Jason Lloyd and Ethan Lloyd of Nomads Bobcats are doing booming business in their first season in Division Two of the Clacton & District League.
The father and son combination, who last season were plying their trade in Division Three, have not been overawed by playing at a higher level and this week showed their competitive mettle by staying unbeaten in the Bobcats’ convincing 7-3 success over Brotherhood E. And, for good measure, they united to take a comfortable 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-5) doubles win against Duncan Dunne and Rodney Betts.
It was a third hat-trick in five matches for dad Jason and a second treble in five games for son Ethan, with the seven points from the Brotherhood E fixture seeing their Bobcats’ side move effortlessly into a comfortable mid-table position.
Dunne, Betts and Tony Edmonds each won a point for the Brotherhood side who, even at this early stage of the season, look likely to be one of five teams – along with Walton C, Nomads Pumas, Nomads Jaguars and Windsor Magpies – who’ll be involved in a battle for survival at the bottom of the table.
Walton C and Nomads Pumas, Division Three champions and runners-up respectively last season, faced each other this week and it was the Walton trio who emerged 7-3 victors. Rivhu Khan and John Long both won three, with Eric Lemke, John Bowers and Lionel Goddard taking one each for the Pumas. But Bowers will have breathed a huge sigh of relief following his match with Toni Hayhow-Khan, just coming out on top 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9).
Windsor Magpies were not helped when they were forced to field a guest against promotion favourites Brotherhood D. Somewhat predictably they went down 9-1 – although, even with a full side, they would have been unlikely to have done better. Dave Sweetland took the Magpies’ sole point by beating Shaun Beckham and played well to take Lee Harvey all the way before losing 11-7 in the fifth.
Nomads Jaguars fared a little better but still ended up on the wrong side of the fence, losing 6-4 against mid-table Windsor Harriers. Ferdy Rodriguez took a hat-trick for the Harriers although it was a close 11-9 in the fifth against Kevin Hume. Isabel Barton won two for Windsor as did Andrew North for the Jaguars. Hume and Caroline North each had a narrow victory against Harriers’ reserve Debra Found, Hume winning 12-10 in the decider and Caroline North winning 11-7 in the fifth.
At the other end of the table, Brotherhood I moved temporarily to the top with a 9-1 success over a weakened Windsor Buzzards. Mark Ratcliffe and Kris Stefanov led the way with unbeaten trebles whilst Mark Beckham’s two wins included a 12-10 in the fifth success over Ray Chillingworth. However, the closest match of the evening saw Windsor’s Dan Malinowski scrape past Beckham 3-2 (11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 16-18, 14-12).
In an encounter of two evenly matched teams, Nomads Tigers edged out Brotherhood F 6-4. Daryl Lott was unbeaten for the Tigers, John Marshall won two and the pair combined to take the doubles. Sandie Isaac won two for Brotherhood with Barry Allen and Lee Allen each winning one. Lee Allen was involved in the two five-setters of the evening, beating John Hockley 11-6 in the fifth but losing out 11-8 in the fifth to Lott.
Nomads Wildcats and Walton D are emerging as the leading teams in Division Three and this week they both racked up easy 10-0 victories.
The Wildcats faced a two-player Nomads Caracals and only John Houghton’s 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9) win over Hazel Blanche was extended beyond three sets.
Walton D also recorded a straightforward 10-0 win, this against Windsor Swallows, with only two matches going to a fourth set.
Hat-tricks from Carl Hubbard and Chris Simson saw Windsor Kites to a 7-3 victory over Nomads Leopards, thus continuing their excellent start to the season. The result sees their side move to the heady heights of third position in the table. Tom Collins, Dave Wright and Roger McNaughton picked up a point each for the Leopards.
Windsor Penguins fielded a guest player against Nomads Lynx but still ran out 6-4 victors. Debra Found remained unbeaten, her closest match being a 3-2 (11-13, 11-7, 13-11, 9-11, 11-3) success against Liam Harris. Jackie Bunce won a couple but was unable to get the better of the fast-improving Harris, who triumphed in four (11-6, 12-10, 4-11, 12-10).
It was also 6-4 for Windsor Ospreys against Brotherhood G. Robbie Strutt won his three and Jordan Webb two, with the pair taking a tight doubles 3-1 (15-13, 11-13, 12-10, 12-10) against Paul Metcalf and David Hunt. Metcalf won two singles for the losers, with Hunt and Roger Ellis winning one each.
Windsor Condors moved to within three points of Division One pace-setters Nomads Panthers with an 8-2 success over Nomads Lions. Colin Stallwood maintained his unbeaten record for the Condors. Felipe Rodriguez and Martyn Green, making a rare but welcome Clacton League appearance, won two each. Four of the individual matches went the distance with each side winning two. Lions’ captain Adam Wilkin was involved in two of them, excelling to beat Green 11-5 in the fifth and Rodriguez 11-9 in the fifth.
For the first time in nearly two years, there was neither Phil Smith nor Gary Cattermole in the Windsor Eagles’ line-up – and Walton A took full advantage to record a 9-1 win. There were trebles for Gary Young and Kevin James, although James had a tough battle with Sue Welham before winning through in five (11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 11-13, 11-9). John Pattrick took the Eagles’ consolation point with a fine victory over in-form Gavin Price.
Martin Edwards marked his first appearance of the season for Brotherhood B with a maximum as his team edged past Windsor Kestrels 6-4. Gracie Edwards’ two victories for Brotherhood included an 11-6 in the decider win over John Harvey whilst John Owen defeated Dave Martin by a similar score. Colin Beaumont won a couple of close matches for the Kestrels, beating Owen 11-7 in the fifth and Gracie Edwards 11-8 in the fifth.
Brotherhood C beat Walton B 7-3. Alan Burgess and Kevin Gowlett unsurprisingly stayed unbeaten although Gowlett was given much food for thought before he came out on top 3-2 (8-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7) against Derek Willis. There was a point each for Willis, Paul Meikle and Colin Dearman for Walton, with Dearman being involved in the closest match of the evening when he defeated Kevin Pryor 12-10 in the decider.
Hat-tricks from John Barton, Elliott Attrill and Andy Vincent gave Windsor Hawks a 10-0 victory over Windsor Owls. But Mark Salter of the Owls will feel unfortunate not to have got on the scoreboard, losing 11-9 in the fifth to Vincent and 13-11 in the fifth to Barton.
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Condors 8 Nomads Lions 2
Windsor Eagles 1 Walton A 9
Brotherhood C 7 Walton B 3
Windsor Kestrels 4 Brotherhood B 6
Windsor Owls 0 Windsor Hawks 10
Division 2
Brotherhood I 9 Windsor Buzzards 1
Walton C 7 Nomads Pumas 3
Brotherhood E 3 Nomads Bobcats 7
Windsor Magpies 1 Brotherhood D 9
Nomads Jaguars 4 Windsor Harriers 6
Nomads Tigers 6 Brotherhood F 4
Division 3
Windsor Penguins 6 Nomads Lynx 4
Brotherhood G 4 Windsor Ospreys 6
Nomads Wildcats 10 Nomads Caracals 0
Walton D 10 Windsor Swallows 0
Nomads Leopards 3 Windsor Kites 7