Press Report

Division three leaders OCs A gave themselves the perfect Christmas present in division three of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League, as they hammered Danbury E 10-0 to extend their lead at the top of the table. Steve Northcott, Robert Burton and Roy Moore, three players whose styles differ about as much as they possibly can were all on good form as Danbury failed to reply. Third-placed Writtle B also turned in a creditable performance as they beat Excalibur C 7-3. With five games decided deep in the fifth end this was a hard-fought affair although the Writtle Captain Matthew Brown managed to distance himself from the fifth game deciders. The impressive Brown won his three games three-straight - no messing about !. His 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 victory over Excalibur's Michael Rostoft was particularly clinical. Excalibur found the going tough against Danbury D as well, losing 8-2. Malcolm Jacobs took his three singles whilst Nicky Reece-Ford and Norman Smith both won twice.

Baddow Village A invariably produce some of the more interesting results in division one. Indeed, it is almost impossible to predict which one of their players will be the most successful on a given night and often this degree of unpredictability assists them. This week they impressed by beating Rawreth 6-4 and it was Peter Barrett who stole the show. His three singles successes included an excellent fight-back against up-and-coming Southend Junior Josh Lovett where Peter came through 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11, 12-10. Neil Gooday made his mark by beating both Paul Grant and Josh Lovett but he received short change against Steve Maltby, as he went down 7-11, 3-11, 4-11. Writtle A slipped down the table by losing 8-2 to Danbury B. Jon Hill was the architect behind the Danbury success and his trio of successes included an excellent 11-9, 14-12, 11-4 victory over Gary Ward. Danbury B also produced some excellent form as they beat Excalibur A 8-2. Hill was again undefeated and Dave Jacobs also picked up his three singles. Lower down the table, Bocking's rapid climb out of the relegation zone continues to gather pace, and this week they held second-placed Elmtree Graphics A to a draw. Rik James won his three singles and in a result that might well influence the Mens Singles seedings at the Chelmsford Closed Tournament he came through over five ends against 2004 Champion Vytas Rybakas. Kevin Gowlett also made his mark in this match and he scored an excellent five-game victory over the highly rated Steve Willis. Elsewhere, ECC A moved further away at the top of the table as they beat Excalibur A 9-1. Paul Davison and Dave Cole were both undefeated although Steve Joslin missed out over five close games against George Pavitt.

Division two leaders Danbury C are arguably the biggest surprise of the season so far. They just can't seem to stop winning. This week Excalibur were "put to the sword" as Andrew Halling, Dave Finlayson and Eric Green won 10-0. Second-placed Billericay will have a real job putting pressure on them on this showing and they lost ground as they were held to draw by Hatfield Peverel A. Alex Green raced through his three singles but Peverel's Peter Brownlow and John Gagg both won twice to redress the balance. Elsewhere, ECC C scored a fine 6-4 victory over Maldon B. No single player stayed undefeated, although ECC's Gary Brignall and Ken James and Maldon's John Cleasby all won twice. Bocking B did well to record their second win of the season, a good one as well, as they beat a below-par E2V Technologies 7-3. Dean Andrews picked up a hat-trick whilst the improving Robin Armstrong won twice, beating both Paul Richardson and Maurice Hardy. Bocking's Barry Pritchard had to be content with a solitary win over Paul Richardson on this occasion but he made up for it against ECC B where he picked up his three singles, which enabled the Braintree team to shade the match 6-4. Robin Armstrong gave further evidence of his good form as he just missed out 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11 against Bryn Thomas in a dramatic last game of the evening. Excalibur B, cast adrfift at the foot of the table were well beaten 8-2 by E2V Technologies. Dave Richardson (three wins) and Pip French and Ivan Chaplin (who both won twice) were always in control in this match.

In division four third-placed Danbury G missed out 7-3 against OCs C. Danbury started the evening well as Dave Goody beat John Watts convincingly 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 but thereafter Danbury took control as Watts, Nat Ravlic and Adrian North all picked up two singles wins. Elmtree Graphics B fielded their strongest side of the season against ECC F and they duly won 8-2. Their Colchester first division stalwarts - Fred Button and Phil Smith were not surprisingly undefeated. Baddow Village E, who are in a desperate need for points did well to hold the higher-placed Danbury H to a draw. Graham Turner took his three singles whilst the promising Bradley Hudgell won twice. Glenn Laing was the best of the Danbury players as he beat both Hudgell and Laura Pyman. A couple of weeks later and Baddow were involved in another draw with OCs C. Bradley Hudgell completed a great performance by making it a hat-trick of wins with a fine 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 victory over John Watts, having previously been pushed hard by Nat Ravlic before he pulled away in the fifth end for a 13-11, 6-11, 15-13, 9-11, 11-3 success. This time Graham Turner was the one to struggle and he had to settle for a solitary win over Nigel Parmenter.

The big shock in division five was the first defeat of the season for ECC G against lowly Danbury J. Peter Sun made all the difference and his hat-trick of wins enabled Danbury to take the match 6-4. A week later and ECC G were back to winning ways, as they scored an impressive 8-2 victory over Baddow Village G. Richard Storey, absent against Danbury J took his three singles with ease. Baddow's Mike Robinson came through a really close five-ender to get the better of Ian Rogers 3-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10 but he failed to trouble Richard Storey. The scores of 6-11, 7-11, 5-11 give a fair indication of just how well Richard played. In the clash between second-placed Excalibur D and third-placed EPHQ it was EPHQ who came out on top 6-4. Ian Hockley and Francis Whitbread both scored hat-tricks. Elsewhere, the young ECC H team did well to hold OCs D to a draw. OCs' David Porter took his three singles whilst ECC's Vicky Stredder and Tom Hill both won twice to redress the balance. OCs D failed to sparkle in the mid-table clash against Writtle D as Writtle ran out 7-3 winners. David Porter was easily the best player on views and he took his three singles with room to spare but the Writtle duo - Anne Lockhart, Martin Goddard and Kevin Barber impressed elsehwere as all three players picked up two wins.

Division six leaders Danbury K failed to make the most of their two games in hand on their nearest rivals.However, by drawing twice and recording a thumping 10-0 win they retain their position at the top of the table. David Gatherall played in all three matches and he was joined by Peter Sun and Roger Tiffin as they brushed ECC J aside 10-0. They found it harder going against both Baddow Village L and Baddow Village H and in both of these matches David Gatherall tasted defeat. Strangely enough, it was the same player - Richard Napper who beat him both times but on both occasions family honour was upheld as younger brother James beat Napper 3-1. Second placed Baddow Village K added seven points to their tally as they beat OCs E 7-3. Team-work was the order of the day here as Mick Pitt, Andrew Orme and Eric Clift all picked up two singles wins. Further down the table Baddow Village H (a four man team of Ron Arthur, Chris High, Les Webb and Fred Henwood) turned in a strong performance to beat OCs F 9-1 whilst Ingatestone Excalibur produced their best display of the season as they beat ECC J 8-2. Veteran Coach Hill Dowsett led the way with three singles successes.

Baddow Village M are looking increasingly like the team to beat in the CLICK League and a 5-0 win over OCs H followed by a 4-1 victory against Baddow Village N has seen them move to the top of the table. Gavin Trodd took his two singles against the Old Boys whilst Matthew Davis was undefeated against the Baddow Village side. Hylands School are in second place and they too were convincing winners, as they beat OCs H 5-0. Danny Harmon and Danny Petit were pretty untroubled in their singles on this occasion. OCs H in turn put that result firmly behind them as they beat Excalibur Knights 4-1. Kane Lambert impressed as he won both of his singles comfortably, downing the challenges of Stepahine Butler 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 and Craig Hiskey 11-4, 11-7, 11-6. Finally, Excalibur Knights also missed out 4-1 to Ingatestone Boys Club. Lee Cranmer won both of his singles whilst Jack Osbourne weighed in with one win.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Players and Officials