GREEN LEADS DANBURY TO MAGNIFICENT 9-1 WIN

Second-to-bottom team Danbury A produced one of the shocks of the Season by beating third-placed Rawreth A 9-1 in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. Antony Greenwood and Eric Green both stayed undefeated whilst Ian Whiteside won twice. Highlights included a superb 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 12-10 victory for Eric Green over Adam Brewer and an equally impressive 4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 14-12 success for Antony Greenwood over British League Division Two South player Brewer. Ian Whiteside made his mark by dismissing John Poysden 11-6, 11-8, 11-3. Danbury now have a total of 72 points and Old Chelmsfordians A find themselves under real pressure to avoid relegation. At this stage of the Season when a team is trying to avoid relegation every single game counts and Old Chelmsfordians A produced the level of performance they needed as they beat Chelmsford A 7-3. Their leading player Paul Davison won his three singles whilst Waseem Qureshi with two wins was the best of the Chelmsford players. Waseem fought back from 2-0 down to beat Nikki Kennard 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-9. Second-placed Bocking A’s 7-3 win over Excalibur saw an impressive Peter Hayden win his three singles, although newcomer Michael Wright scored two excellent wins for Excalibur. Wright beat both Kevin Gowlett and Dave Cole. The leaders Maldon A took a step closer to the title by beating ECC A 8-2. 2010 M&G Investments Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion Neil Charles was a class apart and he took his three singles with room to spare. Elmtree Graphics A moved into fourth place by beating Chelmsford A 8- 2. Chelmsford’s Greg Green came close to pulling off what would have been a magnificent win over Matthew Mulley, but he just missed out 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 5- 11, 10-12. Mulley and Paul Sayer both remained undefeated.

The battle to avoid relegation from division two is every bit as close as division one. Chelmsford B (73 points) should stay up as they have two games in hand on Danbury B (76 points) and Hatfield Peverel B (76 points). Chelmsford B and Danbury B couldn’t be separated when they met. The Chelmsford side finished the stronger by fighting back from 5-2 down to secure a draw. Adrian Pitt completed his hat-trick with a four game win over Dave Calleja, Alastair Piper beat Glen Laing over our ends and Julie Vansertima earned her side a draw with a last-gasp 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 12-10 victory over Neil Want. Hatfield Peverel C (77 points) edged out Danbury B 6-4. Team-work ruled the day here, with Peter Mynard, Clive Allenby and Chris Buer all winning twice.

In division three, the Champions - Hylands School A (Brandon Crouchman, Terry Dowsett and Scott Dowsett) turned in another top-class performance as they hammered Bocking B 10-0. They have an impressive 128 points with one game still to play. Bocking’s top player Richard Jennings felt the full force of Brandon Crouchman’s increasingly improved play as he was crushed 11-6, 11-3, 11-8. Old Chelmsfordians C (74 points) survived relegation by a single point courtesy of their 6-4 win over Bocking (73 points). Nat Ravlic won his three singles and this included a vital 7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-2 victory over Richard Jennings in game number nine. Jenning’s loss effectively sealed Bocking’s demotion. Colin Blore has had a good Season and he led third-placed ECC E (97
points) to a 6-4 win over Danbury D. Blore played particularly well to defeat Herbie Smith 11-7, 11-8, 12-10. ECC C (95 points) look like they will finish fourth and they completed their programme with a 7-3 victory over Danbury C. James Hicks and Andy Hanlon both stayed undefeated.

Elmtree Graphics B, the division four Champions completed their programme in style, beating Chelmsford D 7-3. Father and son duo Phil and Mark Smith dominated proceedings and they won their six singles. Expect them to be tough to beat in division three as well. Danbury E’s win over Old Chelmsfordians D went pretty much to form, with the Danbury trio - Ken Sheard (three wins), Robert Kneale (two wins) and Gordon Gatherall (two wins) all contributing to their team’s success. David Porter fared best of the Old Chelmsfordians players and he did well to beat Robert Kneale over five fluctuating ends 9-11, 11-3, 11- 9, 3-11, 11-9. Danbury E scored an even more conclusive 8-2 win over Chelmsford E. This time Gordon Gatherall led the way with three singles successes. His hat- trick included a 11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6 win over James Austin. Austin in turn made his mark with a hard-fought 10-12, 11-8, 13-11, 12-10 victory over Ken Sheard.

Danbury K (102 points) and Danbury G (98 points) are setting a hot pace in division five. Both teams notched up big wins this week. Danbury K had Lee McHugh and Graham Briggs undefeated as they beat Hatfield Peverel D 9-1. Geoff Ward beat Peter Orriss 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 9-11, 12-10 in the closest game of the night, the only game that Danbury K failed to win. Second-placed Danbury G were even more dominant and they beat ECC G 10-0. Dave Goody, Brian Ellis and Dave Powell were all on good form. Danbury J completed their Season with a 6-4 win over relegated Chelmsford F. It was one of those matches where no single player dominated, and Chelmsford’s Richard Upson and Danbury’s John Knights and Trevor Palmer all won twice. Trevor Palmer’s win over Richard Upson by a 10-12, 15-13, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 margin was the closest of the night.

The battle for the division six title will go right down to the wire. Hatfield Peverel (120 points) lead the way by two points from Old Chelmsfordians F.
Both sides won this week although neither team was able to produce the title winning form that they might have aspired to. Hatfield Peverel E beat Old Chelmsfordians G 6-4 with Dave Carter leading the way by staying undefeated. OCs’ Farooq Ahmed scored an excellent 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 13-11 victory over Adam Carter. OCs F had Charles Eaton on unbeaten form as they beat OCs E 7- 3. Eaton scored a fine 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4 victory over Tony Cohen whilst Cohen hit back in his third single, downing the challenge of Dave Newman 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 13-11. OCs E added another eight points to their tally by beating Chelmsford H 8-2. Matthew Porter and Tony Cohen both won their three singles whilst OCs G also signed off for the Season with a victory. Farooq Ahmed dominated as they beat Excalibur E 7-3. Ahmed beat Keith Pallett, Excalibur’s best player : 6-11, 12-10, 13-11, 7-11, 11-2 in what was his closest encounter of the evening.

Steve Kerns

Press & Publicity Officer

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League