The eagerly awaited clash in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League took place this week and the leaders Bocking B produced a superb performance to beat second-placed Rawreth & Hullbridge A 7-3.
Rik James and David Cole were both right on top form and they won all seven of their games. James was unstoppable on this occasion and he produced a masterclass performance. He defeated Kevin Read 11-6, 12-10, 11-8 and then the 2015 M&G Investments Chelmsford Men’s Singles champion Ben Warner 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 and he rounded it off with a superb 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 victory over Duncan Taylor. It is doubtful if anyone will produce a more dominant performance this season.
Cole wasn’t quite as impressive but he was equally effective, beating both Warner (11-8, 12-10, 12-10) and then Taylor (11-3, 13-11, 11-8) 3-0. He rounded off a vintage evening’s work by beating Read 3-1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8).
Rawreth did better against Elmtree Excalibur A as they won 9-1, Gary Young and Warner both undefeated. Keith Adams impressed for Elmtree and he beat Read 3-0 (13-11, 11- 9, 11-9). The hard-hitting Adams also had a “battle-royal” with Young, with Gary running out a 3-2 (11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8) winner.
Danbury B took what could be a title-defining step towards the Division Two title. Andrew Halling was undefeated as they beat second-placed Rawreth & Hullbridge B 7-3. Paul Churn impressed for Rawreth and he beat Chris Buer 3-1 (11-6, 5-11, 12-10, 11-7) and Lewis Ewers 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-7).
Liberal have slipped down the table in recent weeks and they were beaten 7-3 by OCs B. Kevin Worthington held the OCs side together with three wins. Stephen Northcott was involved in three five-enders. He missed out to Adam Buxton (11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 3-11, 6-11) and then made amends by beating Dean Andrews (7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9) and in his last game he lost to Hector Rogers by a last gasp (11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11- 13, 13-15) margin.
Gary Brignall led Galleywood B to a 6-4 win over Elmtree Excalibur C. Phil Smith beat James Hicks 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 3-11, 13-11) in the closest game of the evening.
In Division Three OCs D twice lost 6-4. M&G Investments Division Three Singles champion Brian Riedling won his three singles as third-placed Maldon C ran out the winners, whilst Danbury G’s Dave Marsh and Matthew Brown both won twice in their victory. Dave Porter won twice for the Old Chelmsfordians side and this included a fine 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 13-11) victory over Matthew Brown.
The second-placed side, OCs C, stormed to a 10-0 win over Hatfield Peverel C. Daniel Berry, Frank Hodge and Nat Ravlic were all undefeated. The first two games of the evening showed OC’s fighting qualities. Frank Hodge trailed Dave Carter 2-0 before battling back to win 3-2 (5-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9) whilst Daniel Berry on the other hand was 2-0 ahead of Ray Eldridge and despite the fact that Ray fought back strongly Daniel held on to win 3-2 (11-8, 11-3, 3-11, 12- 14, 11-9).
Danbury H consolidated second place in Division Four by beating third-placed OCs F 6-4. Dave Goody led the way by remaining unbeaten.
Further down the table, Writtle beat Danbury K decisively 9-1 as Brian Steward and Frank Neill both stayed undefeated. Frank Neill fought back strongly from 0-2 down to beat Roger Tiffin 3-2 (6-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-6). The match between Danbury K and Danbury J finished tied at 5-5. Danbury K’s Tiffin and Norman Hayes and Danbury J’s Dave Powell and Dave Goody all won twice. Tiffin beat Brian Ellis 3-2 (11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 4-11, 11-8) in the last game of the night to earn the K side a share of the points.
In Division Five, the all-conquering Danbury M (Dan Richardson, Dan Anderson and George Ashley) made it 13 wins out of 13 as they overpowered Chelmsford E 10- 0. They hold a massive 21-point lead over club colleagues Danbury L. OCs G (Mike Morecroft, David Bishop and David White) ran out 7-3 winners over Elmtree Excalibur E. David White beat Keith Fitz-John 3-2 (11-13, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10) in the closest game of the night.
Steve Kerns (press & publicity officer)
February 23, 2015