Maldon A have been relentless in their pursuit of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Division 1A title this season and they hit the jackpot this week with a 10-0 win over Rawreth.
Alex Abbott, Trevor Lloyd and John Poysden were all undefeated. Poysden prevailed in five ends against Charles Sweeny (11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6) in the best game of the night.
Congratulations are also extended to Alex, Trevor and John who together with Peter Radford and Gill Locke were crowned County Championship Premier Division Over-60s champions a few weeks ago in Milton Keynes, ahead of several very strong sides.
Second placed Chelmsford A fell back. They were 7-3 losers to an inspired OCs A. Paul Lucas bagged a hat-trick whilst Terry Dowsett and Dan Berry both won twice. Dowsett came perilously close to winning all three singles only succumbing to Edward Ogbebor 3-2 (13-11, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-13) whilst Dan Berry scored a superb 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 12-10) win over Casey Cross.
Writtle A also hit top form and they ran out 8-2 winners over Danbury A. Duncan Taylor and Lee McHugh were both undefeated. Taylor completed his trio of wins with a widely fluctuating 3-2 (11-2, 5-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9) victory over fellow defender Duncan Eric Green whilst McHugh had to dig deep to secure his third win against Steve Whiteley and he pulled through 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9).
Chelmsford B moved into second place in Division 1B, one point clear of Liberal A, by beating Hatfield Peverel A 8-2. Simon Jarvis and Rob Shrimpton were both undefeated. Shrimpton impressed by beating Julie Johnson 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7).
The leaders Galleywood beat Liberal 6-3 in a two-a-side match. James Hicks was involved in two fiercely fought five-enders. He beat Adam Buxton 14-12, 8-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5 but lost out to Andy Huckson 11-8, 12-14, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11.
In division five Chelmsford J ran out 9-1 winners over the higher placed Chelmsford H. Victories in all three five-enders helped their cause considerably. Revox Matthews fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Jamie Dowsett 8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 whilst Peter Davenport pipped Dowsett 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-8.
Maldon G beat Hatfield Peverel D 7-3 courtesy of unbeaten returns from Garry Eames and Denis Crapnell. Eames completed his set of wins with a well executed 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6) victory over Richard Drozd. Chelmsford G also won 7-3 to stay second. Andy Swales and Ian Austin were both undefeated.
Chelmsford Cougars made it six wins out of six by beating Chelmsford Pumas 4-1 in CLICK division 2A. James Donald was again the best player on show beating Joachin Mapes 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-5) and Ned Ryder 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-6).
Chelmsford Pumas did better against Chelmsford Tigers and they won 4-1. Mapes was undefeated this time. Ned Ryder won once – a last-gasp 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9) victory over Louis Burnett.
Chelmsford Jaguars climbed into third place by beating Chelmsford Tigers 5-0. Nyree Marsh and Annabel Sweeney were both undefeated. Nyree fought back from 2-1 down to beat Louis Burnett 3-2 (4-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6).
West Maldon scored their sixth win of the season in CLICK division 2B beating Buttsbury Badgers 4-1. They are five points clear of Chelmsford Leopards. Noah Sage dominated whilst Hugh Millard won once.
Chelmsford Falcons beat Chelmsford Wildcats 3-2 in CLICK division 2C. Alan Jiang led the way with wins over Emilie Guilloux (3-0) and Alesha Austin (3-1).
For those who enjoy International Table Tennis the weekend of May 18-19 is a date for the diaries. England Ladies play Spain and Belgium in a three-way European Championships Qualifying series at the BATTS Club, Norman Booth Centre, Elderfield, Mulberry Green, Old Harlow, CM17 0EY. The fixture against Spain is at 7pm on Saturday May 18 with the match against Belgium scheduled for 11am on Sunday May 19.