Debra Found was Windsor Ospreys’ unbeaten heroine as they edged out Windsor Kites 5-3 in Round One of the Clacton & District League’s Handicap Knockout Cup.
With the scores level at 3-3 and the match in the balance, Debra (-3) gave her side the crucial lead with a narrow 3-2 (11-9, 4-11, 3-11, 11-9, 13-11) victory over the much-improved Chris Simson (+1).
But Debra received good support from her two young colleagues, Woody Fitzpatrick (-3) defeating Rachel Simson (+1) 11-9 in the decider in match three whilst Millie Easton, in a match played off scratch, beat the same player to seal her side’s success.
The win sets up an intriguing tie for the Ospreys in Round Two where they will face Division Two Brotherhood I, a side containing Debra’s son Jonathan.
David Wilkin made his first appearance of the season for Brotherhood G and featured in his team’s 5-3 victory over Windsor Penguins. Graham Parkes stayed undefeated for Brotherhood, whilst Vicki Edwards played well to take both her singles.
Nomads Wildcats surprised Nomads Pumas, Andrew Cawley taking two singles and one doubles as his team recorded a notable 5-2 win.
Walton D made full use of their handicap advantage to inflict a 5-0 defeat on Nomads Bobcats. The closest match saw Lynette Sparks (+1) beat Dave Haslam (-5) 11-5 in the decider.
In a Round Two match brought forward, Division Two Nomads Ocelots withstood a stern challenge from Division Three promotion hopefuls Nomads Lynx before emerging 5-3 victors. Harry Hawkes was unbeaten for the winners whilst Peter Giles, for the Ocelots, and Mike Hillier, for the Lynx, both won two singles.
The revised draw for Round Two (to be played w/c January 5) is: Windsor Buzzards v Nomads Leopards; Walton D v Brotherhood D; Lawford v Nomads Panthers; Brotherhood B v Nomads Tigers; Windsor Hawks v Windsor Eagles; Nomads Lions v Brotherhood A; Brotherhood E v Nomads Jaguars; Brotherhood C v Windsor Kestrels; Windsor Harriers v Windsor Magpies; Brotherhood F v Windsor Owls; Brotherhood I v Windsor Ospreys; Walton B v Brotherhood H; Windsor Ravens v Walton A; Nomads Wildcats v Brotherhood G; Windsor Condors v Walton C.
* In Division One of the League, Nomads Panthers finished their first-half season with two victories, wins that leave them 14 points clear at the top of the table and the only unbeaten team in the Division.
Without James Denyer, they won 8-2 against a Walton A side that fielded a guest. In the best match of the evening, John Monk defeated Peter Burrows 11-9 in the fifth.
Denyer was back for the encounter with Windsor Condors and both he and Colin Webber took trebles in the 6-4 victory, a match in which the Panthers played with one reserve and the Condors with two.
The all-Windsor encounter between the Eagles and Hawks ended 8-2 in favour of the Eagles. Mark Smith took his maximum with Sue Welham and Phil Smith each winning twice.
In a top-of-the-table Division Two clash Brotherhood C lost for the first time, going down 6-4 to Brotherhood D. There were two each for Paul Alden, Shaun Beckham and Lee Harvey but the ‘C’ team’s Gary Stallwood retained his personal unbeaten record for the season.
Windsor Owls took four of the five matches that went the distance to beat Windsor Harriers 8-2. Frank Burbidge won his three but had to be at his best to overcome Jenny Higgins 11-8 in the fifth and Ferdy Rodriguez 13-11 in the fifth. Adam Jackson and Tricia Salter took a pair apiece for the Owls.
Finally, three for Mark Beckham, two for Tom Wilkin and one for Jonathan Found gave Brotherhood I a 7-3 success over Brotherhood E. Tony Edmonds picked up two points for the losers.
Results
Division 1
Nomads Panthers 6 Windsor Condors 4
Windsor Hawks 2 Windsor Eagles 8
Walton A 2 Nomads Panthers 8
Division 2
Brotherhood I 7 Brotherhood E 3
Windsor Harriers 2 Windsor Owls 8
Brotherhood D 6 Brotherhood C 4
Knockout Cup
Round 1
Walton D 5 Nomads Bobcats 0
Windsor Ospreys 5 Windsor Kites 3
Nomads Wildcats 5 Nomads Pumas 2
Brotherhood G 5 Windsor Penguins 3
Nomads Leopards w/o v Windsor Swallows
Round 2
Nomads Lynx 3 Nomads Ocelots 5
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Tony Oswick
December 22, 2014