Brian Friday came up trumps in Division Three of the Clacton & District League to help his Nomads Wildcats side salvage a draw against Windsor Ospreys.
Friday took a hard-fought unbeaten treble but it required all his determination and experience to edge out Woody Fitzpatrick by the narrowest of margins (11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 12-10).
Wildcats’ captain Andrew Cawley took two, as did Fitzpatrick for the Ospreys, whilst there was a point apiece for Debra Found and Millie Easton, Easton excelling to come back from a bad start to defeat Martin Cunningham 3-2 (12-14, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 14-12).
It was the first drawn match in Division Three this season.
Elsewhere, with Nomads Ocelots match-less, Nomads Pumas moved to the top of the table on their own with a 10-0 victory over Windsor Swallows. The only match extended to a fifth set saw Lionel Goddard beat Iris Howlett 3-2 (5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6).
There were three for both Rivhu Khan and John Long as Walton D ran out comfortable 8-2 winners against Windsor Penguins, although Long was pushed all the way by Alan Charman before winning in five (11-7, 16-14, 8-11, 8-11, 11-4). Toni Hayhow-Khan broke her duck for the season with a victory over Harry Barlow.
It was also 8-2 as Chris Simson notched up his second hat-trick in as many weeks for Windsor Kites to lead his side to victory over Brotherhood G. Carl Hubbard and Mick Simson each won two, although the latter player struggled before beating Jo Millar 11-7 in the fifth.
Nomads Cougars chalked up a morale-boosting 9-1 success against Nomads Lynx, Zoe Strange and Gill Knight taking maximum points and Sue Lee a couple. Liam Harris took the Lynx’s consolation point in the tightest match of the evening, defeating Lee 3-2 (11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 13-11).
Nomads Panthers extended their lead at the top of Division One with a convincing 10-0 whitewash victory over Brotherhood D, all the matches settled in three-straight with not a deuce match on the scorecard.
The all-Windsor clash between the Condors and the Hawks ended with honours even. Colin Stallwood of the Condors took his customary treble but he was given a real test by Felipe Rodriguez before winning in five (11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6). Rodriguez and Andy Vincent won two each for the Hawks, and shared a vital 11-8 in the fifth doubles victory against Stallwood and Annabelle Rodriguez
Greg Green was the Condors’ hat-trick hero in their 7-3 victory over Brotherhood B. Elliott Attrill contributed two and Annabelle Rodriguez one – a topsy-turvy 3-2 (11-9, 11-2, 8-11, 3-11, 11-2) success against Gracie Edwards.
Windsor Condors are now second in the table, closely followed by Windsor Eagles, who also inflicted a defeat on Brotherhood B. Phil Smith was unbeaten in the 8-2 success whilst Fred Button and Sue Welham won twice. Button had a narrow 11-9 in the decider victory over Gracie Edwards but was denied his maximum by John Owen, going down 12-10 in the fifth.
Oli Reynolds marked his first appearance for Brotherhood C with a treble in his side’s 7-3 win against Windsor Kestrels. In a match where every player picked up a point, there was a couple for Brotherhood reserve Barry Allen and one for Kevin Pryor. Windsor’s Graham Bunce, John Harvey and Bob Sawyer each won once, Harvey defeating Pryor 3-2 (13-11, 10-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7) and Sawyer beating the same unfortunate player, also in five (16-14, 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 12-10).
In Division Two, Nomads Tigers enjoyed a 9-1 success against club-mates Nomads Bobcats, Peter Giles, Roger Hance and Daryl Lott all unbeaten. Lott nearly came unstuck, though, beating Bobcats’ reserve Mike Wellum by the narrowest of margins in five (11-6, 11-8, 1-11, 6-11, 12-10). The Bobcats had the consolation of an unexpected doubles win, Wellum and Harry Beezer defeating Lott and Giles 11-4 in the decider.
In the first of three close and highly competitive matches, Windsor Magpies recorded their first success of the season with a 6-4 win over Brotherhood E. Every player picked up a point but Windsor’s John Plummer was the star player on the night, taking his first hat-trick for three years. His closest match was a win 11-6 in the fifth against Rodney Betts.
Plummer’s Windsor team-mates each contributed one point, Dave Sweetland beating Tony Edmonds 11-8 in the fifth and Malcolm Caley excelling to defeat Duncan Dunne by the same score. Betts, whose two for Brotherhood included an 11-9 in the decider win against Sweetland, also shared an 11-6 in the fifth doubles win with Dunne against Plummer and Sweetland.
In another match where five of the matches went the distance, Windsor Buzzards battled out a hard-fought draw with Brotherhood F. Sandie Isaac sparkled for Brotherhood, her treble including a 3-2 (11-13, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10) victory over Dan Malinowski and an equally-close 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10 success against Pete Bloomfield. There were a couple for Brotherhood’s Barry Allen as there were for Windsor’s Ray Chillingworth, who just got the better of Allen 11-7 in the decider. Malinowski and Bloomfield each won one for Windsor, Bloomfield coming back from two sets down to defeat Lee Allen in five (13-15, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8).
The Brotherhood I v Windsor Harriers contest also finished all-square. Brotherhood’s Tom Wilkin won two, as did the much-improved Jonathan Found with good victories over Isabel Barton and Ferdy Rodriguez. But it was the doubles which proved the pivotal tie of the evening, Barton and Rodriguez edging it 3-2 (11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 2-11, 13-11) for the Harriers against Wilkin and Mark Beckham.
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RESULTS
Division 1
Brotherhood D 0 Nomads Panthers 10
Windsor Eagles 8 Brotherhood B 2
Windsor Condors 5 Windsor Hawks 5
Brotherhood B 3 Windsor Condors 7
Brotherhood C 7 Windsor Kestrels 3
Division 2
Brotherhood E 4 Windsor Magpies 6
Nomads Tigers 9 Nomads Bobcats 1
Brotherhood I 5 Windsor Harriers 5
Windsor Buzzards 5 Brotherhood F 5
Division 3
Windsor Kites 8 Brotherhood G 2
Nomads Wildcats 5 Winsor Ospreys 5
Windsor Swallows 0 Nomads Pumas 10
Walton D 8 Windsor Penguins 2
Nomads Cougars 9 Nomads Lynx 1