ECC A not the same team without Steve Joslin

There were contrasting results for ECC A in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League this week.

With their leading player Steve Joslin “on board” they beat Bocking 7-3. Joslin won his three singles whilst Mark Mulley picked up two wins which included a fine 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-8) victory over Paul Davison. However, ECC A were without Joslin against an inform Writtle A and they were well beaten 8-2. Peter Radford and Kevin Worthington both recorded hat-tricks meaning Writtle now lead the table with a healthy 11 point lead over the ECC first team.

The inter-club match between Elmtree Excalibur B and Elmtree Excalibur A was also surprisingly one-sided. The B team (John Holland, Peter Mynard and Gary Cattermole) were all on great form and they romped home 8-2. Holland and Cattermole were both undefeated. Gary Cattermole recorded two top-draw wins over Gary Baker 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-8) and Gary Young 3-1 (4-11, 17-15, 11-7, 11-8).

Danbury A had Michael Andrews to thank as they beat OCs A 6-4. Andrews came out on top 3-2 (11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8) against Brandon Crouchman in the closest game of the night.

Leaders Danbury D made it eight wins out of nine games in Division Two by beating Chelmsford B 9-1. Gus Heath and Chris Buer were both undefeated.

At the other end of the table Danbury C (Dave Richardson, Steve Whiteley and Ken Sheard) beat Hatfield Peverel B 9-1. Neil Freeman was on mark for the Hatfield Peverel side with a 3-1 (10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3) win over Ken Sheard. Meanwhile, Writtle B had Gary Ward on top form as they beat Hatfield Peverel B 8-2. Dick Wyman had his best night of the season recording notable wins over both Trevor Carter 3-2 (6-11, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-4) and Matthew Brown 3-1 (12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5).

Second-placed Danbury E made it eight wins out of eight in Division Three by beating Hatfield Peverel C 6-4. Newcomer Dave Fiddeman won his three singles for Hatfield Peverel although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Peter Hance 3-2 (9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10).

OCs B recorded their second win of the season by beating ECC E 8-2. Frank Hodge won his three singles while Rawreth had Paul Churn to thank as they beat Elmtree Excalibur C 6-4. Churn’s hat-trick included a very impressive 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) victory over the redoubtable John Tendler.

Elmtree Excalibur E edged out EPHQ 6-4 in a close fought Division Four match. The Elmtree team (Rod Maclennan, Dave Moles and Melanie Bonnett) won the three games decided in the fifth end.

OCs D, led by the undefeated Adrian North, emerged as 7-3 winners over Elmtree Excalibur E whilst Maldon C’s Tom Elder was undefeated in his side’s 6-4 win over ECC F.

Danbury J have opened up a nine point lead in Division Five after beating Highwood 8-2. Mick Robinson and Roger Tiffin both won their three singles with Tiffin prevailing 3-2 (11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9) after a monumental tussle with Martin Goddard.

Highwood were in turn 6-4 winners over Chelmsford F although none of their players were able to get the better of Mike Pitt. The battle between Pitt and Russell Downton couldn’t have been much closer with Pitt eventually winning 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 16-14).

Danbury K (Kevin Willis, Trevor Palmer and Eamon Hall) beat Elmtree Excalibur F 6-4 although none of their side were able to topple Wiktor Delimat. Kevin Willis came closest but Wiktor still came through the epic battle 3-2 (12-14, 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 17-15).

Steve Kerns

Press & Publicity Officer

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League