The two top teams met this week in the third division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League and it was Hatfield Peverel B who beat Maldon B 6-4 to stay top.

Neil Freeman and Dave Fiddeman both won twice for Peverel but it was Maldon’s Ciaran Whelan who deservedly takes the plaudits. He beat Gareth Davies 3-1 (11-3, 13-11, 9-11, 11-6), Freeman 3-2 (10-12, 8-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-9) and Fiddeman 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 13-11).

Connor Payne was another player on top form. Payne and Richard Baxter were both undefeated as Chelmsford E beat Danbury F 8-2. Baxter sealed his hat- trick with a slightly strange-looking 3-2 (15-17, 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 11-2) victory over Dave Marsh. Payne had to pull out all the stops to get the better of John Robinson 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7).

Chelmsford D had Jarek Pietraszuk to thank as they beat Hatfield Peverel C 7-3. Pietraszuk was undefeated and he beat Trevor Collin, Peverel’s best player, by a last-gasp 3-2 (13-11, 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9 margin).

Danbury E were “big” winners this week. Tim Pulham (three wins), David Gatheral (three wins) and Ken Sheard (two wins) defeated OCs D 9-1. Mick Hayes was on target for the Old Chelmsfordians side with his quick-fire 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-4) win over Ken Sheard.

Chelmsford A moved in to pole position in the first division by beating OCs A 9-1. Ryan Gooday and Wade Bada both picked up “maximums” but the stand-out result here was the match that escaped them. Ace defender Robbie Burton scored a superb 3-1 (11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8) victory over Eddie Ogbebor in the last game of the night.

The match between Galleywood A and Liberal B finished as a 5-5 draw. Gary Brignall (Galleywood) and the Liberal duo of Paul Lombardi and Andy Huckson all won twice. A battling Bryan Thomas did well to beat Huckson 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6) having previously lost 3-1 (7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11) to Lombardi.

Danbury G made it five wins out of five in division four. Norman Smith and Ivan Chaplin were both undefeated as they hammered Writle Excalibur D 9-1. Maurice Hardy lost the first game narrowly in five to Dave Meah but it was only a temporary blip and the in-form Danbury team went on to secure a comfortable victory.

Danbury J moved into third place. Allan Steel was undefeated in his side’s 8-2 win over OCs G. Tanishq Kotwal won twice for the OCs team. He showed real grit and determination to defeat Kevin Willis 3-2 (11-7, 11-9, 14-16, 7-11, 11-8) and Eamon Hall in five (11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9).

In a week of clear-cut results in this divison – Writtle Excalibur C beat OCs E 8-2. Neil Thompson led the way with a hat-trick for the Writtle Excalibur side.
10-0 results have been few and far between this season. Highwood B jumped into second place in division five by inflicting a whitewash on Hatfield Peverel D.
Melanie Bonnett, Keith Fitz-John and Nicola Pippen were all unbeaten. Fitz-John scored an opening game 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 win over Andy Simmonds and Highwood never looked back after that.

Chelmsford K, led by Adi Kamma, ran out 8-2 winners over Chelmsford J. James Hughes impressed by beating both Ian Austin (11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7) and Amanda Hogger (11- 5, 11-7, 12-10).

Galleywood C are pulling clear in division 1A of the CLICK League. They made it five wins out of five by beating Buttsbury Bears 4-1. Aidan Noguchi retained his 100% record with 3-0 wins over Daniel Slaney (11-8, 11-6, 11-7) and Jason Yeh (12-10, 12-10, 11-6). West Maldon (Will Moore and Noah Sage) moved into third place by beating Buttsbury Bulldogs 5-0.

Galleywood D tasted defeat for the first time in division 1B of the CLICK League. It was Danbury Griffins who shaded a close match 3-2. Vineeth Kamma won both of his singles for the Galleywood side but Sam Ford and Harry Squires both won once and they outlasted Vinneth Kamma and Sudheep Kamma to seal victory in the all-important doubles 3-2 (13-11, 5-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9).

Buttsbury Beavers (Ben Brown and Oscar Hutt) ran out 4-1 winners against Chelmsford Tigers. Ryan Armstrong was on target for the Chelmsford side and he beat Oscar Hutt 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4).

Chelmsford Jaguars will be very pleased with their 3-2 success against Buttsbury Badgers. The Chelmsford team came good in all three five-enders. Annabel Sweeney defeated Daven Muldal 5-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 whilst she also beat Alexei Antoniou 11-13, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8. Team-mate Melinda Abraham Victor must have been suitably impressed as she got in on the act by beating Muldal 6-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9.