherhood trio took the first four matches and a whitewash
looked on the cards, but the Kestrels battled back, Debra Found
and Jackie Bunce (+1) winning the middle doubles 11-9 in the
fifth against Boyland and Metcalf (-6), and Found (+1) edging
past Beckham (-1) 13-11, 11-13, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8 in match six,
before Boyland settled the tie for Brotherhood.
In the second match in this Group, an all-Division One clash
between Walton A and Nomads Lions ended 5-1 in favour of the
Walton side, Kevin James the only unbeaten player on the night.
In Group A Brotherhood G defeated their Second Division
opponents Nomads Jaguars 5-2. Gary Simpson was unbeaten in
his two singles and one doubles, the closest match of the tie
seeing Dan Grindrod (+1) edge out Chris Petrou (-8) 8-11, 8-11,
11-5, 11-7, 11-7.
Brotherhood D defeated Windsor Penguins 5-2 in Group C to
virtually ensure a place in the Knock-Out stages. They crucially
won both doubles, the opening doubles being the closest contest
of the tie, Kevin Pryor and James Smith-Daye (-3) beating Neil
Chegwidden and Sharon Gowlett (+1) 11-7 in the decider. Simon
Smith-Daye remained undefeated for Brotherhood.
Windsor Hawks beat Brotherhood B 5-2 in the second match in
this Group, Daniel Young leading the way with an unbeaten
performance after Brotherhood had taken the opening doubles.
Walton D made it two wins out of two in Group D with victory
over Windsor Buzzards, the score-line again 5-2. Andy Foster won
his two singles and one doubles, although it was a tense 11-7 in

the fifth against Dave Martin in a match played off scratch.
It was a good week also for a second Walton side in Group E
where the ‘C’ team lost just one individual match against Nomads
Tigers to win 5-1. The Tigers avoided the whitewash by the
narrowest of margins, Dave Miller (-1) beating Paul Meikle (+1)
13-11 in the fifth.
Windsor Eagles could only field two players in their Group F
match against Nomads Panthers, who took the one match they
needed to win 5-0, the Panthers’ second whitewash Cup win after
beating Windsor Magpies by the same score in their opening
match.
And the Magpies were on the wrong end of a 5-0 score-line for a
second time, this time against fellow-Division Three side
Brotherhood F. However, like their first tie, three of the individual
matches went the distance, the closest this time Dave
Sweetland’s (-6) narrow defeat by Ruby Gallagher (+1) 11-9 in
the decider.
Group G saw a battle of two top-flight teams, with the honours
going to Walton B who beat Brotherhood A 5-2. John Marshall
(+1) sealed the victory in match seven with a 9-11, 11-9, 7-11,
11-8, 11-5 win against John Cleasby (-6), a result which ensured
Marshall stayed unbeaten on the night.
Finally, an all-Third Division encounter ended in a straightforward
5-0 win for Nomads Leopards against Windsor Harriers, none of
the matches extended to a fifth set. The result leaves the
Leopards almost certain of a last-sixteen place and an opportunity
to go one better than last season when they finished as Cup
runners-up.

  • The League was sorry to learn this week of the death of Walton
    player John Rankin at the age of 86.
    John started playing League table tennis in 2005. With his Red
    Triangle B team-mates Mark Gale, John Morley and Paul Meikle,
    he achieved immediate success, finishing as Division Two
    runners-up, losing out to champions Windsor Kestrels by just a
    single point. Thereafter, John played all his table tennis in
    Division One, initially for Red Triangle and latterly for Walton.
    John would never claim to have been a top player, but he always
    gave a good account of himself in the First Division, a dependable
    and competitive team player who could be relied on to pick up at

least one vital point every match.
Over the last three seasons, he had become an occasional for his
Walton side, stepping in when a regular player was unavailable.
But when he did play, he was proud to be able to say that, by
several years, he was the oldest registered League player in
Division One, and one who could still hold his own at the top
level.
John did have a brief moment in the sun when he was a member
of Walton B, alongside Paul Newbould and Gavin Price, in the
2014 Knock-Out Cup final. Alas, he finished with a runners-up
medal but, whilst winning obviously mattered to John, the playing
of a competitive game of table tennis and being in the company
of like-minded friends was just as important.
Above everything else, when we remember John, we will
remember a caring, decent and friendly man who enjoyed his
table tennis. We offer our sincere condolences to his family.
RESULTS
Knock-Out Cup : Group stage
Group A
Nomads Jaguars 2 Brotherhood G 5.
Group B
Nomads Lions 1 Walton A 5;
Brotherhood C 5 Windsor Kestrels 2.
Group C
Brotherhood D 5 Windsor Penguins 2;
Windsor Hawks 5 Brotherhood B 2.
Group D
Walton D 5 Windsor Buzzards 2.
Group E
Walton C 5 Nomads Tigers 1.
Group F

Windsor Eagles 0 Nomads Panthers 5;
Windsor Magpies 0 Brotherhood F 5.
Group G
Brotherhood A 2 Walton B 5;
Nomads Leopards 5 Windsor Harriers 0.

Matchpoint march on!

This week Invicta A put their collective noses slightly ahead of their title rival Stanford A thanks to an impressive 8 – 1 demolition of third place Lentern. Steve Marr and Lee Marson were unbeaten, whilst Wayne Farmer overcame the home side’s Tony Ayliffe 10 – 12 in the fifth set of the last contest of the evening to gain Lentern’s only point.

Stanford had a close encounter away to Mapledene. A hat trick from POM Ian Sangster and two from Peter Weatherall got them over the line 5 – 4. Anthon Ranjit-Singh got two for the home side, and Lin Roff and Andy Seaman one each.

In a bottom of the table clash between Hadleigh Forum C and Hockley C, Hockley’s recent improvement continued as they overcame their hosts 8 – 1. Eamonn Hall was POM with three wins, a feat emulated by team mate David Chenery. Satwant Gill saved Forum’s blushes by overcoming Brian Bissenden in five sets.

Adam Jackman was Brand Identity B’s POM for an unbeaten performance in his side’s 6 – 3 home win over Hadleigh Forum B. Barrie Delf added two more and Mick Grout the other one. Forum’s Dave Woolmer, Paul Fawell and Mick Tappenden each won one.

Veteran John Holland’s recent run of good form continued as he again took the POM award for a maximum in RESSC’s 6 – 3 home defeat of Rawreth Megazone C. Teammate Richard Gill got a brace and Bob Skews one. Cleon Fernandes claimed two, and Gary McCarthy one, for the visitors.

Rawreth Megazone’s D team went down by the same 6 – 3 score as their C team when they entertained Canvey A. Yet again Ray Wilson was Canvey’s main man, winning all his three. However, it was a team effort, with Peter Cray winning two and Joanna Hills one. Jake Nelson was the home side’s best player, winning two, whilst Colin Barham got their other victory.

A tiny gap has emerged at the top of Division 2 this week as Basildon A slipped to a surprise 6-3 defeat at the hands of Stanford B and there is now a three point gap between them and leaders  Matchpoint A who also won 6-3 against Canvey B.

Basildon were unable to field their strongest team and had to call on Andy Roff from their B team alongside Stephen Walters and stalwart Les Hoey. Unfortunately it was only Hoey who carried the Basildon flag winning all his matches whilst Roff and Walters both fell to a strong Stanford side of Rob Salvage, John Handscombe and Mark Downey. Walters came within a game of picking up an extra point but after fighting back to 2-2 against Handscombe he succumbed 11/9 in the decider.

Matchpoint A came up against the revitalised Canvey B who have been inspired by Andrew Murray in recent weeks but they weren’t strong enough for the league leaders who had their own inspirational leader in Evie Knaapen. Any hopes of an upset by Canvey disappeared in double quick time as Knaapen dismissed Murray in three sets and Matchpoint then rushed to a 5-0 lead. The Islanders finally fought back as Murray, Tony Westwell and Kevin Walsingham all picked up points with wins against Jeremy Giffin and Lucy Elliott. Giffin can feel a little aggrieved at getting just one win as two of his games went to five sets and his match against Murray became something of a marathon losing the last two sets 15/13, 20/18.

Matchpoint B look to have added more strength to their basically young squad with the addition of Stephen Heard. With one hat trick already under his belt in his debut match he notched up another one in his side’s 7-2 win against Runnymede this time winning a perfect nine sets. That included defeat of the always difficult Dmitri Kisil plus Steve Wisbey and Andrew Humphris. Jack Riley and Alexander Deacon lent their support to Heard with two wins apiece both falling to defeat against Kisil. Matchpoint stay fifth in the table.

One place higher Wakering maintained their position winning 7-2 away at Basildon B with Zac England leading the way with a hat trick supported by two wins from Paul England and Stewart Mills. Andy Roff, playing his second game of the week, picked up another point beating Mills in the last game of the evening, and Ross Letham got Basilsdon’s other point coming back from 2-1 down to beat England senior 12/10 in the fifth. He also pushed Mills all the way to five sets but this time it was the Wakering man who took the decider by the same score.

Invicta B have only won one game this season, their first match against Hockley D 7-2, and despite a long, hard fought game featuring five, five set matches, they never really came close to repeating that feat, the home team getting revenge emerging victorious 6-3. Hockley had their own problems with the late withdrawal of Ben Cook and had to call on Keith Denyer from their E team to fill the gap. Whilst he didn’t win a game he did extend Sarah Ball and Mike Keeble to five sets and helped inspire two maximums from Tony Molisso and Paul Strutt to give Hockley the win. There couldn’t have been more of a contrast between these two performances as Molisso won his games losing just two sets (his first maximum of the season) whereas all of Strutt’s games went the distance. Strutt certainly did it the hard way coming back from 2-1 down against Keeble, 2-0 down against Ball and then conceding a 2-0 lead against Barbara Chabior before winning the final set 11/9. This was Hockley’s third win in four games and eases any fear of being dragged into the relegation battle. Invicta stay ninth in the table.

Player of the Week – Tony Molisso

Team of the Week – Matchpoint B

Robert Garlick led the way with an unbeaten performance for Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ in Division 3 as they recorded a 6/3 win over Hadleigh Forum ‘D’.  Graham Back added a brace, with Ro Brett winning the extra point with a fifth set win over Sineh Ball.  Indeed, it was a case of what might have been for Ro as she narrowly lost in the deciding set to both Douglas Brown and Todd Barker.

Stanford ‘C’ were in action twice this week.  In their first outing they travelled offshore for their match against Canvey ‘C’, but, with Trevor Hayes and Steve Kemp in dominant form for their hosts, they returned to the mainland following a 6/3 defeat.  A win each here for the Stanford trio of Mark Farley, Randy Santiago and James Parker, but Farley came so close to adding another point.  He took the first two sets in his game against Hayes before he was eventually reeled in, losing the last three sets 11/6, 12/10, 13/11.

At the end of the week, it was a two-man Stanford team that took on the young Hockley ‘F’ team.  On this occasion, the experience of Farley and Santiago told, and they ran out 5/4 winners.  Hockley’s only point won on the table came from Elliot Brackenbury with a straight sets win over Santiago.

The first Matchpoint ‘derby’ of the season saw their ‘C’ team keep up the pressure on the league leaders, Stanford ‘D’, as they saw off the challenge of the ‘D’ team by a margin of 8/1.  Maximums here for Roger Sherman and Lotte Mills.  Richard Sloman picked up the consolation point for the ‘D’ team with a win over Alwine Jarvis.  No luck on the night for either Oliver Milchard or Blake Stewart, but they were involved in some close games with Oliver going the full distance against both Mills and Jarvis.

As we near the halfway point of the season, Hockley ‘E’ and Invicta ‘C’ are in a group of 3 teams hoping break into the top 2.  In their meeting this week, it was Hockley who came out on top.  Hannah Harbour was their star with a hat-trick as they were 7/2 winners on the night.  Her teammates, Richard Coulson and Ron Rogerson gave good support with two wins each.  Keith Baxter was Invicta’s best player with two wins.

Woodham wow the doubters

Woodham A firmly and formally entered the battle for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 1 title this week as they welcomed leaders Mapledene A to their patch and sent them home with defeat ringing in their ears.  

Woodham A remain the only Division 1 side with a 100% record but having played less games than the top teams have only been on the periphery of championship discussions so far this season.   So this was a key week for the Woodham squad to see if they could rise to the challenge against a truly talented side from current leaders Mapledene A.  As always at this level it comes down to selection and availability as the big boys battle it out across a range of leagues – would Woodham be able to sustain their incredible start?  Woodham came out strong for this one fielding Chris Penrose, Lee McHugh and Kaung Htet Paing, against a Mapledene trio of Reece Seddon, Babul McLeod and Steve Muth – not everyone was going to go home happy!  Seddon kicked things off in style with an excellent 4 set victory against Penrose, and after 4 matches Mapledene had a 3-1 lead and were looking comfortable – this included an amazing ‘Battle of the Mc’s’ turnaround victory for McLeod coming from 2-0 down against McHugh to beast his way through the final two legs for a legendary triumph.  By the break Woodham had clawed it back to 3-3 and then came another phenomenal swing in momentum.  Mapledene’s doubles pairing of Seddon and Muth seemed to have the bonus point wrapped up in the doubles as they led 2-0 and 10-6 up with 4 straight match points to close out the game.  But, and what a ‘but’, the Woodham dynamic duo of McHugh and Paing dug deep, then went a little deeper still, and somehow pulled a rabbit out of the hat for a truly incredible point especially given the calibre of their opponents – sometimes matches, leagues and championships turn on a single event, could this be the moment for Woodham this year?  Seddon followed up this disappointment with a battle weary 5 set victory over McHugh for a fine hat-trick, but Paing and Penrose won their final matches with McLeod and Muth respectively for an overall 6-4 win that maintains their 100% win rate but bolsters their belief by a huge multiple.

   In a slightly different part of the league table, the Woodham and Mapledene B sides fought out a marathon of a battle at the Mapledene Arena.  Mapledene B came out on top with a 7-3 scoreline as Woodham had match points in two of the legs that they ultimately conceded.  Mapledene’s slimline Kieran Skeggs won all his singles comfortably only dropping 1 set across all 3 games – Skeggs may have dropped some timber but his power remains immense as he blasted his way through his opponents.  For Woodham Adi Kamma was the surprise package with victories over Paul Brown and Andy Seaman – intelligent play, determination and some fierce hitting served him well.  Woodham debutant Dave Colwill had a great start with a testing 5 set opening victory over Seaman – but then suffered a very frustrating remainder of the long evening.  In the doubles Kamma and Colwill took a deserved but surprising lead at 2-1 against the Mapledene pairing of Brown and Skeggs.  Colwill was solid and controlled throughout but it was Kamma making all the difference with some fine attacking play.  In the 4th leg the Woodham twosome got to 10-8 and 2 match points but just failed to get that winning shot as the Mapledene duo played some brave shots given the scoreline.  Mapledene capitalised on their survival bounce and went on to take the final leg 11-7.  But it was very much the case of ‘what might have been’ for Woodham.  The final match of the evening saw Brown take on Colwill in what was billed as a chess match with both players able to push and hit to suit the moment.  Brown took the first leg comfortably with the aid of a few nets and this pattern continued throughout the match as the nets and edges count gathered pace and the frustration levels boiled – it happens, we’ve all been there!  Colwill somehow kept himself in the second leg and eventually won out 14-12 and took a feisty 3rd leg to take the lead.  After a pep talk from Mr Skeggs Brown came out replenished for the 4th leg and devoured everything that came his way to tie things up at 2-2.  So at an ungodly hour we approached the final leg.  The balance of luck did not change but the game remained tight, and at 10-9 to Brown the whole crowd were undecided as to whether a net or edge winner would sum up the match, or create world war 3.  Luckily the point was a good one and Colwill evened up at deuce.  We then swapped match points until at 15-14 up Brown got his winner.  A match that had everything – some amazing play and intelligent blocking from Colwill, the drama of luck in sport, tension galore, and the coolness and determination of the ‘most famous man in Basildon’ and your eventual winner Mr Paul Brown.  On another day….. 

It wasn’t all about Mapledene and Woodham this week in the top division as the top Cold Norton sides had a very good time of it too.  Cold Norton B kicked off the week with a comprehensive 9-1 demolition of two man Stow Maries A.  Hat-tricks for Eric Green and Dave Richardson, with Stow’s Gary Brignall securing his team’s single point.   Great result for Cold Norton which closes the gap considerably on leaders Mapledene A.  Next came the battle of Latchingdon as Cold Norton C hosted Cold Norton A at the Gandy Arena.  A seemingly straightforward 7-3 win for the A team but actually it was a bit harder than it sounds as the A team’s Matt Stringer needed the full 10 legs to dispatch the C team’s Chris Buer and Arron Chandler – both of whom are in great form at present.  So a sweaty hat-trick for Stringer whereas Duncan Taylor was a bit more relaxed for his 3 wins.

Woodham C were the only one of the top 3 teams to win in Division 2 this week and have therefore extended their seemingly unassailable lead.  Woodham’s 8-2 victory came against their own D team with regular hat-tricks for the impressive Graham Briggs and Gus Heath.  The D team’s up and coming Alex Wilson did his utmost to make the C team work for their victory as he took both the hat-trick merchants to long 5 setters.  His evening did not go unrewarded as in yet another 5 set marathon he was able to just pip Dave Meah for one of his team’s points.  Mapledene C came a cropper at the hands and paddles of the experienced Stow Maries B trio.  Mapledene’s Big Barrie Delf was unvexed though as he hit a ferocious 9-dart hat-trick to maintain his personal 100% win rate this season with 18 wins on the bounce.  Despite Delf’s dominance the Stow team were not overawed as they rallied to win the majority of the other matches for a healthy 6-4 margin in their favour.  Nicky Reece-Ford held on for a 12-10 victory in his deciding leg with Mike Johnston, and then exactly the same thing happened again to Johnston in the doubles having been 2-0 up with partner Delf.  Maldon B were held to a 5-5 draw at Stow Maries D and they had Hamish Innes to thank for that as he went unbeaten in his singles.  For Stow both Ken Sheard and Tim Pulham were able to take a brace of wins apiece and then paired up for a 17-15 final leg doubles bonus point to ensure the match was halved.  The remaining matches were all quite tight as Blackwater A and Cold Norton D drew their encounter with Denis Balic starring for Blackwater with a decent hat-trick.  Blackwater B went one better and sneaked a 6-4 turnover against Stow Maries C with the excellent Simon Quelch finally getting his hands on a Div 2 hat-trick and player of the match award.  In the Maldon Derby the Maldon D side were shown little mercy from their own C team as they capitulated for a 7-3 loss.  Maldon C opted for the Dusty Bin 3-2-1 approach with Steve Aspland taking the 3 wins, Garry Eames twice a winner, and Colin Barrell scraping through with 1 victory – and no surprise that Aspland and Barrell combined for the extra doubles point.

Minimal action in Division 3 this week but nonetheless a great week for the Blackwater Club as both their C and D teams recorded strong wins to keep them firmly embedded in the race for the silver medals.  Phil West led his Blackwater C team to a powerful 8-2 win over Maldon E with his first hat-trick since the opening day of the season.  West was ably supported by his rarely spotted wingman Andy Simmonds who was also able to go unbeaten over the evening and even combined with Kath Little for an extra doubles point.  Blackwater D travelled across town to face Maldon F and left with their bags full with a 7-3 victory.  Blackwater’s David Benstead was back to his early season form with a very straightforward nine leg hat-trick and this was the bedrock for his team as both his team-mates Jacquie Treacy and Norman Hayes contributed in the singles and doubles to amass the points for a comfortable victory.

Pic 1 – Kieran Skeggs (Mapledene B) Versus Adi Kamma (Woodham B)

Pic 2 – Dave Colwill (Woodham B) Versus Paul Brown (Mapledene B) in the mighty marathon