Press Report

ECC A landed their fifth Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League first division title in six years and their fourth title on the trot with a workmanlike 9-1 win over Excalibur A. Dave Cole and Matt Staines were both undefeated although Tim Pang did really well to get the better of Steve Joslin. With 66 points out of a possible 72 this also represented the highest points total achieved by any of the winners in the main divisions of the League. Their squad of Dave Cole, Matt Staines, Paul Davison, Steve Joslin, Steve Kerns and Dan Cannon had a strength in depth to it that the other teams were never able to match. Elmtree Graphics A finished Runners-Up again, five points behind ECC and they also completed their fixtures with a comfortable win, as they beat Danbury B 9-1. Vytas Rybakas and John Holland gave nothing away whilst Ev Lucas provided excellent support as he beat both Ian Whiteside and Jon Hill. Rawreth finished another five points back in third place although they did acheive the consolation of being the only side to beat ECC. They were unable to match the consistency of the ECC side and they completed their fixtures with a 7-3 win over relegated Billericay. County Veteran star George Reeves was their match-winner.

After losing their first four matches 10-0 the performance of Writtle A who avoided relegation deserves all the plaudits going. They were unable to sign off for the Summer with a victory but they nevertheless gave Excalibur A a good run for their money before losing 6-4. Excalibur's fast-improving Gary Young gave further evidence of his first division credentials as he beat Gary Ward 3-1. After a promising start Billericay struggled in the second half of the season and their 6-4 defeat against a two-man Danbury A means they finished second to bottom. Danbury's leading player Kevin Read took his three singles without dropping an end although Keith Ashton scored a useful "consolation" win by beating Chris Jacob 3-2. Read was also the dominant player when Danbury A beat Maldon A 7-3. However, this was "no walk in the park" and Read needed all five games before getting the better of Ray Murray (11-9 in the decider) and John Cleasby (11-8 In the fifth end).

Division two was dominated by Baddow Village A right from the outset, whilst as soon as it became clear that Kevin Gowlett was going to be a regular fixture in their ranks Bocking also became a really difficult side to beat. After a couple of early season defeats Gowlett hasn't put a foot wrong and he again took his three singles as Bocking drew 5-5 with third-placed Baddow Village B to finish a comfortable second. The modern top-spin play of James Mullane has also come on leaps and bounds this season and he only just failed to upstage Julie Vansertima, succumbing 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 11-2, 12-14. Baddow Village A completed their season in style as they hammered relegated OCs A 9-1. Waseem Qureshi and Neil Gooday were both undefeated although Baddow Village no. one Peter Barrett missed out over five ends against Peter Farrow, a real upset. Baddow showed their dominance again with an 8-2 victory against Danbury C. This time Gooday and Barrett were both undefeated although Waseem Qureshi found the going tougher, losing to both Dave Finlayson and Gordon Gatherall.

E2V Technologies who have slipped down the second division table in recent weeks produced two much improved performances just when they needed them most. Dave Richardson was their main-stay in both games as he won twice against ECC C and all three times against Baddow Village B. This enabled E2V to share the points with ECC C whilst they were also 6-4 winners against Baddow Village B. Richardson's sole defeat over these two matches came at the hands of ECC's Gary Brignall. Danbury C who were always safe from relegation but at the same time never looked like challenging for honours also signed off with a victory, as they beat Maldon B 6-4. Dave Finlayson was their match-winner with three singles victories. Finlayson's hard-fought 6-11, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7 victory over Dave Bassett in the last match of the night represented an excellent finale to a well contested match.

With matches in hand Danbury L always looked capable of winning the CLICK League and with a frantic burst of action they came through to take the title with three victories. The vital match against second-placed ECC J saw them produce their best performance as they ran out 4-1 winners. Matt Standen played magnificently to get the better of Tommy O'Donnell 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 and William O'Donnell 11-1, 11-4, 11-9. James Gatherall just missed out against William O'Donnell 11-3, 11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 10-12 but he showed good composure to hit back in his second singles by beating Tommy O'Donnell 11-5, 12-10, 11-3. Third-placed Baddow Village N almost proved to be a stumbling block for Danbury as Alex Stone produced a superb performance to beat both Standen and Gatherall and it was a relieved Danbury L side who came through to win 3-2. OCs G were also beaten 4-1, as Danbury L raced into a 4-0 lead before Richard Rock saw off James Gatherall 3-1.

ECC J finished a clear second, well ahead of Baddow Village N and they completed their fixtures with a 4-1 victory against Baddow Village P. Baddow P's Tom Lee excelled by beating William O'Donnell 3-1. Baddow Village P look to have been hard done by against OCs G, having lost 5-0 as both Matthew Davis and Tom Lee were involved in really hard-fought five-setters against Nick Rock missing out 11-9 in the decider and 11-8 in the fifth end respectively.

Baddow Village's Alex Stone in particular looks to have finished his season in great style and his two wins condemned ECC J to a 3-2 defeat against Baddow Village N. He came though a real tussle against Tommy O'Donnell before edging home 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10 after what must have been the "match of the night".

Excalibur Knights added five points to their total as they made their extra experience count against Baddow Village O. Craig Hiskey and Chris Butler were both undefeated although it was pleasing to see that both Rebecca Skeoch and Kathy Austin took ends off their opponents.