Press Report

Cup action is underway in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League, although there were few real surprises in the first round of matches.Danbury B came through the closest encounter, as they ousted Elmtree Graphics 5-4 in the 4-Down KO Cup. Tony Vassallo gave Elmtree an advantage by winning both of his singles, as he beat Brian Ellis 3-0 and followed this up with a second 3-0 victory over Dave Goody. However, it wasn't quite enough and with the score tied at 4-4 Brian Ellis and Alan Dadswell came through over four hard-fought ends to beat Vassallo and Nicola Pippen 7-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6. Baddow Village A also moved smartly into round two of the 4-Down Cup as they beat their B side 5-0, although they will be the first to admit that the score flattered them as three games were decided by a margin of 11-9 in the fifth end or even tighter. In the end it was the greater experience of Graham Turner, Bob Francis and Bradley Hudgell that counted.

Danbury A, holders of the Veterans KO Cup, failed to defend their title and they paid the price for not turning out their strongest side. Reserve Nicky Reece-Ford was involved in two absolute cliff-hangers, but defeat against Trevor Collin by a mind-numbing 20-18 in the fifth end scoreline as well as a second narrow loss to Ken James at 11-8 in the deciding set, after having led 8-6 gave ECC the advantage. Ian Whiteside had given Danbury some hope by beating Ken James 3-1 but undefeated performances by Steve Kerns and Trevor Collin saw ECC through as 5-1 winners.

ECC B, a composite side of Arthur Clark (-10), Jeff Lewington (-19) and Tom Hill (-12) did well to beat Hatfield Peverel A 5-3 in the Handicap KO Cup. John Gagg (-28) produced some superb play for Peverel as he took his three singles but it wasn't enough and Tom Hill sealed the ECC victory with a 21-13, 21-15 win over John Parodi

(-26). ECC guru Arthur Clark (-10) had also played his part in the success as he downed Parodi 12-21, 21-11, 22-20. ECC C also made it through to round two, as they emerged as 5-2 winners over Baddow Village J. Dacre Pell (-7) turned in an undefeated performance which included a 21-17, 21-18 victory over Diane Pitt, a game played off scratch.

E2V Technologies failed to produce their best form in the 2-Down KO Cup, and it was Baddow Village A who sailed through this fixture as 5-0 winners. With Ray Lawrence scoring a fine 3-0 win over Pip French the writing was on the wall for E2V and Alastair Piper added to their woes as he came through 12-10, 10-12, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9 to beat Ivan Chaplin. Adrian Pitt had also played his part as he beat Dave Richardson 11-8, 3-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5 to complete what was a disappointing night for the Works side.

Newcomers Hylands School have made an impressive start in the CLICK League and although they may not actually win anything this year they have already shown a marked improvement. Chris Lee, Aaron Piper and Danny Pettit were all on target as they beat Baddow Village O 5-0, whilst Danny Harman played his part in their 4-1 victory over Baddow Village K. The only game that escaped them turned out to be a good one as Scott Dowsett came through a tough five-ender to beat Chris Lee 5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8. Hylands tasted defeat against Baddow Village M although they only missed out 3-2. Tom Lee who beat both Colin Matthews and Danny Pettit 3-0 was the difference between the two sides whilst Matthew Davis also made his mark as he beat Aaron Piper by a widely fluctuating scoreline of 6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2, 11-5. Elsewhere, Baddow Village O also turned in a strong performance to beat Excalibur Knights 4-1. Claire Austin excelled as she won both her singles which included a hard-fought 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10 victory over Craig Hiskey.

Quiz Night - All players are reminded that the League's Quiz Night takes place on Saturday 19 November 2005 at Writtle Sports & Social Club, Paradise Street, Writtle at 19.30 hours. Teams may include up to six members at a cost of £ 18.00 per team. Please contact Brian Cook on telephone no. 01245-467787 to book a table.

Old Rubbers and Blades - The League are currently undertaking a large Coaching programme. It is always helpful to the Coaches if they can acquire decent equipment and therefore it would be appreciated if any players who have old rubbers and/or blades that they no longer require could pass them on to the League's Coaching Officers. Anyone who can assist is requested to contact either Neil Gooday on telephone no. 01245-354221 or Adrian Pitt on telephone no. 01245-250710.