The first round of the Braintree Table Tennis League handicap cup produced its usual share of ups and downs and close finishes
Three matches were decided at 5-4 and two at 6-3, suggesting the handicap formula did its job pretty well.
The three 5-4s featured a dramatic comeback, a match decided by the toss of a coin and a match with three sets decided by two points in the third game.
Black Notley G looked dead and buried against Netts E with the scoreline 4-1 against them..
But Jacqueline Smith, Peter Davenport and Ken Wilding were not done and grabbed the last four to inch through to the next round.
Smith’s win over Cley Dearsley (playing off +8) at 24-22 in the third game started the comeback followed by Wilding’s equally nail-biting 19-21, 24-22, 21-18 win over Richard Fewings (off +10).
Notley I’s match with Rayne H reached 4-4 before the venue had to close. The Rayne team generously offered to toss a coin rather than claiming the final set and were rewarded when the coin fell the right way for them.
Conrad Gomes’s three wins were vital for Rayne.
Rayne F’s match against Rayne D also went to 4-4 before Scott Whiteside (+6) clinched it with a 21-18, 20-22, 21-19 win over Paul Wellington.
The two 6-3 matches both featured a Finchingfield team against a Sudbury team and in both cases it was the Finchingfieldians who won.
Finchingfield A and Sudbury Nomads stood at 3-3 before the home team took the last three singles. John Barrett, Peter Clark and Dave Punt all won twice.
Chad Rose was unbeaten as the village’s B team overcame Sudbury Wanderers in another match that had been level after six sets.
Netts F had an easier time, coming past Rayne E 7-2, with James Howard unbeaten, while
Rayne G and Sudbury Strollers won 8-1 against Notley E and Yeldham B respectively.
Alastair Brown and Tim Townsend were unbeaten for Rayne G and Terry Hunneybel and Tim Matthews for Strollers.
Three wins in three-straight for Clacton’s leading female player, Gracie Edwards, was the highlight of Nomads Panthers’ 7-3 victory against Walton A in Division One of the Clacton League.
Gill Locke took two, John Hatley one, with Edwards and Hatley combining to take the doubles, to maintain the Panthers’ sixteen-point lead at the top.
For Walton, Kevin James won two and Derek Willis one, James beating Hatley 11-4 in the decider and Willis beating the same player 11-6 in the decider.
Windsor Hawks maintained their push at the top with a 7-3 success against Walton C. Andy Vincent’s hat-trick included a 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4 win over Pete Burrows. There were two wins for Felipe Rodriguez and one for John Barton, whilst Burrows picked up a couple for Walton.
In Division Two, leaders Windsor Buzzards failed to win for the first time this season, held to a draw by Nomads Jaguars. Jonathan Hockley was the Jaguars’ star, winning his three and, with Dad John, sharing a five-set doubles win over Scott Campbell and Pete Bloomfield. Chris Petrou enjoyed an 11-9 in the fifth win over Andy Cawley to guarantee the draw. Campbell and Bloomfield won two each for the Buzzards.
There were trebles for Neil Chegwidden and reserve Kelvin Olano-Harper as Windsor Penguins inflicted a 6-4 defeat on second-placed Brotherhood C.
This defeat for the ‘C’ team enabled third-placed Brotherhood D, 6-4 winners over Windsor Kestrels, to make up ground, Mark Salter taking three, Paul Alden two and Tricia Salter one. For the Kestrels, Peter Aumord won two and Debra Found one, the pair combining to edge past Alden and Tricia Salter 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 in the doubles. Allen Denyer failed to get on the score-sheet for the Kestrels but it was good to see him back in action for the first time this season.
Bottom side Windsor Magpies went down 10-0 to Zein Shafat, Bob Jillins and Dave Miller of Nomads Tigers, Jillins 11-6 in the fifth victory over Dave Sweetland the only match which went the distance. And although second-from-bottom Brotherhood G lost 8-2 to Windsor Harriers, Brotherhood’s Danny Still excelled to take two points and only just failed to convert it into a debut Division Two hat-trick, going down 11-9 in the fifth in his final singles match.
Long-time pace-setters Brotherhood F were given a stern test by third-placed Nomads Bobcats in Division Three before emerging as 7-3 winners. Lucy Carvell was undefeated for Brotherhood, her treble including a hard-fought 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10 victory over Matt Sage. There were a couple each for Ruby Gallagher and Tom Bryden, as there was for Sage for the Bobcats who, with Sam Watling, enjoyed a four-set doubles win against Bryden and Carvell.
Second-placed Brotherhood H eased past lowly Holland Vulcans 10-0, Owen Woollard’s 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 victory over Derek Foxley the only match extended to a fourth set.
Walton D, in fourth place, started their second-half season with an 8-2 success over a Holland Hurricanes’ side fielding a guest. Lynette Sparks remained unbeaten, while there was one each for Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton. Both of Sexton’s matches were close, defeating Gerry Widnell 12-10 in the decider but losing 11-9 in the decider to Ian Gwillim. Gwillim took both Hurricanes’ points.
Andrew Cousins led the way for Nomads Ocelots, 7-3 winners against Holland Lancasters. Hazel Blanche won two and Arthur-Wells Garrett one, with Cousins and Wells-Garrett taking the doubles 11-7 in the decider against Dave Wright and Pam Cousins. Wright won a couple for the losers, with Cousins enjoying an 11-9 in the decider win over Wells-Garrett but losing to Blanche by the same score.
Holland Mosquitos, playing with a guest player, went down 9-1 to Windsor Falcons, although their captain, Pam Blakeley, had the consolation of an 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 victory over Matt Thomas.
* The League’s Handicap Singles Tournament takes place at the Windsor venue of St James Hall on Saturday 8th February. Entries will be limited to 32 and that number has very nearly been reached. Full details have been being circulated to all players.
* The draw for Round One of the Knock-Out stage of the Handicap Cup sees the six remaining Brotherhood teams drawn against each other. In two intriguing ties, the youngsters of Division Three Brotherhood F and Brotherhood H will both play higher-ranked opposition, against Division Two Brotherhood C and Division One Brotherhood B respectively. Unusually, no teams from the same Division have been drawn against each other. The full draw is : Windsor Harriers v Nomads Lions; Nomads Ocelots v Walton B; Windsor Falcons v Walton A; Brotherhood C v Brotherhood F; Brotherhood B v Brotherhood H; Windsor Penguins v Walton C; Nomads Bobcats v Windsor Kestrels; Brotherhood D v Brotherhood A. Matches are to be played in week beginning 27th January.
* There are a number of matches between teams from the same Club which need to be brought forward and played before 4th April. The relevant teams have been notified by e-mail and Team Secretaries are urged to check the League Handbook (page 4) for details of these fixtures.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton A 3 Nomads Panthers 7;
Walton C 3 Windsor Hawks 7.
Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 4 Brotherhood D 6;
Windsor Buzzards 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;
Windsor Penguins 6 Brotherhood C 4;
Nomads Tigers 10 Windsor Magpies 0;
Brotherhood G 2 Windsor Harriers 8.
Division 3
Holland Lancasters 3 Nomads Ocelots 7;
Holland Mosquitos 1 Windsor Falcons 9;
Brotherhood H 10 Holland Vulcans 0;
Brotherhood F 7 Nomads Bobcats 3; Walton D 8 Holland Hurricanes
There were matching 8-2 wins for two of the Danbury teams in division one this week as a Daniel Piggott treble led the B team to victory at Galleywood A while Keith Adams won all three in the C teams away triumph at Chelmsford B. Piggott was in fine form as he breezed through his first two matches of the night in straight games but was well tested by Galleywood’s James Mullane with the win secured 11-8 in the fifth game. Galleywood’s Peter Barrett produced a fine comeback from 2-0 down to overcome Danbury’s Sam Lowman and recovered from 2-1 down to get the better of Arron Chandler. Keith Adams dropped just one game in his three wins for Danbury C while teammate Trevor Lloyd saw two five-game matches – losing out to Felix Reeve but besting Nikita Tkachuk. Danbury C lead division one – four points ahead of second placed Chelmsford A having both played 11 matches.
The unbeaten Buttsbury A remain top of division two with a 7-3 home win over second placed Maldon A. There were three wins for Harrison Hill though he had to recover from 2-1 down to beat Chris Hancox, while Rob Burton also beat Hancox in the deciding game for one of his two victories. Third-placed Chelmsford C fell to their third defeat of the season – this time at the hands of Danbury E who were boosted by a Neil Want treble. Want had to overcome stubborn resistance from both Cleon Fernandes and James Grimston with victory against Fernandes secured 12-10 in the fifth, while Grimston’s 2-0 lead proved not enough to prevent Want’s third win of the night. Gary Ward won all of his matches as Writtle C won 7-3 at home against Galleywood B. There were two wins for Galleywood’s Will Goodchild – both from losing positions, the second from 2-0 down against John Parodi. Mick Richardson won all three matches though it was not enough to earn a first victory of the season for bottom of the table OCA B as they fell to a 6-4 loss against Writtle B. Ian Whiteside and Alan Scammell won two matches apiece as tenth placed Danbury F upset fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel A by a 6-4 scoreline. Scammell beat both Gareth Davies and Martin Archie over five games but ran out of steam against Julie Johnson who won two matches herself.
Chelmsford D moved six points clear at the top of division three as Adi Kamma won all three in the 7-3 away win against Writtle E. Second placed Buttsbury B lost ground on the leaders as they fell 6-4 to a Matthew Brown inspired Writtle D while Danbury G sit third despite a 7-3 loss at Hatfield Peverel B – Merv Perriman kept up his end of the bargain for Danbury by winning all three of his matches. Colin Blore and Robin Armstrong led the way for Galleywood C in their 7-3 home win over OCA C, Armstrong’s third victory of the night was by a hard fought 11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 over Richard Baxter. Peter Hance was the only player undefeated in the Danbury derby as his J team won 6-4 over the H team, while Cleon Fernandes did likewise in the Chelmsford derby despite his F team being held to a 5-5 draw with the E team.
Hutton A extended their lead at the top of division four to eleven points with a 10-0 whitewash of ninth-placed Danbury L – Charlie Ware, Jason Yeh and Alex Ware did the business for the league leaders. Maldon B sit in second position following a 7-3 home win against Galleywood D in a fixture which saw a treble from Maldon’s Brian Riedling, as Buttsbury C moved into third place – their highest of position of the season – with a 10-0 home win over Hatfield Peverel C. Dave Powell won all three as Danbury K consolidated fifth position with a 7-3 home win over sixth-placed OCA D while Roger Patient and David Cockrell won three apiece in seventh-placed Highwood A’s 8-2 win over Danbury M. Chelmsford G moved up into eighth position though were held to a 5-5 home draw against Buttsbury D – Mark Nolan won all three of his matches though two of his victories were fifth-game deciders.
Division five runaway leaders Hutton B who have won twelve from twelve this season were not in action but Gary Carr and Francesca Hart won three apiece as second placed Buttsbury E inflicted a twelfth straight defeat on ARU with a 9-1 scoreline. Third placed Maldon C won 7-3 on the road at Galleywood E despite three victories from Galleywood’s Darren Wright who had to recover from 2-1 down against Tim Huxtable for his third win of the evening. Ron Tam fired a treble as Writtle F beat Hatfield Peverel F 8-2 – Tam dropped one game in each of his three wins while Martin Goddard’s treble for Highwood B in their 7-3 win against Hatfield Peverel E involved two come-from-behind five gamers. Peter Davenport won both of his matches as Chelmsford H beat the two-person OCA E team 8-2.
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Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
For results, fixtures, stats and more please visit https://www.tabletennis365.com/chelmsford
In the mid table clash between Rawreth Meggazone D and Hockley D Hannah Harbour turned in a POTM performance leading her team to a 7-2 victory, and pushing Hockley into fifth place in Division 2 of the Southend League above Rawreth in sixth. She completed a perfect hat trick and teammates John George and Elliot Brackenbury both weighed in with a brace each. Jonathan Allen actually started the evening with a win for Rawreth defeating George in four sets but a second win didn’t come until game seven when Amar Al-Soufi completed a remarkable comeback win against Brackenbury. He lost the first set 11-0, went 2-1 down, but then won a crucial fourth set 12/10 before clinching the decider 11/5. Earlier he had been two sets down to George but lost the fifth set decider.
Canvey B started the new year with a bang whitewashing Stanford C 9-0 and only dropping three sets in the process. Terry Giddens and Trevor Hayes both recorded perfect hat tricks and Des Duffield completed the rout but did drop a set to Chris Crooks and had to come back from 2-1 down against Vaughan Chambers before winning in five. The win pushes Canvey up into third place above Matchpoint B and level on points with Hockley C who have a game in hand, albeit against Canvey.
Rob Salvage continued his fine form this season with another hat trick as leaders Stanford B beat Runnymede 6-3. This included a fine win against Tony Millward who, like Salvage, had only lost one game this season, coming through in four sets. Support for Salvage came in the form of Mark Downey with two wins and John Handscombe with one. Tina Hutchinson had an eventful night for Runnymede pushing Salvage to five sets before conceding and then overcoming Handscombe in five sets, coming back from 2-1 down before winning the deciding set 12/10. Millward won his other two games.
Hockley C moved up to second place with a hard fought 6-3 win against bottom of the table Matchpoint B. The score were level after six games but three consecutive wins has helped Hockley maintain their promotion push. Mike Worship was the man in form for Hockley winning all his games with Tony Molisso recording a brace and Neal Klyman winning a very important eighth game in five sets against Zach Samuels. He fought back from 2-1 down to win the last two sets 11/3 11/5. Ollie Milchard chalked up two wins for Matchpoint with Alwine Jarvis grabbing the other point.
Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour
Team of the Week – Canvey B
Report by Paul Strutt
Well, it had to happen sometime, and finally, Division 3 league leaders Basildon B have surrendered their unbeaten record. Stanford D were their conquerors and 7/2 was the scoreline. Stanford skipper, Randy Santiago, was the hat-trick hero for Stanford, with his teammates, Jake Santiago and Andrew Jessop, adding a brace each. Andy Roff recorded two wins for Basildon and came close to beating Randy. Having established a two-set lead he fell just short, as Randy recovered to take the last three sets 12/10, 11/8, 11/8.
Second placed Invicta C took full advantage of their rival’s defeat with a near perfect 8/1 win over Hockley F. James Evesham scored the only point for Hockley and prevented the whitewash, with a straight sets win over David Barlow in the final game. Andrew St John and Keith Baxter both unbeaten on the night for Invicta.
Rawreth Meggazone E could only muster two players for their trip to Hullbridge to take on Matchpoint D. Graham Back (2) and Ro Brett (1) were on the scoresheet for Rawreth but it was Matchpoint who emerged as 6/3 winners. Richard Sloman won both his games to take the POM award and there was a notable win for Cooper Hill over the experienced Ro Brett. Having fallen two sets behind, Cooper rallied brilliantly to win the final three sets 11/8, 11/8, 14/12. Well played young man!
Finally, this week, Hadleigh Forum D were 6/3 winners over Hockley E and remain in third place in the table. Douglas Brown turned in an unbeaten performance, well supported by Sineh Ball with two wins and Ivan Arabadzhiev with a single win. Ron Rogerson, with a couple of wins, was the best on the night for Hockley.
Report by Dave Woolmer
At the Christmas and New Year break, Matchpoint A stand at the top of the Division 1 table. However, their lead over rivals Basildon A is only a slender five points, with Basildon having played one fewer match. At the other end of the table both Hadleigh Forum C and Wakering are a little adrift of their peers.
Harry Sawford was Player of the Match for Matchpoint’s 6 – 3 win over visitors Hadleigh Forum B. Alexander Deacon chipped in with two wins and Daniel Stewart got the other. Veteran Tony Jacks was Forum’s best performer taking two scalps, with David Woolmer collecting one win.
A surprising (and much needed) victory by Wakering away at Canvey A was masterminded by POM Andy Dedman’s hat trick. Paul England was also undefeated and Stewart Mills added one victory, as Wakering romped to a 7 – 2 win. Lee McGonagle and Joanne Hills each won one for the Islanders.
Rawreth Megazone C were too strong for visitors Brand Identity B, coming out 6 – 3 victors. Garry Hartgrove was their main man, being undefeated, a feat matched by his teammate Paul Brown. Brand’s team (of Mick Grout, Jenny Harrison and Dale Gutteridge) each recorded one win.
Hadleigh Forum C entertained Mapledene, but we’re a little too generous hosts. Visiting Dawn Baldry came away with the POM award for an unbeaten display, whist Lin Roff added two, and Charles Yeung one in a 6 – 3 away win. Paul Fawell had two successes and Mark Everard one for the home side.
It was a good week for the three Division One teams from the Walton Club who all won their Group matches to make it through to the Knock-Out stage of the Clacton League’s Handicap Cup competition.
Walton C in Group F had the toughest task, beating Brotherhood G 5-2 and winning three of the four tight matches which went the distance. John Marshall and Clive Allenby (-6) beat Dan Grindrod and Gary Simpson (+1) 11-9 in the fifth, Allenby and Graham Buxton (-8) beat Simpson and Danny Still (+1) 11-5 in the fifth, while Marshall (-6) beat Still (+1) 11-6 in the fifth. Allenby was Walton’s best player on the night, remaining unbeaten.
The Walton C team go through alongside Brotherhood H, who topped the Group following a convincing 5-0 victory over Nomads Tigers.
Walton A and Walton D in Group E knew the winner of their Group match would qualify whilst the loser would be eliminated. And it was the top-flight ‘A’ team who triumphed 5-2 over their Division Three club-mates, Derek Willis winning his two singles and one doubles.
Brotherhood B are the second side to go through in this Group, despite losing 5-3 to Nomads Leopards. However, they did well considering they were forced to play with a guest, but Nomads’ Anne Bonny (+2) settled the match, winning 11-5, 11-6 against Sam Plummer (-15).
Walton B, who as Walton C won the Cup last year, are also through to the Knock-Out stage, this after recording a 5-0 win against Holland Hurricanes in Group H. The closest contest of the tie proved extremely close, Mark Ratcliffe (-17) edging past John Smith-Daye (+2) 12-10, 9-11, 12-10.
In the other match in this Group, there were blue skies over Lawford who notched up their first victory in any competition this season with a hard-earned 5-4 victory over Brotherhood A, James Tindle remaining unbeaten in singles and doubles. Despite this, Lawford fail to qualify whilst Brotherhood A, with two previous victories, go through as Group winners.
In Group A, both Brotherhood F and Nomads Bobcats had qualified prior to the final week and, when the two teams faced each other, it turned out a 5-2 win for Brotherhood, Joe Sherwin undefeated.
The second Group match was thus played for honour only, Nomads Jaguars chalking up a 5-1 victory over Holland Vulcans.
In Group B, Windsor Harriers were 5-1 victors over Windsor Magpies, winning all three matches which went the distance, including Barry Allen’s (-5) 12-10 in the fifth victory over John Plummer (+1).
The Harriers, alongside Brotherhood D who had completed their Cup programme and were without a match, qualify from the Group.
Group C has been something of a disappointment, with five of the six scheduled matches conceded, although this is no reflection on the two teams who have qualified, Windsor Penguins and Nomads Ocelots. The two teams met this week in their final Group match, the Penguins winning 5-0 against a two-player Ocelots.
Brotherhood C made it three wins out of three to top Group D, finishing this stage of the competition by defeating Windsor Eagles 5-1.
But it was a winner-takes-all situation in the other Group match between Windsor Falcons and Windsor Buzzards. And in a contest which went to the wire, Nigel Rolph, Matt Thomas and Nikki Hayes of the Falcons edged it 5-4, Rolph and Thomas (+2) taking the final match 11-0, 6-11, 11-9 against Scott Campbell and Pete Bloomfield (-15).
Both Windsor Kestrels and Nomads Lions had qualified in Group G before they met in their final fixture, the Kestrels winning 5-0 against a two-player Lions’ side.
In the other Group match, Brotherhood E enjoyed a consolation 5-3 win against a two-man Windsor Hawks. But the Hawks almost took the tie to a decider, Kevin Pryor (+1) getting Brotherhood over the line with a 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 0-11, 13-11 victory over Felipe Rodriguez (-5).
* The matches for Round One of the Knock-Out stage of the competition will be played during week beginning 27th January. It will feature six teams from Division One, and five each from Divisions Two and Three. Brotherhood will have six teams in the draw, Windsor four, with Nomads and Walton each having three. Details of the draw and grades will be circulated by Thursday 16th January at the latest.
* The League’s Handicap Singles Tournament takes place at the Windsor venue of St James Hall on Saturday 8th February. Entries will be limited to 32. The closing date for entry is Friday 31st January. Full details are being circulated to all players.
* Team Secretaries should note a temporary change as regards e-mailed result cards. For League matches played during the period 13th January to 9th February, result cards should not be e-mailed to Gavin Price. Instead, e-mailed result cards, as well as being sent to Tony Oswick, should also be copied to John Barton (john.a.barton@btinternet.com). Result cards can still be delivered personally to Tony Oswick in the usual way.
In contrast to the last couple of seasons, when things were tight at the top, a clear pattern has emerged in all three divisions of the Braintree Table Tennis League at the mid-term break.
Unless something goes dramatically awry, Netts A will win division one, Sudbury Wanderers division two and Finchingfield A division three.
They lead by eleven, nine (with a match in hand) and 18 points respectively.
Netts A and last year’s champions Rayne A have kept more or less the same teams as last season: Paul Davison, James Hicks and Andy Holmes for Netts and Maria Boulton, Adam Buxton and Paul Lucas for Rayne.
Last season Davison averaged 88 per cent, Hicks 75 and Holmes 79 while Boulton, Buxton and Lucas came in at 92, 76, 88 respectively.
The figures this time have Netts on 100, 88, 79 and Rayne on 83, 67, 93.
Not only is Netts’ average average higher, they have also have the substantial backing of new signing Gary Young, so far undefeated.
By comparison, Rayne have lost the services of Lee McHugh, whose 14 wins out of 15 greatly helped their cause last season.
Netts have been the model of consistency, only once failing to win at least eight sets in a match and that was when they had to field a reserve and were restricted to 7-3.
The most important of those matches was when they overcame Rayne by the surprisingly convincing score of 9-1.
Division two has been something of a procession for Sudbury Wanderers with nine wins out of ten and a nine-point lead with a match in hand at the halfway stage.
Ian Shrubsole and Louise Hartshorn, who both returned to the game in 2022 after a lengthy lay-off, are averaging 83 and 73 per cent respectively and with strong support from new signings Natalie Dodd (89 per cent), Colin Moss (83) and David Hitchen (64) they look well set to continue in cruise mode.
Rayne E, the only team to beat them, owe their second place overwhelmingly to Matthew Brown, who has won all 33 singles, plus ten doubles, accounting for 60 per cent of his team’s total.
Finchingfield A have been just as dominant in division three.
An influx of new players enabled the club to enter two teams this year and allowed them to put most of their good eggs in the A team basket.
The addition to their ranks of Dave Punt, a regular division two player in 2023, and Peter Clark, part of the Netts C team that won division three in a canter in 2022, plus John Barrett and Ray Bradford from last season, has given them a solid platform.
They have won eleven out of eleven, all but three by 8-2 or better.
Finally, an encouraging note: the number of juniors flourishing in the third division.
Ten-year-old Ethan Collins leads the way with seven wins out of nine, an average of 77.8, which places him ninth in the division’s rankings. He’s followed by Lucien Nolan-Bradford, 16, on 73.3, JJ Calisin, also 16, on 71.4, Tom Verrier, 13, on 66.7 and Arun Cochrane, 11, on 55.6
After nine wins and a draw in their ten matches, Rayne E have tasted their first defeat in division two of the Braintree Table Tennis League.
It came at the hands of their own D team, who they have recently replaced in second spot in the table, and it leaves only two teams, Netts A in division one and Finchingfield A in division three, still unbeaten.
Matthew Brown contributed his usual three singles but his teammates were unable to follow suit.
Adi Kamma, Dave Moles and Paul Wellington all won twice to give the D team a 6-4 win.
The E team’s other win came in the doubles, where Brown was joined by Dave Allinson, some compensation for the latter after losing his own remarkable record of winning one singles in every other match he has played in.
Rayne E hold on to second place but they fell further behind leaders Sudbury Wanderers, who beat Rayne’s F team 8-2. Ian Shrubsole and Natalie Dodd were unbeaten.
Emotions were of a different order at the other end of the table where Netts D picked up their first win.
Jack Dearsley made his first appearance of the season and put in an excellent performance to win his three singles, and the doubles with Jimmy Calisin, to lead his side to a 7-3 victory over Black Notley F.
The top two had comfortable victories in division three.
Finchingfield A beat their own B team 8-2, while Sudbury Strollers beat Rayne G 9-1.
The Finchingfield derby featured the first clash between Ray Bradford and son Lucien and it was the 16-year-old who triumphed 11-4, 11-6, 11-8.
Youth was also to the fore in Netts F’s 7-3 win over Notley H where Tom Verrier, 13, and JJ Calisin, 16, took all seven sets between them, a notable achievement particularly as Notley H’s Nigel Parmenter began the evening with 17 wins out of 21.
Netts’ E team also won 7-3, in their case against Rayne H, to lift themselves up a place in the table.
Ray Carter turned out for only the second time this season and his three singles, plus three from Steve Willis, helped Yeldham Whitlocks B to a 7-3 win over Notley I.
The top two teams in the Braintree Table Tennis League showed their class as they entered the Christmas break by racking up convincing wins in their final two matches of 2024.
Netts A and Rayne A both had wins of 8-2 and 10-0 to increase the gap between second and third places to 22 points.
Both beat Sudbury Nomads 8-2 while Netts took all ten off their own B team and Rayne did the same to Black Notley A.
Paul Davison, James Hicks and Andy Holmes were on duty in both matches for Netts and it was Hicks, beaten only once before this season, who had a dip in form against Nomads, losing out to both Ken Lewis and Aron Jordan.
They did not have it all their own way against the B team, where they won only four sets in straight games.
Fred Evans was leading two games to one against Hicks before missing out in five and both Joe Meleschko and Szczepan Ziobro stretched Holmes to five.
Lewis and Karl Baldwin beat Steve Pennell, playing up from the B team, in Nomads’ 8-2 defeat by Rayne A while Maria Boulton, Adam Buxton and Paul Lucas had little mercy on Notley A.
Rayne B moved above Liberal B into third place by beating them 8-2.
In a match where six of the first seven sets went to five ends, Pennell and Victor Chan were unbeaten.
Liberal B fared better against Rayne’s C team, although 5-5 was probably less than they expected. Adam Cuthbert was unbeaten.
In their other match Rayne B dealt with a two-person Liberal C 9-1 although Garry Fryatt can be pleased with a win over Chan, the player who had put that earlier dent in Hicks’ record.
Liberal C also lost 9-1 to Notley A where Mel Cooch, playing up from division two, scored an excellent – and hard-fought – win over Richard Jennings by 22-20, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7.
The only bright spot for the Liberal club over the two weeks was the first win for their A team, although even that was double-edged, as it came over the B team.
As would be expected, Brandon Crouchman was unbeaten for the A team – although James Mullane stretched him to 11-9 in the fifth – but it was effectively Zak Harrington’s wins over Mullane and Robin Armstrong that turned the match.
Notley B took advantage of Nomads’ two defeats to move level with them in equal fifth place after beating Rayne C 6-4.
Luke Burridge was unbeaten for Notley while Keith Martin and new signing Felix Reeve won twice for Rayne.
In Southend Division 1 this week Basildon A leapfrogged Matchpoint A at the top of the table by a solitary point, by virtue of a slightly better result. Les Hoey and Arun Joy were both unbeaten, as Basildon overcame visiting Hadleigh Forum C 7 – 2. Paul Fawell and Mark Everard got one win each for Forum, and Jenne Seibolt got the home side’s other victory.
Matchpoint A’s 6 – 3 home win over Mapledene was a team effort. Player of the match Harry Sawford scored a hat trick, Daniel Stewart won two, and Debbie O’Neil one for the win. Mapledene shared their points, with Dawn Baldry, Bill Smith and Mike Johnston getting one victory each.
In a close fought match between hosts Hadleigh Forum B and Canvey A, no player was undefeated. POM was Canvey’s Ray Wilson, with two successes, a feat emulated by teammate Bob Skews and both Dave Woolmer and Mick Tappenden for the home side. Thanks to Peter Cray’s single victory, Canvey got a 5 – 4 away win.
The closest match of the week in Division 2, and probably by far the quickest, was the clash between Rawreth Megazone D and Matchpoint B. It was decided in the final game of the evening when Gus Heath completed his hat trick by beating Alex Bowden to give his Rawreth team a 5-4 win and provide something of an upset with Matchpoint currently sitting second in the table.
The match itself swung back and forth throughout the evening a 2-1 lead to Matchpoint turning into a 4-3 lead for Rawreth before the scores were levelled at 4-4. The games themselves, however, were short and sweet only one going beyond three sets. Matchpoint were without veteran members John Lott and Dennis Squirrell and it was left to youngsters Bowden, Max Mayo and Lotte Mills to fly the flag. Heath however, had other ideas, claiming his hat trick without dropping a set and he had good backing from Amar Al-Soufi who won a brace. Jaspreet Singh, for Rawreth, couldn’t cope with the youngsters providing Mayo and Mills with single points whilst Bowden also got the better of Al-Soufi to record his second win. Matchpoint do stay second in the table but an early Christmas present for Hockley C who are just two points behind them with two games in hand.
At the other end of the table Stanford C and Invicta B provided another 5-4 encounter but the games turned out to be a lot longer than the Rawreth match with four games going the distance. Stanford got off to a great start going 4-1 up but then saw Invicta close the gap to 4-3 before winning the next game to clinch victory. Tony Papasifakis and Chris Crooks both won two for Stanford with Vaughan Chambers providing the other point. Player of the match, however, was Invicta’s Steve Lennox who won all his games including two five set matches one, a great comeback against Crooks after going 2-0 down. Sarah Ball got Invicta’s other point with a five set win against Chambers. Invicta stay one but bottom with Stanford one place and four points above them.
Hockley D were another side fielding a relatively young line up as they took on a very experienced Canvey B side and it was the old heads who came out on top with a 7-2 victory. Trevor Hayes was the man in form for the Islanders winning all his games but he was taken the distance by Elliot Brackenbury winning 11/6 in the final set. Des Duffield and Terry Giddens both weighed in with braces with Hockley’s points coming from Brackenbury’s win against Duffield and William Evesham’s straightforward three set win against Giddens. Canvey stay in fourth place fourteen points clear of Hockley in fifth.
Last game of the week saw Runnymede take on high flying Hockley C and found themselves on the wrong end of an 8-1 defeat. It was fairly straightforward for the Hockley boys with Paul Ogden taking the POTM honours closely followed by Mike Worship who also won all his games but not until he edged out Steve Wisbey in a five set Christmas cracker! First set went to Wisbey, the next two to Worship before Wisbey levelled the scores. This was a classic game of attack against defence with Wisbey performing miracles to retrieve Worship’s smashes and it gradually captured the interest of the people watching as the scores edged slowly up to 11-11. Last two points to Worship and the applause of the crowd. Earlier Wisbey had recorded Runnymede’s only point beating Paul Strutt in four sets.
Team of the Week – Rawreth Megazone D
Player of the Week – Steve Lennox
As we approach the Christmas break in Division 3, it is Basildon A who still head the table and remain unbeaten.
In their latest outing, they were again only able to put out two players, but made light of this as Victor Wei and Andy Roff were unbeaten in their 6/3 win over Hockley E. Victor was the player of the match but had to work hard to complete his maximum, finally getting the better of Robert Garlick at 13/11 in the final end.
Invicta C kept up their pursuit of the leaders thanks to a 7/2 win over Stanford D. Keith Baxter led the way with a hat-trick and he was backed up by his teammates Andrew St John and David Barlow with a brace apiece. The consistent Randy Santiago with a double for Stanford.
Hadleigh Forum D have moved into third place after a 6/3 victory over Rawreth Meggazone E. Forum skipper Todd Barker is in good form and his unbeaten performance was the backbone of this win. There was good support for Todd from Ivan Arabadzhiev with two wins and Sineh Ball who added a single. Graham Back was the best on the night for Rawreth with two wins.
So, as we head into the New Year, Basildon A lead the way with 83 points from 12 games, followed by Invicta C with 73 points from 12 games and Hadleigh Forum D who have 56 points from 12 games.
Reports by David Barnes – Div 1 Paul Strutt – Div 2 David Woolmer – Div 3
Vivaan Babbar and Joshua Freeman acquired the two points required by the Buttsbury Bees to lift Chelmsford Junior League (CJL) division 1A despite a 3-2 loss against the Chelmsford Lions. With just one loss from 10 fixtures, the Bees have been the outstanding team in the division though they were pushed hard by the second placed Hutton Hawks who had occupied top spot for seven of the ten weeks of the season. In CJL division 1B, the Chelmsford Leopards earned the three points needed to snatch the title from the second-placed Buttsbury Bears. Despite Archie Spurrier’s opening game loss the Leopards cruised through the remaining four matches of the fixture to finish the 10-game season on 34 points – two ahead of the Bears.
Chelmsford A moved to the top of division one with a comprehensive 10-0 home victory over the two-man team of Galleywood A thanks to unblemished evenings from Josh Bickles, Saul Chivers and Felix Reeve. Chelmsford will be feeling the heat from the two Danbury teams hot on their heels who both have the benefit of a game in hand over the leaders. Second-placed Danbury C could only manage a 5-5 draw with fourth-placed clubmates Danbury B, B’s Sam Lowman earned player of the match honours with wins over Gary Young and Keith Adams though let slip a 2-1 lead against Trevor Lloyd for his only defeat. B’s Matthew Stringer enjoyed three five-gamers, claiming wins over Adams and Lloyd – despite trailing 2-1 in both – but losing out to Young 12-10 in the pivotal fifth game of their encounter. Bruce Kettle and Eric Green won three apiece in third-placed Danbury A’s 8-2 home victory over Chelmsford B. Saul Chivers put up the most resistance for the visitors when narrowly losing out to Green 3-2 prior to a 3-1 success over Dave Richardson.
Buttsbury A made it eight consecutive weeks at the top of division two with a 9-1 away win at seventh-placed Writtle B, Jamie Elliott and Evie Knaapen won three matches each while David Gatheral won two. Gatheral’s treble was denied by a come-from-behind victory for Writtle’s Trevor Carter who had trailed Gatheral 2-1. Maldon A remain seven points back in second position having also posted a 9-1 victory, this time at home to Danbury F. Chris Hancox and Colin Napper won three singles matches each though Danbury’s Alan Scammell took a wild opener against Lloyd Bennett-Smith 7-11, 14-12, 1-11, 15-13, 11-9 to deny the Maldon man a treble also. Scammell also pushed Napper close, only going down in a fifth-game decider while Bennett-Smith managed to find a way past Ken Sheard having been 2-0 down. There was a third appearance of the week for Saul Chivers as he joined Chelmsford C for their 8-2 home win over Danbury D. Chivers and Simon Jarvis both went undefeated and earned good wins over Sanjay Saptarshi and Dan Patynski – though the latter took both players to a fifth-game decider. Gary Ward fired a fifth hat-trick of the season as his Writtle C side moved up one place to seventh position with a 6-4 away victory over fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel A. Ward’s teammate John Webber would have won three had it not been for Alastair Piper’s recovery from 2-1 down. Having sat in tenth place as recently as week 10, Danbury E continue their upward trajectory as three wins for Tim Cramphorn and two each for Dick Wyman and Neil Want saw them to a 7-3 win at Galleywood B. Galleywood’s John Holland won once but lost out in deciding games against both Wyman and Cramphorn.
Chelmsford D are three points clear at the top of division three following a 9-1 home win over Hatfield Peverel B with closest rivals Buttsbury B earning a ‘lesser’ 8-2 victory over Writtle E. Adi Kamma and Christopher Denyer hit trebles for Chelmsford while Paul Sturton won all three for Buttsbury, Writtle D moved up one place to fourth following a 6-4 away win over 10th placed Danbury J thanks to another treble for Matthew Brown, while Cleon Fernandes made it back-to-back hat-tricks for Chelmsford F in their 6-4 win at Danbury G. Scott Perry was in action for the first time since week eight and he showed no signs of rust though his three victories were in vain as Danbury H lost 6-4 at Old Chelmsfordians C.
There were further victories for the two outstanding division four teams – Hutton A and Maldon B, just eight points separate the two with the two Buttsbury teams trying to keep within touching distance. Maldon B blitzed Danbury M 10-0 with Chris Ravenhill, Marty Englander and Brian Riedling filling their Christmas stockings with full compliments of wins – the deadly trio have now fired trebles in each of the last three Maldon B fixtures which is an identical statistic to that of Hutton A’s Alex Ware and Oladapo Owolabi who both unbeaten in the 7-3 away win at OCA D. There were wins for both Buttsbury teams who sit in third and fourth – third placed Buttsbury D earned an 8-2 home win over Danbury K, in his first appearance of the season Gary Carr won all three of his singles matches while Alex Wilson earned two wins for the visitors. Frances Hutt dropped just one game as she fired a treble as fourth-placed Buttsbury C won 6-4 on the road at Galleywood D. Galleywood’s Nick Rounce won the only five-gamer of the evening though the fixture was delicately poised at 4 matches apiece before Oscar Hutt then Frances Hutt won the last two matches of the night. Following four defeats in their last five matches, Hatfield Peverel C were back to winning ways with a 6-4 home win over Chelmsford G in a match which featured a first treble of the season for Samuel White. White’s first hat-trick was certainly no ‘gimme’ as he had to come through fifth game deciders against both Mark Nolan and David Parker. Something had to give in the fixture between Danbury L and Highwood A with both teams going into the clash on the back of four consecutive defeats. Unfortunately Highwood went into the fixture a player down though ace Melanie Bonnett won all three of her matches and was the sole point scorer for the visitors as Danbury ran out 7-3 victors.
There is no change for the top three teams in division five as leaders Hutton B, second placed Buttsbury E and third placed Maldon C all earned home wins. There were three wins apiece for Vicente Beco and Gheorghe Nita as well as two for Jago Ware as Hutton B cruised to a 9-1 victory over Highwood B while Shirley Carroll and James Raymond were unbeaten in Maldon C’s 9-1 home success over the two-person Hatfield Peverel F team. Lyndon Bubb fired a fourth hat-trick of the season as Buttsbury E were given a tough time by Galleywood E before securing a 6-4 home win. Bubb had to recover from 2-0 down against Wayne Smithies and also saw a 2-0 lead against Darren Wright disappear before securing fifth-game deciders. Hatfield Peverel D remain fourth and Writtle F fifth following a 5-5 draw between the two sides which saw two wins apiece for Writtle’s Michael Anthony and Ron Tam as well as Peverel’s Andy Simmonds and Bruce Wickham. Match of the night was Simmonds beating Tam by an epic-looking 11-9, 15-17, 14-16, 11-6, 18-16. Following five straight defeats, OCA E are now unbeaten in their last three fixtures following a 7-3 victory over Anglia Ruskin. ARU’s Douglas Bawuah was again the shining star as he beat Stuart Wintle in three, Suzanne Shaw in four and edged Matthew Potter in five (9-11, 11-2, 9-11, 15-13, 12-10). There was a first treble of the season for Jacqui Smith in Chelmsford H’s 9-1 away win at Hatfield Peverel E. Smith had to recover from 2-1 down against Alastair Brown while teammate James Grindlay dropped just one game for his three wins in what was his first treble since week one against the same opposition.
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Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
For results, fixtures, stats and more please visit https://www.tabletennis365.com/chelmsford
Buttsbury Bees – Vivaan Babbar and Joshua FreemanChelmsford Leopards – Archie Spurrier and Sai SureshA Merry Christmas to all our readers!
