Third-placed Hatfield Peverel A are realistically too far adrift to make the top two places in division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League.

However if they continue to pair Peter Barrett and Gary Ward together regularly they should start to put pressure on the two teams above them.

Barrett and Ward were both undefeated in their 8-2 win over Danbury D. Barrett fought back from 2-0 down to beat David Gatheral 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-8).

Writtle Excalibur A stay top but they were hard pushed to beat OCs B 6-4. It was the new M&G Investments Chelmsford Tournament Division two Singles winner Lee McHugh who held the Writtle side together with a hat-trick. Kevin Worthington and Robert Burton both won twice for the OCs side.

Danbury C stay fourth. Ian Whiteside, the runner up to Lee McHugh in a compelling Division Two Singles final was undefeated in Danbury C‘s 7-3 win over Liberal C. Paul Lombardi showed up well here for the Liberal side with a fine 3-1 win over Daniel Young (12-14, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9).

Chelmsford B stay second and they powered to a 9-1 win over OCs C. Robert Shrimpton, Victor Chan
and Mark Allaway won all nine singles. The first match was the closest and Chan shaded it in five ends against Charles Yeung (5-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9).

Galleywood A are going through a lean patch in division one after a decent start to the season. They were well beaten 9-1 by Danbury A for whom Dave Richardson and Peter Mynard were both undefeated. As is so often the case here the one win the losers picked up was pretty notable. Gary Brignall excelled to get the better of Steve Whiteley 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9).

Rawreth A beat Liberal B 6-4. Charles Sweeny held the Rawreth side together, while Adam Buxton impressed here for the Liberal side with a fine 3-1 (win over Kim Shead (11-5, 15-13, 9-11, 11-8).

Division three teams excel in sending results in quickly and there are no fewer than seven score sheets for this division this week.

The leaders Maldon B made it 11 wins out of 12 with a 8-2 win over Danbury F. Steve Scholz and Mervyn Perriman were both undefeated. Perriman – standing in as a reserve – came through three hard-fought five-enders. He beat John Robinson (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 17-19, 11-5) and then Dave Marsh (11-9, 8-11, 9-1, 11-7, 11-9). He completed an excellent evening’s work with a 11-4, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5 win over Herbie Smith.

Second-placed Writtle Excalibur B were also comfortable winners. Paul Sturton and Louis Brown were undefeated as they saw off Chelmsford D 9-1. Jarek Pietraszuk was on target for Chelmsford. He secured a fine 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 17-15, 13-11) victory over Lin Roff.

Further down the table, Hatfield Peverel C excelled to beat the higher placed Chelmsford E 7-3. Teamwork was the order of the day here with Dave Carter, Bob Garson and Trevor Collin all winning twice. Carter did well to beat Richard Baxter 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5).

Chelmsford E did better against OCs D, winning 6-4. Keith Martin led the way with a hat-trick but it was touch and go against Mick Richardson. Martin eventually shaded it 3-2 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9).

Danbury E impressed by beating Hatfield Peverel C 8-2. Peter Hance led the way with three wins whilst Trevor Collin won twice for the losers. The hard-hitting Collin beat David Gatheral 3-2 (7-11, 11-8 11-17, 5-11, 11-9) but he missed out in an equally enthralling encounter against Peter Hance (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 10-12).

Maldon C, with Dawn Baldry and Ev Lucas firing on all cylinders, beat Danbury F 8-2. Both Dawn and Ev had to dig deep in their third games of the evening. Ev prevailed 3-2 (13-15, 11-6, 12-14, 11-6, 11-9) against John Robinson whilst Dawn also had to fight hard to get the better of Dave Marsh in five (12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9).

Maldon C also picked up five points by drawing with a two-man Hatfield Peverel B team. Maldon stalwart Brian Riedling made his mark here. He fought back very strongly from 2-0 down to get the better of Neil Freeman 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4).

The two leading sides in division four both won this week. The leaders – OCs E – were 9-1 winners over Danbury K with Nat Ravlic and Bob Francis both winning their three singles. Ravlic rounded off what was a good team performance by the OCs side by defeating Roger Tiffin in five (5-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8).

Second-placed Danbury G won 8-2. Nicky Ford won his three singles and team-mates Maurice Hardy and Norman Smith both won twice. OCs F’s Terry Dowsett – a player better known in the first division – remains undefeated. He won his three singles at a canter against Maldon D but it wasn‘t enough and Maldon shaded the match 6-4. Tom Elder and Kelly Yuenyongpknan both won twice. Maldon D may also break a record of sorts here. No fewer than 11 players have played for this side this season.

Terry Dowsett and Farooq Ahmed were both undefeated as OCs F beat Danbury K 7-3. Writle C ran out 6-4 winners over Writtle D in their Inter Club challenge match. Malcolm Storey and Dave Moles were both undefeated on this occasion.

Danbury J did well to beat the higher placed Danbury H and they did it quite decisively as well – 7-3. Allan Steel led the way with a hat-trick of 3-1 wins. He beat Richard Allen (8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3), Brian Ellis (11-13, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7) and Dave Goody (11-1, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11).

Chelmsford F are a massive 18 points clear in division five. Jon Dyson and Richard Gardiner were both undefeated in their 9-1 victory over Chelmsford H. Ben Jackson was on target for Chelmsford H. He beat Adi Kamma in five close ends (7-11, 11-13, 13-11, 12-10, 11-7).

Harry Buckle (Chelmsford F), another player to make his mark at the M&G Investments Chelmsford Closed Championships, certainly stood out in his side‘s 6-4 win over second-placed Highwood B. This was a marathon match where five games were decided in a fifth end. Buckle not only won his three singles but two of his wins were by the closest of margins. He beat Nicola Pippen (13-15, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9) and Melanie Bonnett (11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9).

Keith Fitzjohn and Pippen shaded an even tighter doubles encounter 12-10, 21-23, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 against Ben Jackson and Buckle.

Highwood A beat OCs H 6-4 – good going as none of their players were able to get the better of Stuart Wintle. Hatfield Peverel D did well to beat the higher-placed Chelmsford G 7-3. Peter Mortensen led the charge with three wins.

Chelmsford G in turn scored a fine 7-3 win over Highwood A. Martin Hiskey impressed by winning his three singles.

The CLICK League has been reformatted at Christmas. Results that stood out were a 4-1 win for Black Notley Bucaneers over Chelmsford Leopards. Jonny Evans impressed here with wins over James Donald (10-12, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7) and Sudheep Kamma (11-6, 11-5, 11-7).

Galleywood Eagles – the team to beat in the first half of the season – carried on where they had left off. Aidan Noguchi was unbeaten in their 4-1 win over West Maldon. He beat Noah Sage 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-2) and Oliver Wylie 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-5).

Black Notley Barracudas were also 4-1 winners. Nicholas Grice was unbeaten in their 4-1 victory over Danbury Griffins. Harry Squires was on target for the losers. He defeated Patrick Sweeney by a last-gasp 3-2 (7-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-6, 14-12) margin.

Buttsbury Bears beat Danbury Dragons 4-1. Toby Kelly led the way with two wins for Buttsbury.
In yet another 4-1 result Chelmsford Pumas saw off OCs Lions. Joachim Mayer won twice for the Pumas and he beat Fraser Heard 3-2 (11-13, 6-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9) in an excellent opening encounter.

Vineeth Kamma (Galleywood Hawks) won both of his singles against Danbury Dragons but it wasn’t enough as Danbury shaded the match 3-2. Vineeth Kamma had a real a roller-coaster battle against Connor Hall and he finally prevailed 3-2 (4-11, 11-7, 11-2, 6-11, 13-11).