Press Report

It wasn't a good week for the three bottom teams in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League, as all three sides lost heavily. Hatfield Peverel A stay rooted to the bottom of the table having been beaten 9-1 by Rawreth for whom George Reeves and Duncan Taylor stayed undefeated. John Gagg scored Peverel's sole win by beating Paul Grant 3-1 but as Peverel find themselves relegated it was of little consolation value. Writtle were also unable to add to their points total as they lost 8-2 against Danbury B. However, Writtle's number three player Trevor Carter excelled as he picked up two top-class wins over Jon Hill and Steve Pennell. His fighting 11-9,11-6, 6-11, 12-14, 13-11 victory over Steve Pennell really caught the eye. Danbury Captain Tony Forster's treble ensured that his side took all four points, and his wins over Gary Ward and Kevin Worthington as well as Trevor Carter clearly represented a performance of considerable merit as well. Elmtree stayed on course to finish as Runners-Up as they beat Billericay 8-2. Billericay's Ray Eldridge not only won twice but he also picked up the considerable scalp of Essex no. one Junior Vytas Rybakas in the process, coming back from 2-0 down to record a superb 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 victory.

A two man ECC B gave promoted Bocking A quite a scare in division two before Bocking eased home 6-4. Kevin Gowlett again stayed undefeated and on this form he should make quite an impact in division one next season. Although Kevin displayed all his class in beating Bryn Thomas 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 he appears to have been at pains to dispose of the primarily defensive Colin Blore before he ran out a 9-11, 13-11, 11-1, 11-6 winner. ECC B again represented by two players also did well to hold E2V Technologies to a draw. Trevor Collin and Colin Blore both beat Pip French and Ivan Chaplin, and had Dave Richardson not won his two singles E2V would have lost the match. OCs A's slide down the table continued and they now look prime candidates for relegation after losing 6-4 to Hatfield Peverel B, who could also find themselves being demoted. Although OCs's top player Steve Northcott won twice the support just wasn't there on this occasion. New signing Peter Farrow fought valiantly but missed out 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11 against Neil Freeman and even more closely 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 5-11 against Eric Green. His final singles proved even more frustrating as he lost by the very cruel scoreline of 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 to Guy McKenzie. Peverel slumped to a 8-2 defeat against Danbury C, definitely not the result they were searching for at this stage of the season. Danbury's Dave Finlayson and Peter Hance were both undefeated whilst Nicky Reece-Ford won twice. Peverel may well have feared the worst after the first game of the evening when Neil Freeman missed out to Peter Hance by the tantalising scoreline of 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 13-15. ECC C who have improved steadily over the season recorded their sixth win of the year as they beat Maldon B 7-3. Gary Brignall and Ken James both won their three singles.

Excalibur B took a giant stride towards winning the division three title by beating their C team 7-3, a result that sees the C team plunge into the relegation zone. Bill Smith and Richard Hiskey were both undefeated in a match where the usually prolific Kevin Smart was only able to pick up one win. Bocking B scored an excellent win in their battle to finish second, an impressive 7-3 victory against OCs B. Robin Armstrong and Barry Pritchard were both undefeated in a hard-fought match where a determined Bocking side were succesful in four of the five matches that went to a fifth end. Time has run out for ECC E who are relegated although they were unfortunate to lose 6-4 to their club-mates ECC D. Peter Layzell held the D side together by winning his three singles whilst John Wickens impressed as he beat both Neil Thompson and Andy Hanlon. Wickens' victory over Thompson produced the closest match of the night as Wickens eventually scraped home 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11, 12-10.

Hatfield Peverel C dominate this week's division four action featuring in all three games that were played. It was a case of team-work dominating as Keith Cullen, Jon Fieldsend and Dave Fillery all picked up two wins in their 7-3 victory over Danbury F. Cullen proved to be their best player in their 6-4 defeat against OCs C as he won twice. However, Alan Offord's three victories ensured OCs came out on top. Danbury G, above them in the table also proved to be the stronger team when the two sides met. This time Danbury's team effort won the day as Brian Ellis, Dave Goody and Dave Powell all won twice.

Long-time division five leaders Hatfield Peverel A took a step closer to the title. They were able to afford the luxury of leaving out their leading player Martyn Green as they beat Baddow Village F 7-3. Greg Green, Lorrie Austin and Matthew Webber all won twice and it was Austin who was involved in the most unlikely battle of the night. Neither Austin or his opponent David Gatherall were able to impose themselves on the game for long periods before Gatherall finally came through to win 11-3, 11-6, 5-11, 3-11, 11-8. Writtle C stayed in contention for second place by beating second-placed side Danbury J 6-4. Tony Lambert with three excellent wins was the difference between the two sides and it was his first victory of the night, a very hard-fought 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 success against Tim Pulham which shaped the night's proceedings. Further down the table Hatfield Peverel E did well to beat OCs D 7-3. Matthew Webber, in action for the E side this time took his three singles whilst Mike Bard offered considerable support as he won twice. Bard's "come-from-behind" win over Brian Shipley by a 8-11, 13-15, 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 margin must have been a source of great encouragement to his team-mates. Relegated ECC H had little to shout about against ECC G as the G side (Mick Storey, Richard Storey and Ian Rogers) ran way with all nine singles although Arthur Clark and Colin Barham were able to celebrate a 3-1 win in the doubles against Mick and Richard Storey.

In division six Excalibur D bounced back from their disastrous 10-0 defeat against Baddow Village J with a first-class performance against Baddow Village L. A 9-1 victory and four vital points was exactly what they needed at this stage of the campaign. Keith Fitzjohn (three wins), Eleni Manolitsaki (two wins) and Craig McGarrigle (three wins) all played their part. Baddow Village H were also comfortable winners as they beat Ingatestone/Excalibur 9-1. Ron Arthur and Ed Fairey were both undefeated whilst Les Webb won twice. Stewart Hiskey picked up the loser's consolation game with a hard-fought 5-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 victory over Webb.

Danbury J, with games in hand have always looked to be the marginal favourites to win the CLICK League and by beating both ECC K and Excalibur Knights 5-0 they kept the leaders ECC J in their sights. James Gatherall and Matt Standen dominated both of these matches. ECC J stayed top but were unable to take all five points against Excalibur Knights. Tommy O'Donnell won both of his singles but brother William was beaten over five well-contested ends by Chris Butler. It was Chris who came through a real cliff-hanger 7-11, 12-10, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8. OCs F who have made steady improvement throughout the season climbed into third place by beating Ingatestone 5-0. Matthew Porter and James Stapley dominated taking all five games 3-0.