{"id":4267,"date":"2026-01-18T21:01:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T20:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=4267"},"modified":"2026-01-18T21:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T20:06:14","slug":"top-group-is-up-for-grabs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/2026\/01\/18\/top-group-is-up-for-grabs\/","title":{"rendered":"Top group is up for grabs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Of all the eight Groups in the Handicap Cup Competition organised by the Clacton and District League, Group A<\/strong> is proving the closest, with all four teams – Division One sides Nomads Panthers and Walton B, Division Two\u2019s Brotherhood F and Windsor Falcons from the Third Division – still in with a chance of qualifying for the Knock-Out stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brotherhood F currently top the Group after recording a second impressive win, this week a 7-2 victory over Walton B, taking the last five matches of the evening to clinch the victory. But it was a close-run thing, the final three matches all being five-setters which could easily have swung Walton\u2019s way. The closest was Paul Alden\u2019s 16-14 in the decider win against Paul Newbould in a match played off scratch. Mark Salter remained unbeaten for Brotherhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windsor Falcons will feel pleased with their 5-4 victory over Nomads Panthers, Matt Thomas, Gary Barnes and Nigel Rolph crucially taking the three doubles between them. In an encounter where all the matches were best-of-three sets, the Panthers were forced to work hard for their points, Kevin James (-17) beating Barnes (+3) 12-10 in the third, John Hatley (-15) beating Thomas (+3) 11-8 in the third while Denes Somodi (-15), who won both his singles, beating Barnes (+2) 11-8 in the third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So although the Panthers are bottom of the Group with just five points, a good result in their final match against Brotherhood F could still see them through, while the Falcons v Walton B tie will be a winner-takes-all match, with the victorious side certain to qualify.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Group B<\/strong>, Brotherhood D\u2019s 6-3 win over a two-player Windsor Buzzards means that have definitely qualified for the Knock-Out stage of the competition. Ray Chillingworth and Andy Foster of the Buzzards each picked up a singles win, and shared a doubles success, Chillingworth\u2019s (+1) 11-8 in the decider victory over Kevin Pryor (-1) the closest match of the evening. The Buzzards\u2019 fate now rests with their final match against Nomads Tigers, with at least six points needed to secure a qualification place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holland Hurricanes won all three doubles in beating Nomads Ocelots 7-2 in an all-Division Three clash in Group C<\/strong>, but it was Ian Gwillim who starred for a second week running, staying unbeaten in both singles and doubles. The win for the Hurricanes almost, but not quite, guarantees them a place in the Knock-Out stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holland Lancasters of Division Three played well to overcome Second Division leaders Brotherhood G 5-4. Peter Evans and Tony Aresti won both their singles matches and shared a doubles success for the Lancasters. But, having conceded their first match, the Lancasters are almost certainly out of the running for a qualification place, while Brotherhood G will need a convincing win against the Ocelots in their final match to get through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the all-Windsor Group D<\/strong>, Gary Cattermole was unbeaten in the Eagles\u2019 7-2 victory against the Kestrels, although (on -8) he had to summon all his fighting talent and experience against Peter Aumord (+3) before winning a narrow 5-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second Group match, the Hawks led the Penguins 5-0 at the half-way stage but a magnificent rearguard action from the Penguins saw the final score end as 5-4. No player remained unbeaten but, unusually, all six players picked up at least one singles victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eagles and Hawks look favourites to qualify but the Penguins, who have narrowly lost both their matches 5-4, are still in with a shout and a good result in their final match against the Kestrels could yet see them through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group E<\/strong> is the most clear-cut of all the eight Groups, where Nomads Leopards and Brotherhood B are odds-on to qualify for the Knock-Out stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an all-Third Division tie, the Leopards defeated Holland Vulcans 7-2, winning all three doubles. The final match turned out to be a nail-biter, Doug Green and Dominic Joannou (-6) scraping home 12-10 in the decider against Derek Foxley and James Horsler (+1). Joannou was the Leopards\u2019 best player, staying undefeated on the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division One Brotherhood B won two five-setters on their way to an 8-1 victory over Third Division Windsor Magpies. In those two matches, Simon Smith-Daye (-8) defeated John Plummer (+2) 11-8 in the decider while Joe Plummer (-8) edged past Alan Rutledge (+2) 13-11 in the decider. The Magpies\u2019 sole point was Dave Sweetland\u2019s (+2) win in four against Joe Plummer (-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Young, Kevin Gowlett and Gracie Edwards recorded a second 7-2 win in Group F<\/strong> for Brotherhood A, who are fast emerging as Cup favourites. In the two matches which went the distance, Kevin Gowlett (-8) beat Charlie Denholm (+2) 11-9 in the decider, and Gowlett and Young (-8) beat Denholm and Ian Sherwood (+3) 11-7 in the decider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brotherhood E of Division Three are making a great effort to secure the second qualification place, this week winning 5-4 in their encounter with top-flight Walton A. Jack Hillier took both his two singles and, with Rodney Betts (on +2) won the crucial final doubles 11-7, 6-11, 11-8 against Mark Ratcliffe and Derek Willis (-10) in a best-of-three encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windsor Harriers defeated Nomads Jaguars 8-1 in an all-Second Division tie in the three-team Group G<\/strong>, Barry Allen leading the way for the Windsor side with an unbeaten performance. The win guarantees the Harriers a place in the Knock-Out stage, while the Jaguars are left needing a 7-2 win or better in their final match with Brotherhood C to stay in the competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s the end of the road for Third Division Walton C after losing for a second time in Group H<\/strong>, this week 6-3 to Second Division Brotherhood J. Walton took two of the three doubles, but two singles wins each for Joe Sherwin and Tom Bryden, one from Ruby Gallagher, plus a Bryden\/Gallagher doubles success, saw Brotherhood J safely home. Both they, and Nomads Lions, are now guaranteed a place in the last sixteen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Entries for the League\u2019s annual Handicapped Singles Tournament which takes place on Saturday 7th February at Windsor\u2019s St James\u2019 Hall venue can be sent on-line to Isabel Barton or by post to Tony Oswick. The entry fee is \u00a34.00. Entry is limited to 32 players and the closing date is Friday 30th January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESULTS : HANDICAP CUP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group A<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walton B 2 Brotherhood F 7;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nomads Panthers 4 Windsor Falcons 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group B<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brotherhood D 6 Windsor Buzzards 3;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nomads Tigers 9 Brotherhood H 0 (w\/o).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holland Hurricanes 7 Nomads Ocelots 2;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brotherhood G 4 Holland Lancasters 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group D<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windsor Eagles 7 Windsor Kestrels 2;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windsor Penguins 4 Windsor Hawks 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group E<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windsor Magpies 1 Brotherhood B 8;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holland Vulcans 2 Nomads Leopards 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group F<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawford 2 Brotherhood A 7;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brotherhood E 5 Walton A 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group G<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nomads Jaguars 1 Windsor Harriers 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group H<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brotherhood J 6 Walton C 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report by Tony Oswick<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mark Salter – Brotherhood F<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    <\/ul><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Of all the eight Groups in the Handicap Cup Competition organised by the Clacton and District League, Group A is proving the closest, with all four teams – Division One sides Nomads Panthers and Walton B, Division Two\u2019s Brotherhood F and Windsor Falcons from the Third Division – still in with a chance of qualifying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[10],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4269,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions\/4269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}