Gary Young geared up for this weekend’s Closed Championships with a convincing hat-trick in Walton C’s 7-3 victory over second-placed Nomads Lions in Division One of the Clacton & District League. Young’s toughest battle was against the Lions’ No 1 player Paul Hume, taking a close match 3-0 (15-13, 12-10, 16-14).
Derek Willis added a couple for Walton but was denied his hat-trick 3-2 (11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-9) by Hume, whilst Mark Gale contributed to his side’s win with an excellent point against Adam Wilkin.
The all-Windsor encounter between the Eagles and the Condors saw the Eagles edge it 6-4. Colin Stallwood remained unbeaten for the Condors but it was a close-run thing against Gary Cattermole as the 3-2 (7-11, 16-14, 4-11, 11-4, 14-12) scoreline indicates.
Paul Woolnough picked up the fourth point for the Condors by defeating John Hobson 11-8 in the fifth. Cattermole and Phil Smith each took two for the Eagles, Smith’s 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7) victory over Annabelle Rodriguez ultimately proving the pivotal match.
In a second all-Windsor clash, there were trebles for Felipe Rodriguez and Andy Vincent as the Hawks beat the Kestrels 9-1. Bob Sawyer, who took the Kestrels’ consolation point by beating Ian Fielder in four, also pushed Vincent hard before losing 11-4 in the decider.
It was also 7-3 for already-relegated Windsor Ravens against Walton A. But the seemingly shock result – Ravens’ first win of the season against the side placed third in division – was caused by Walton only being able to field one regular player, Colin Dearman. Dearman, as he always does, gave his all to take the three points for Walton.
In their penultimate match of the season in Division Two leaders Brotherhood C chalked up a convincing 9-1 success against club-mates Brotherhood I, Gary Stallwood and Kevin Pryor unbeaten. Mark Beckham was the ‘I’ team’s best player on the night, beating Fred Gallone 11-4 in the decider and going down by the same score to Stallwood.
Brotherhood D’s chances of taking top spot are looking increasingly slim but their 9-1 win against Windsor Magpies kept their promotion hopes alive – and further deepened the Magpies’ relegation woe. Windsor’s Dave Sweetland took a point for the losers by defeating Morgan Harvey and, with John Plummer, nearly took a second – but the two Harveys, Lee and Morgan, scraped the doubles for Brotherhood 3-2 (8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-9).
Richard Spence took his maximum for Lawford in their 8-2 victory against Brotherhood H but Brotherhood’s James Smith-Daye will feel pleased with his individual win in four against Lawford skipper Ian Sherwood.
Windsor Owls and Brotherhood F competed in a typically-tight match which ended all-square. Frank Burbidge won his three for Windsor but it was nip-and-tuck against Lee Allen, Burbidge eventually edging it 11-7 in the fifth. Tricia Salter and Sue Watson each picked up a point for the Owls, both playing well to defeat Sandie Isaac. Lee Allen and Barry Allen each won twice for Brotherhood.
It also ended with honours even in the Nomads Tigers v Brotherhood E encounter. No player stayed unbeaten, John Marshall and Eric Lemke winning two each for the Tigers, as did Duncan Dunne and Tony Edmonds for Brotherhood. Lemke played particularly well to defeat Dunne 11-6 in the fifth but Dunne, in his turn, recorded an excellent victory over Marshall. The crucial match turned out to be the doubles which Marshall and Lemke took 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 15-13, 11-2) against Dunne and Rodney Betts.
Windsor Buzzards marched on with confidence at the top of Division Three with a 9-1 victory over Windsor Penguins. Jackie Bunce played well to take a point for the losers, beating Alan Rutledge in five (11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 6-11, 11-9).
Second-placed Nomads Lynx, already assured of a top-two spot, recorded a predictable 10-0 win over lowly Windsor Swallows. But they so nearly suffered an embarrassing result in the doubles, Brian Friday and Peter Miller getting out of jail with a 3-2 (5-11, 11-4, 12-10, 10-12, 11-9) win against Kayley Lamb and Iris Howlett.
The Swallows’ second match of the week was an all-Windsor encounter with the Ospreys, a match which the Ospreys won 7-3, with Debra Found unbeaten, and Woody Fitzpatrick and Millie Easton each winning twice. There were three extremely close individual encounters, Easton defeating Kayley Lamb 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 12-10), Woody Fitzpatrick beating Iris Howlett in five (5-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-1, 12-10), with Lamb and Howlett getting a measure of revenge in the doubles for the Swallows, defeating Easton and Fitzpatrick 3-2 (6-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9).
Three for John Bonner, two for Norman Jacobs and one for Tom Collins saw Nomads Leopards home 7-3 against Walton D. Rivhu Khan won twice for Walton whilst Lynette Sparks, who picked up Walton’s third point, was involved in the closest match of the evening, losing 11-8 in the decider to Jacobs.
The self-effacing Paul Dale was Nomads Wildcats’ hat-trick hero in his side’s 8-2 success against Windsor Kites although it was a tough battle against Chris Simson, Dale just coming out on top in five (8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 14-12). It was good to see Harry Barlow and Hazel Blanche back in action for the Wildcats, and they both won a couple – although Barlow had to call on all his experience to defeat the much-improved Simson 3-2 (11-13, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8, 11-9).
Finally, Nomads Bobcats inflicted a 7-3 defeat on Brotherhood G, Vic Little producing the performance of the night with a hat-trick that included a top-class win in four against Graham Parkes and a tighter, but equally notable, 3-2 (11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9) victory over John Wrigley.
Click here to view league tables
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Hawks 9 Windsor Kestrels 1
Nomads Lions 3 Walton C 7
Windsor Condors 4 Windsor Eagles 6
Walton A 3 Windsor Ravens 7
Nomads Panthers 10 v Brotherhood A (walk-over)
Division 2
Brotherhood D 9 Windsor Magpies 1
Brotherhood H 2 Lawford 8
Brotherhood F 5 Windsor Owls 5
Brotherhood C 9 Brotherhood I 1
Nomads Tigers 5 Brotherhood E 5
Division 3
Windsor Swallows 0 Nomads Lynx 10
Windsor Ospreys 7 Windsor Swallows 3
Nomads Bobcats 7 Brotherhood G 3
Walton D 3 Nomads Leopards 7
Windsor Kites 2 Nomads Wildcats 8
Windsor Buzzards 9 Windsor Penguins 1
Results not yet received
Brotherhood B v Windsor Eagles (Division 1)
Nomads Tigers v Brotherhood C (Division 2)
Tony Oswick
April 13, 2015