Rawreth & Hullbridge A consolidated second place in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League by beating third-placed OCs A 7- 3. With three matches still to play against the leaders Bocking B, they are still very much in contention to win the title.
2015 M&G Investments Men’s Singles champion Ben Warner showed some of the battling qualities which carried him to the title by scoring a hat-trick of wins. He beat Terry Dowsett (3-2), John Cleasby (3-0) and Michael Andrews (3-1). Michael Andrews also impressed, scoring two excellent wins over Duncan Taylor (3-0) and Kevin Read (3-1).
A four-man Danbury C side beat Elmtree Excalibur C side 8-2 in Division Two. Glen Laing, Eric Green, Neil Want and Graham Briggs all played their part in the victory. Laing defeated Steve Cheeseman 3-2 (11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 4-11, 16-14) in the closest game of the night.
Kevin Worthington was again OCs B’s leading player as they beat Elmtree Excalibur B 7-3 as he won his three singles. Peter Layzell did well for the losers, beating both Steve Northcott and Robbie Burton. The win over Northcott was hard-fought with Layzell eventually coming out on top 3-2 (11-4, 1-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9).
Chelmsford B (Ryan Gooday, Neil Gooday and newcomer Mark Allaway) were impressive 9-1 winners over Chelmsford C in Division Three. With Gooday displaying such sparkling form in this year‘s M&G Investments Chelmsford Closed Championships, expect this side to make a late push for promotion.
Hatfield Peverel B stay top virtue of having beaten Hatfield Peverel C 8-2. Adam Carter (Hatfield Peverel C) beat Neil Freeman 3-2 (8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10) in the closest game of the evening.
There is no stopping Maldon D in Division Four. Their 9-1 romp against Galleywood C was their 12th win of the season as they opened up a massive 18-point gap over second-placed Danbury H. Steve Scholz and Ciaran Whelan were both undefeated whilst Allan Thompson was on target for Galleywood, beating Ev Lucas 3-1 (11-9, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6).
A hard-fought match between Chelmsford D and Writtle ended in a 5-5 draw. Brian Steward scored a trio of wins for Writtle B whilst Bob Francis picked up two wins for the Chelmsford team. Sarah Austin came out on top once, beating Andy Fox in five ends (10-12, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7).
Second-placed Danbury L were held to a draw by Maldon E in Division Five. It was a hard-fought match and no one player dominated the evening. Maldon’s Steve Lucas and Bryan Speller and Danbury’s Terry Hyland and Eamon Hall all won twice. Speller had to dig deep to beat Hyland 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 2- 11, 11-9).
Buttsbury A are the outstanding side in the CLICK League this season and they made it 13 wins out of 13 by beating second-placed Black Notley A 4-1. Nathan Fry (19 wins out of 20) won both of his singles whilst Matthew Elliott (17 wins out of 20) only missed out against Patrick Bugg in the fifth (10-12, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11).
Buttsbury C did well to beat Buttsbury B 3-2. Tom Picton and James Hughes both won once, which countered the two wins that Danny Murray picked up for Buttsbury B. OCs H ran out 5-0 winners over Buttsbury B in a match where Tejas Kotwal and Lawrence Bartlett were both on winning form. In a match where both sides featured three players Buttsbury C defeated Chelmsford H 4-1. Tom Picton won his two singles for the Buttsbury C side.
All players and spectators are requested to note that the 2015 Sport England National Table Tennis Championships are being held at the Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre, Forest Road, Barkingside, Ilford over the weekend of Friday February 27 to Sunday March 1. The highlight of the weekend should be the battle for the prestigious Mens Singles title between England’s top two players – Paul Drinkhall (Middlesbrough) and Liam Pitchford (Chesterfield) – who are both ranked inside the top 50 in the ITTF World Rankings.
Steve Kerns (press & publicity officer)
February 16, 2015