It’s never a happy situation to be at the bottom but Nomads Lynx, who are propping up Division Three of the Clacton & District League, continue to fight hard in their quest for a first win of the season.
The Lynx captain Dominic Joannou has certainly not given up trying and, leading from the front, he recorded his third treble in four matches in his team’s match with Windsor Magpies.
But it was not enough to stop his Nomads Lynx side, who were hampered by having to play a guest player, ending on the wrong end of a 7-3 scoreline.
The Lynx came close to winning a doubles for the first time this season but they were denied by Malcolm Caley and John Plummer who edged the match 3-2 (5-11, 11-3, 9-11, 13-11, 11-6) against Joannou and Norman Jacobs.
Windsor Penguins and Brotherhood F were involved in a hard-fought encounter before the Penguins emerged narrow 6-4 victors.
Kayley Rodriguez took her maximum but it was a close-run thing against Ben Bryden, just winning 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 12-10). Peter Aumord won two for the Penguins, beating the unlucky Bryden in five (11-9, 14-12, 11-13, 4-11, 11-9) but going down in four to an inspired Alex Marsh. For Brotherhood, Marsh won two, and Bryden and Andrey Pavlov one each.
The Windsor Robins v Windsor Merlins encounter ended all-square for a second time this season. For the Robins, Neil Chegwidden was unbeaten and Oleksandra Klymenko won a couple, her two wins including a family victory over Yulian Yaramenko 3-2 (13-11, 13-11, 8-11, 12-14, 11-5).
For the Merlins, Joe Plummer took two whilst there was one each for Yaramenko and new signing, 12-year old Ruby Gallagher, in her first League match.
In an all-Nomads encounter, the Leopards won 7-3 against the Ocelots despite fielding a guest. There were trebles for Bob Jillins and Dave Wright, although Jillins struggled before getting the better of Arthur Wells-Garrett 3-2 (12-10, 6-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-7).
In a quirk of the fixture list, the three matches in Division One saw teams from the same Club pitted against each other – and each ended in a decisive win for the higher-placed team.
Nomads Panthers motored on at the top with a 9-1 success over Nomads Lions, James Denyer and Greg Green unbeaten, with Gill Locke taking two. But it was a close call for Denyer who scraped home by the skin of his teeth 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9) against Adam Cuthbert. Cuthbert’s win against Locke was the Lions’ sole reward.
There were three for Kevin James, two for Colin Dearman, one for Derek Willis and a Dearman-Willis doubles victory as Walton B beat Walton D 7-3. The ‘B’ team won three of the four matches which went the distance, Dearman beating Mark Ratcliffe 11-8, 3-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7 and edging past Paul Meikle 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 13-11.
Mark Gale played well for the losers to win two, defeating Dearman in three-straight and then Willis in a closer 3-2 (8-11, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5, 11-8). Meikle completed the scoring for the ‘D’ side with a 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 victory over Willis.
A Gary Cattermole hat-trick was the highlight of Windsor Eagles’ 8-2 victory over Windsor Hawks. Mel Rampton and Phil Smith each took a couple.
Andy Vincent of the Hawks enjoyed an 11-5 in the fifth win victory over Rampton in the final match of the contest and came close in his other two matches, going down 11-8 in the fifth to Cattermole and 12-10 in the fifth to Smith. Ian Fielder took the second Hawks’ point with a fine 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 17-15, 11-6) win over Smith.
In Division Two Grant Sharpe led the way for Brotherhood B as they defeated Windsor Buzzards 6-4, his hat-trick including a win in four over Dave Martin, only the third defeat of the season for Martin. John Owen won two, and shared an important doubles win with Sharpe.
For the Buzzards, Martin’s two included a victory over Owen, which coincidentally was also only a third defeat of the season for Owen. Pete Bloomfield and Andy Cawley completed the scoring for the Windsor side with a point apiece.
Brotherhood C beat Windsor Kestrels 9-1 for a second time this season, Russell Hillier and Barry Allen undefeated, although it was a hard-fought 3-2 (5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6) for Hillier against Graham Bunce. Brotherhood captain Tricia Salter won two but went down to Debra Found.
Lawford defeated a two-player Brotherhood E 9-1. Richard Spence, Ian Sherwood and Charlie Denholm all stayed unbeaten but they didn’t have an easy evening, Sherwood needing the full five sets before defeating Rodney Betts 13-15, 11-9, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6, as did Spence against Duncan Dunne 11-13, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 13-11.
Brotherhood maintained their excellent doubles record, now standing at 66%, with Betts and Dunne combining to defeat Spence and Denholm 11-3 in the decider.
It was also 9-1 for Nomads Jaguars against Nomads Bobcats. Chris Petrou and Daryl Lott recorded trebles, and Andrew Cousins an excellent couple. Andy Teemal got the Bobcats’ consolation point and took Petrou close before going down 11-6 in the fifth.
Every player picked up a point in the drawn match between Brotherhood D and Windsor Harriers but Mark Beckham was the star of the show with an unbeaten treble. There was a point each for John Gallagher and Paul Metcalf, with Gallagher coming close to taking a second but losing out 11-8 in the decider to Ferdy Rodriguez.
Rodriguez won two for the Harriers, who were indebted to reserve Joe Plummer for salvaging the draw by edging out Gallagher 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11).
It was Brotherhood’s fourth draw of the season but a first for the Harriers.
* The closing date for entry to the Handicapped Singles is next Sunday 6th February. Entries should be sent by e-mail to Peter White or by post to Tony Oswick. The Tournament takes place at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall the following Sunday (13th February) with play starting at 10am.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton D 3 Walton B 7
Nomads Lions 1 Nomads Panthers 9
Windsor Hawks 2 Windsor Eagles 8
Division 2
Brotherhood D 5 Windsor Harriers 5
Brotherhood B 6 Windsor Buzzards 4
Lawford 9 Brotherhood E 1
Nomads Bobcats 1 Nomads Jaguars 9
Windsor Kestrels 1 Brotherhood C 9
Division 3
Windsor Penguins 6 Brotherhood F 4
Windsor Robins 5 Windsor Merlins 5
Nomads Lynx 3 Windsor Magpies 7
Nomads Ocelots 3 Nomads Leopards 7