Maldon A, who are in third place in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League first division, turned in a top-class performance to beat the leaders Rawreth & Hullbridge A 8-2. Alex Abbott and Paul Sayer were both undefeated, with Sayer in particular really hitting top form. He won his three singles 3-0, beating Chris Jacob 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 then Ben Warner 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 and finally Gary Young 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 to complete one of the best first division displays this year.
Maldon captain Hamish Innes made his mark with a fine 3-2 (6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7) success against Chris Jacob.
Bocking B are still very much in contention for the top prize but they must ensure that they do well in the games they have in hand. Dave Cole was undefeated as they beat Galleywood A 7-3. Lucy Wang avenged her earlier defeat of the season against Gary Cattermole with a hard-fought 3-1 (5-11, 17-15, 11-9, 11-7) victory.
Danbury B (81 points) and Rawreth & Hullbridge B (74 points) have pulled clear at the top of division two.
Rawreth & Hullbridge were held to a draw by Hatfield Peverel A for whom Gary Ward took a hat-trick of hard-fought wins. Ward beat Barrie Delf 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-8) and then Paul Churn, where he fought back from 2-0 down to triumph 3-2 (5-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8). Finally, he beat Simon Jacob 3-1 (11-9, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10).
Gary Ward was also on top form as Hatfield Peverel A lost 3-7 to Danbury D. He beat all three Danbury players – Steve Whiteley, Ken Sheard and Ian Whiteside. Sheard also impressed with his wins against John Gagg and John Parodi.
Galleywood B came out on top 6-4 against Chelmsford A – James Hicks led the way with three wins whilst Gary Brignall won twice. Bryn Thomas got the better of Al Piper 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 14-12) in the closest game of the evening.
OCs C stay second in division three with 69 points. Nat Ravlic led the way with three wins against Chelmsford C, as they won 7-3. Daniel Berry lost twice – both times by the closest possible margin. He succumbed 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 3-11, 9-11) to Chris Denyer and by the same score (11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12) to Paul Nicol.
Maldon C moved up to third by beating Chelmsford B 7-3. Tom Elder led the way with three wins. Maldon C were also 9-1 winners against Danbury G – a result that may have flattered them slightly. They won all six games that were decided in the fifth end. Tom Elder and Dawn Baldry were both undefeated, Baldry beating Dave Marsh 3-2 (13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9) in an absolute scorcher of a game.
OCs D, led by Dave Porter’s trio of wins, were 7-3 victors over Danbury E, whilst Danbury E, who have slipped down the table in recent weeks, scored a 6-4 success against Hatfield Peverel C – their second win of the season. Peter Hance and Ivan Chaplin both won twice for Danbury, whilst Adam Carter picked up two victories for Hatfield Peverel C.
Galleywood C (Allan Thompson, Mohammad Mohseni and David Gatherall) were the week’s big winners in division four. They defeated Chelmsford D 9-1. Chelmsford D also lost 7-3 to OCs E. Adrian North, Andrew Huckson and David Newman all won twice for OCs, although none of their players were able to get the better of Bob Francis. Francis defeated Andrew Huckson 3-2 (11-7, 3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9) in a widely fluctuating opening match.
Elmtree Excalibur D (Neil Thompson, John Marshall and Steve Siggs) were 7-3 winners against Writtle, whilst Elmtree Excalibur D (represented by Steve Siggs, Dave Moles and Neil Thompson this time) beat Galleywood C 7-3.
Danbury M have imposed themselves in division five and now look to be pretty close to 100 per cent certainties to take the top honours. They now have 11 wins out of 11 to their name and crucially they beat second-placed Danbury L 8-2. Dan Anderson (27 wins out of 28 over the season to date) and Dan Richardson (24 wins out of 26) were both undefeated. Cameron Gray won twice – only missing out to Scott Perry. Danbury M also beat Galleywood D 10-0.
Maldon E were 6-4 winners against Elmtree Excalibur E. Mervyn Perriman and Bryan Speller both bagged three singles wins.
Chelmsford G are currently in second place in the CLICK League although third-placed Black Notley have four games in hand. Chelmsford G’s Peter Davenport was undefeated in his singles as they beat Chelmsford H 3-2. This included a very hard-fought 3-2 (6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10) victory over Kristian Krejcirik.
Chelmsford G also lost 3-2 to Buttsbury C. Tom Picton was unbeaten for Buttsbury, defeating Harry Matthews 3-2 (11-2, 9-11, 3-11, 11-8, 12-10) and Peter Davenport 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-4).
Steve Kerns (press & publicity officer)
January 19, 2015