PHIL WINS COMEBACK CLIFF-HANGER
Week in week out, there are few players in the Clacton and District League who provide better value than Phil Smith of Windsor Eagles.
This week in Division One the long-serving Smith showed both skill and determination to take a well-deserved treble in the Eagles’ drawn match with Walton C, the highlight being a notable come-back victory – 4-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 19-17 – against the resolute Derek Willis.
John Hobson and Fred Button took a point apiece for the Eagles, whilst Willis and Paul Meikle each won two for Walton, although Hobson took both Walton players close before losing to them by the same score, 11-5 in the decider.
Top beat bottom when Nomads Panthers inflicted a 10-0 defeat on Brotherhood D. But Russell Hillier underlined his improvement, taking Gill Locke close before going down 11-8 in the fifth and pushing Colin Webber all the way before losing 11-6 in the fifth.
If Brotherhood D are now isolated as the bottom, Nomads Cougars are becoming semi-detached. This week the Cougars lost 7-3 to Brotherhood B. Martin Edwards and John Owen recorded hat-tricks for Brotherhood.
Walton A were 10-0 winners over Nomads Lions but the score-line might have been different had the Lions snatched three tight matches. Matt Watson beat both John Fenton and John Weller close in five whilst John Rice edged past John Hatley 13-11 in the fifth.
For a second week running Brotherhood A won 9-1 and for a second week running their only defeat was in the doubles. John Andrews, Alan Burgess and Greg Green took all the singles but Andrews and Green went down in the doubles to the Windsor Hawks’ pair of Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez.
Windsor Condors defeated Walton B 8-2, Windsor’s Jim Pallett beating Gavin Price in five but losing to both Paul Newbould and John Rankin in four.
It was closer for the Walton B side against Walton D but Kevin Gowlett’s presence ensured the ‘D’ team a 6-4 success. The encounter saw some tight matches, Gowlett being made to fight all the way before beating Newbould 11-9 in the fifth whilst Woolnough, who won twice for the ‘D’ team, beat the same player by an even closer 12-10 in the fifth. But the closest match saw Rankin edge out John Marshall 11-9, 10-12, 10-12, 11-6, 20-18.
At the foot of Division Two Brotherhood I celebrated a second win of the season, 6-4 over Nomads Tigers. Both teams fielded a reserve and both reserves excelled, Duncan Dunne taking three for Brotherhood and Kevin Hume two for Nomads. Rowan Cottee and Allen Denyer took a point each for winners and together took a crucial doubles, 12-10 in the decider, against Caroline North and Tony Robinson. In her singles, Caroline fought hard before going down 11-6 in the fifth to Cottee whilst Hume narrowly beat Cottee 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8. Tony Robinson won two for the Tigers.
There was no luck for bottom team Windsor Magpies who crashed 10-0 to leaders Windsor Kestrels. Dave Sweetland went close against Alan Rutledge before going down 11-9 in the decider whilst Sweetland and John Plummer took Rutledge and Bob Sawyer all the way before the Kestrels won the doubles 11-8 in the fifth.
Every player took a point but no-one stayed unbeaten in the drawn match between Brotherhood C and Windsor Harriers, the Harriers winning all three matches that went the distance. Brotherhood reserve Lee Allen had a good victory over Jenny Higgins but Jenny recorded a surprise 11-9 in the fifth win over Lawrence Torr. With Ferdy Rodriguez, Jenny also shared a tight 11-8 in the fifth doubles success Torr and Fred Gallone – who each won two singles for Brotherhood.
There were 10-0 wins for Division Three leaders Brotherhood E over both Walton E and Windsor Swallows. In the latter match, Gary Bayliss beat Malcolm Caley 11-6 in the fifth and scraped home 11-8, 11-13, 11-4, 12-14, 13-11 against the redoubtable Iris Howlett.
Two of the chasing teams, Nomads Lynx and Brotherhood H, were involved in a hard-fought draw. Graham Parkes was unbeaten and Gerald Batt took two for Brotherhood, whilst there was a couple for Nomads’ Brian Friday. Batt had a 15-13 in the decider win over Kevin Hume but Brotherhood skipper David Wilkin narrowly failed to get on the score-sheet, losing close in five to both Hume and Tom Collins.
It was somewhat easier for Brotherhood G, 8-2 winners against Nomads Wildcats, Pete Bloomfield and Alan Fryer leading the way with unbeaten trebles. Harry Barlow and Hazel Blanche won one each for the Wildcats, Hazel staging a fight-back to defeat Mark Trayhorn 2-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8.
Windsor Penguins had a comfortable 10-0 win over Windsor Ospreys, as did Nomads Pumas against Windsor Kites. John Bowers was involved in a close encounter in the latter match when he beat Carl Hubbard 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 14-12, 11-7.
* In Division Two of the Super-Veterans Section of the Essex Inter-League, Clacton lost 7-2 to Becontree B. Colin Beaumont and Paul Woolnough were the town side’s point winners.
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Eagles 5 Walton C 5;
Brotherhood D 0 Nomads Panthers 10;
Walton A 10 Nomads Lions 0;
Brotherhood A 9 Windsor Hawks 1;
Walton D 6 Walton B 4;
Windsor Condors 8 Walton B 2;
Nomads Cougars 3 Brotherhood B 7.
Division 2
Brotherhood I 6 Nomads Tigers 4;
Windsor Magpies 0 Windsor Kestrels 10;
Brotherhood C 5 Windsor Harriers 5.
Division 3
Brotherhood E 10 Windsor Swallows 0;
Walton E 0 Brotherhood E 10;
Nomads Lynx 5 Brotherhood H 5;
Nomads Wildcats 2 Brotherhood G 8;
Windsor Kites 0 Nomads Pumas 10;
Windsor Ospreys 0 Windsor Penguins 10.
Essex Inter-League
Super-Veterans’ Division 3
Clacton (Hobson, Woolnough, Beaumont) 2 Becontree B 7.
To view the full tables click here
Tony Oswick (December 11, 2013)