Netts C’s gradual progress towards the top spot in division three of the Braintree Table Tennis League continued when they took nine points from their latest match while league leaders Rayne H were restricted to a 6-4 win.
The gap between the two has narrowed to three points, and Netts have a match in hand.
Their latest win was against Rayne J and it was the match between the two that was postponed earlier in the season, suggesting another healthy haul of points should be available in the rearranged fixture.
Netts’ players have shared the responsibility around this season. In their last match, Joe Belsom was the only player to win all three singles. This time he was the only one to lose one.
He was beaten by Ian Rubens, a fate that can easily befall the unsuspecting, but a surprise nonetheless.
Belsom, Max Plumridge and Kierlan Richards had little trouble winning the rest although Plumridge and Belsom struggled in the doubles, coming from two games down to beat Rubens and Mark Jackson 3-2 (7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8).
Dave Allinson was unbeaten in Rayne H’s win over Rayne I.
Black Notley E closed the gap to the two leaders slightly with a 10-0 win over their own G team while Netts’ D team continued their progress since adding Joe Meleschko to their squad in beating Notley F by the same score. It was also a match that marked a rare hat-trick for Peter Hardy.
Notley’s H and I teams fought out a draw with Paul Martin unbeaten for the H team.
Three of the week’s matches were postponed in division two and that meant a return to the top for Notley C, who beat their own D team 9-1. Peter Foster secured the D team’s lone success.
Liberal C, with several matches to catch up on, beat Rayne F 6-4. The match brought together the players in second, third and fifth places in the individual averages and their encounters went according to the form book.
Dave Marsh, in third place, lost 11-8 in the fifth game to Jon Fieldsend, but beat Garry Fryatt in three straight games.
In division one, leaders Liberal A beat their own B team 10-0 while second-placed Rayne A had an 8-2 win over Notley A. Andrew Huckson won Notley’s two singles but could not get past Ryan Pitt.
Netts B moved two points closer with a 10-0 win over Sible Hedingham while the match between teams in fourth and fifth place, Rayne B and Netts A, finished 5-5.