Maldon A were in action twice this week in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. They were well beaten by a strong Rawreth & Hullbridge A side who called all the shots and ran out impressive 8-2 winners.
The improving Ben Warner was the star of the show and he stayed undefeated, whilst Glenn Johnson and Duncan Taylor both won twice. Newcomer Peter Norcott beat ace defender Duncan Taylor (in his first Chelmsford match after a considerable absence) 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 13-11).
Maldon A also lost 6-4 against Bocking A. Paul Lucas led the way with a hat-trick of wins, whilst Kevin Gowlett won twice. Paul Sayer picked up two wins for Maldon which included a hard-fought 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 16-14, 12-10) victory against last year’s Chelmsford Veterans Champion Kevin Gowlett.
Danbury B scored two very convincing wins in Division Two and on this showing they could well be the team to beat. A trio of Andrew Halling, Chris Buer and Sid Dorn ran out 9-1 winners against Danbury D. Dave Richardson’s five set win over Chris Buer was the only result that escaped their grasp.
They also beat Galleywood B 8-2. Steve Buer (two wins), Andrew Halling (another hat-trick) and newcomer Lewis Ewers (two wins) all played their parts.
Rawreth B (Simon Jacob, Barrie Delf and Paul Churn) have made a good start and they beat Elmtree Excalibur C 9-1. Lin Attridge was Elmtree’s sole winner and she did well to beat Paul Churn 3-1 (12-10, 13-15, 11-8, 11-9).
Liberal Club (Adam Buxton, Peter Hayden and Steve Pennell) all won twice as they defeated OCS B 6-4. Liberal‘s Adam Buxton scored a fine 3-2 (11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7) win over Kevin Worthington whilst Peter Hayden (hardbat version) showed fine tactical awareness to defeat Robbie Burton in three straight (11-5, 11-8, 11-6).
Hatfield Peverel A shaded their match against Chelmsford A 6-4. Peverel’s John Gagg and Gary Ward and Chelmsford’s Waseem Qureshi all won twice. However, it was perhaps Alistair Piper’s fine 3-2 win over Gary Ward (11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8) which was the pick of the action in a very hard-fought match.
Ryan Gooday impressed in Division Three. His excellent hat-trick of wins enabled Chelmsford B to defeat Hatfield Peverel C 7-3. Hatfield Peverel reserve – Alistair Brown made his mark with a fine 3-1 (11-13, 11-4, 11-6, 12-10) win over Keith Martin.
The match between Danbury E and Danbury F saw honours shared with a 5-5 draw. Ivan Chaplin scored three wins for the Danbury E side whilst Nicky Reece-Ford beat Kevin Willis 3-2 (11-8, 4-11, 6-11, 11-9, 16-14) in the closest match of the night.
Maldon D certainly look to be the team to watch in Division Four and Ciaran Whelan and Steve Scholz were both undefeated as they overcame Danbury J 7-3. Scholz fought back strongly to get the better of Rob Kneale in five (7-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-7, 13-11).
OCs F should also be there or thereabouts and Charlie Mariner remained unbeaten in their 8-2 win over Elmtree Excalibur D. Tom Barker and Peter Windley both won twice.
OCs F also beat EPHQ 7-3. This time Peter Windley won his three singles, whilst Charlie Mariner (two wins) and Tom Barker (one win) played the supporting roles. Windley had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Philip French 3-2 (9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9).
Danbury L (Rob Kneale, Eamon Hall and John Knights) were impressive 9-1 winners over Chelmsford E in Division Five. Jacqui Smith, who beat John Knights, was Chelmsford’s sole winner.
Maldon E (Mervyn Perriman, David Lamb and Steve Lucas) also won 9-1, beating OCs G, whilst Hatfield Peverel D (Peter Taylor, Keith Cullen and Andy Simmonds) ran out 7-3 winners against Elmtree Excalibur E.
Leaders and clear favourites Buttsbury A (Nathan Fry and Matthew Elliott) beat Buttsbury B 5-0 in the CLICK League, whilst they also defeated OCs H 4-1. Fry again won his two singles and Elliott only succumbed to Lawrence Bartlett in five (11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 6-11, 9-11).
Steve Kerns (press & publicity officer)
November 6, 2014