Newcomer Mateusz Zagajewski looks to be an exceptional acquisition for newly promoted Chelmsford A and he was hugely instrumental as they beat Maldon A 7-3 in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League.
In Zagajewski’s trio of wins was a fine 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3) victory over former M&G Investments Chelmsford Men’s Singles champion Alex Abbott. Ryan Gooday – who is looking increasingly comfortable at this level – also impressed and he beat Hamish Innes 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4).
Rawreth B climbed into third place in division two by beating Chelmsford B 8-2. Gus Heath and Kim Shead both scored hat-tricks whilst Paul Churn won twice. Shead (eight wins out of eight) remains unbeaten to date.
Chelmsford B were 7-3 winners over Liberal B who were a player short. Julie Johnson was on top form as she downed the challenges of Robin Armstrong in three (11-9, 11-9, 11-8) and Adrian Pitt in five (11-8, 5-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8).
OCs B (Robbie Burton, Stephen Northcott and Ashley Skeggs) all won twice as they beat the leaders Hatfield Peverel A 7- 3, but they all missed out against Gary Ward, who produced his best display of the season. The surprising statistic here is that Hatfield Peverel A top the table with a relatively low points total of 31 points out of a possible 60 – proof of just how evenly matched this division is.
Galleywood A won again, and James Hicks had another great match. They shaded the match 6-4 against Danbury D and he defeated Steve Whiteley, the best of the Danbury players, 3-2 (11-8, 14-12, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7). Bryn Thomas won twice for Galleywood and this included a well executed 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 17-15) success against Steve Buer.
In another close match, Danbury C defeated Writtle Excalibur A 6-4. Peter Mynard was their match-winner with three singles wins. Lee McHugh proved a “tough nut to crack” and Mynard eventually pulled clear in the fifth end to triumph 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7.
Chelmsford C scored their third win of the season in division three by beating OCs E 8-2. Victor Chan led the way with a hat-trick defeating Charles Yeung 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8), Vince Gurney 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-9) and Nat Ravlic 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 12-10). It was honours shared between OCs D and leaders Hatfield Peverel B.
Dave Fiddeman was unbeaten for Hatfield Peverel whilst Tom Barker showed up very well for the Old Chelmsfordians side by beating Neil Freeman after trailing 2-0. Barker eventually took control in the fourth end to win 3-2 (10-12, 10-12, 16-14, 11-7, 11-5). This was Freeman’s first defeat of the campaign.
Danbury H did well to beat the higher placed Chelmsford D 6-4, David Gatherall (two wins), Ken Sheard (two wins) and Tim Pulham (one win) all played a part in this success although they all missed out against Jarek Pietraszuk. In the closest game of the evening Pietraszuk fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Ken Sheard in five (8-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-9).
Danbury G, marshalled by a Dan Anderson hat-trick, beat Maldon B 6-4. Sam Lowman sealed the Danbury victory by getting the better of Ev Lucas 3-2 (10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8) in the last game of the evening.
There was a 7-3 win for Hatfield Peverel C in division four over Felsted RBL. No one player stayed undefeated and the Hatfield Peverel trio – Dave Carter, Trevor Collin and Colin Barham – all won twice. Barham ran out a five-game winner against Ian Butler, the best of the Felsted players (11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-6).
Hatfield Peverel C also beat Chelmsford F 7-3. This time Bob Garson played instead of Dave Carter and he won his three singles. He looked good in beating Jason Clark 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-6), John Barrett 3-1 (11-8, 14-12, 10-12, 11-5) and Ian Austin 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-7).
Danbury J also won 7-3. In another match where no single player dominated, their side of Dave Goody, Richard Allen and Dave Powell all won two singles. The match between Powell and Kevin Willis produced one of the least likely scorelines of the season with Willis eventually winning in five ends (1-11, 4-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-2). Quite a turnaround!
Chelmsford B ran out 6-4 winners against OCs F. Richard Baxter led the way with three decisive wins, downing the challenges of Dave Newman (3-0), John Watts (3-0) and Farooq Ahmed (3-1).
There has been a flurry of activity in division five. Second-placed Writtle Excalibur E fared best with an 8-2 win over their D side and a thumping 9-1 win over Highwood. Frank Neill won all six singles and he didn’t drop an end in the process. Ian Hockley who played against Highwood also stayed undefeated.
The match between Writtle Excalibur D and newcomers Anglia Ruskin University was a much closer affair. It finished 5-5. Pewist Osman was undefeated for the University team defeating Melanie Bonnet (3-0), Keith Fitzjohn (3-2) and Keith Pallett (3-0).
OCs H top the table and Tanishq Kotwal and David Bishop were both undefeated in their 8-2 victory over Chelmsford G. Kotwal (14 wins out of 15) has made a great start to the season. Lawrence Bartlett had a fierce battle against John Wickins and he eventually prevailed 3-2 (13-11, 10-12, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9).
The match between Hatfield Peverel D and Galleywood B was a 5-5 draw. Hatfield Peverel’s Dan Patynski and Alastair Brown and Galleywood’s Mark Glenister and Kamil Lentas all won twice. Lentas beat Patynski 3-2 (3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11) in the closest game of the evening.
Hatfield Peverel D also beat Chelmsford G 8-2. Keith Cullen won his three singles for the Hatfield Peverel side on this occasion.
Chelmsford H (Connor Payne, Jackie Smith and Harry Matthews) all won twice in their 7-3 win over Anglia Ruskin University although all three Chelmsford players fell short against Pewist Osman.
The match between Galleywood B and Highwood ended as a 5-5 draw. Roger Wilson won his three singles for the Galleywood side whilst Martin Goddard fought back from 2-0 down to beat Arthur Clark 3-2 (9-11, 12-14, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7).
Chelmsford J (Jamie Penkman and Callum Day) were 5-0 winners over Buttsbury A (Harry Cox and James Green) in the CLICK League. Callum Day beat James Green 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9) in the closest game of the night.
OCs also beat Buttsbury A 5-0. Adam Chalk and Fraser Heard were both on target for the Old Chelmsfordians team.
Chelmsford J shaded the match 3-2 against Black Notley B. Oliver Cohen was undefeated for Black Notley. He survived two tough five-enders beating Peter Davenport (11-9, 2-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5) and Jamie Penkman (13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8).