Kevin Worthington hits top form against OCs B

The battle to avoid relegation from Division One of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League has thrown up some stirring battles in recent weeks but Writtle A’s 7-3 victory over a full-strength OCs B side surely tops the lot. Kevin Worthington and Peter Radford were both undefeated for Writtle and they both took the scalps of both David and Martin Cole. The improving Kevin Worthington bagged his first hat-trick of the Season in dramatic fashion. He beat Martin Cole 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 16-14) and David Cole 3-2 (11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 13-11). A magnificent performance from the Writtle side and from Worthington in particular.

Elsewhere in Division One, OCs A took full advantage of OCs B not being able to turn out a full side when they won 9-1. Peter Hayden and John Andrews were both undefeated whilst Robbie Burton made his mark for the B side by getting the better of Brandon Crouchman. ECC A, who have slipped back in recent weeks, made no mistake by beating Chelmsford A 9-1 – Steve Joslin and Mark Mulley both bagged hat-tricks although Peter Barrett showed up well for the losers by getting the better of Lucy Wang.

Elmtree Excalibur A are still in the lower reaches of the division and they were beaten 7-3 by OCs B. This time the Old Chelmsfordians side won all four games decided in the fifth end with David and Martin Cole coming up trumps each time. Gary Baker, another vastly improved player – couldn’t have come much closer to capturing a big win. He missed out 2-3 (11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-13) to Martin Cole and 2-3 (5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11) against David Cole.

Division Two leaders Elmtree Excalibur B were able to afford the luxury of leaving out their top player – John Holland against Hatfield Peverel C and still winning 9-1. Peter Mynard and Phil Smith were both undefeated whilst reserve Tony Hallett stepped in and won twice. James Austin impressed for Chelmsford C in their 7-3 win over second-placed ECC B and his hat-trick included a 3-2 (5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8) win over Simon Webber. ECC C’s Bryn Thomas produced his best performance of the season as his side beat Chelmsford B 7-3. Thomas scored an excellent trio of wins over Alastair Piper, Julie Vansertima and Mike Johnston. ECC C added another seven points to their tally by defeating Writtle B 7-3. This time James Hicks remained undefeated whilst Bryn Thomas and Colin Blore both won twice.

Division Three produced three 6-4 scorelines this week. ECC D beat Chelmsford D courtesy of unbeaten performances from Richard Storey and Peter Layzell whilst Danbury D edged home against their team-mates despite the fact that it was Graham Briggs from the E side who remained undefeated. Six games were decided in the fifth end with the D side winning four of them. Herbie Smith sealed victory for the D side in the last match of the night by getting the better of Lee McHugh 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 13-11). OCs D beat OCs C with the unbeaten Frank Hodge leading the way. Again the last match of the night was of considerable significance and Mick Hayes beat Adrian North 3-2 (4-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9) to seal the victory for the D team.

Division Four leaders ECC E fielded a four-man side against Hatfield Peverel E. Colin Barham, Allan Thompson, Jeff Lewington and John Wickens all played a part in their 7-3 win but none of their players were able to get the better of the very experienced Dave Carter. EPHQ have shown considerable improvement in recent weeks and an undefeated Ian Hockley led them to a 8-2 win over Hatfield Peverel D. Hockley completed his hat-trick with a hard-fought 3-1 (14-16, 11-7, 11-8, 14-12) success against Keith Cullen.

Chelmsford E were 6-4 winners against ECC F although none of their players were able to get the better of Mohamed Mohseni who completed his hat-trick with a 3-2 (13-15, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4) win over the previously unbeaten Chris Denyer.

In Division Five there were big wins this week for the leading sides. Danbury K (Kevin Willis, Trevor Palmer and Philip Crudgington) were 10-0 winners against Highwood whilst OCs F (Tom Barker, Frank Hodge and Matt Porter) defeated OCs G 9-1. George Mastin showed up well for the losers by beating Matt Porter.

In the week’s big match in the CLICK League, Chelmsford K came out on top against OCs J 4-1. Adam Kirchel and Callum Webster won all four singles for the Chelmsford K side with Kirchel having to pull out all the stops to get the better of Steven Turner 3-2 (8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-1, 13-11).

ECC G were also 4-1 winners – at the expense of Chelmsford L. Ben Clifford won twice and Nathan Blore picked up one victory, missing out against Callum Day over five ends. OCs J beat Chelmsford M 5-0 in a match where both Harvey Russell and Steven Turner stayed undefeated whilst the leaders Writtle fielded a three-player side against Black Notley and Peter Windley, David Meah and Alex Warway ran out 5-0 winners.

Steve Kerns

Press & Publicity Officer

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League