Issued on 16 February 2025
Chelmsford As loss is Danbury Cs gain
Second placed Chelmsford A’s 7-3 loss at Danbury B would have given much pleasure to division one leaders Danbury C who look to be odds-on to lift the 2024/2025 title. Danbury’s Sam Lowman was in great form as his three victories along with Dan Anderson’s brace helped the fourth-placed B team close the gap to their opponents to just six points. Chelmsford’s Simon Jarvis earned fine wins over Anderson and Chandler but narrowly lost out to Lowman in the opening contest of the evening by a 3-2 scoreline. Chris Penrose and Dave Richardson won three matches apiece as third placed Danbury A beat sixth placed Galleywood A 8-2. Galleywood’s James Hicks and Gary Brignall fought back from 2-1 down to beat Penrose and Richardson in the doubles.
In division two, Hatfield Peverel A continued their late-season revival with a third straight win having tasted defeat in their previous seven matches. There was a treble from Martin Archie backed up by two wins apiece for Alastair Piper and Julie Johnson as Peverel moved up to fourth position with a 7-3 home victory over the winless Old Chelmsfordians B. Both Piper and Johnson were denied a third win by OC’s Mick Richardson who recovered from 2-1 down to beat Johnson in the last match of the evening. Richardson had earlier raced to a 2-0 lead over Archie only for his opponent to strike back to earn the first of his three wins. Derek Balding made his first league appearance of 2025 and took his record to 18 wins from 18 singles matches this season in an 8-2 Maldon A victory over Writtle C. Balding’s teammates Colin Napper and Chris Hancox won two matches apiece - the latter seeing his 2-1 lead end in a loss against Writtle’s Gary Ward. There were trebles for both Mark Glenister and Gary Brignall as Galleywood B consolidated eighth position with an 8-2 victory over ninth placed Writtle B. Teammate Will Goodchild would have joined them on three victories but for Trevor Collin taking the deciding game of their matchup. Rob Burton dropped just one game from his three victories as leaders Buttsbury A won 8-2 on the road at Danbury D. Burton was joined on three wins by Evie Knaapen who got the better of Daniel Patynski in a very exciting match which ended 14-12, 8-11, 12-10, 22-20 in Knaapen’s favour.
Chelmsford D moved ten points clear at the top of division three with an 8-2 home win over fourth placed Danbury G. Christopher Denyer and Alex Tkachuk did the business for the hosts with Tkachuk’s 3-2 victory over Mervyn Perriman the sole five-gamer over the course of the contest. Galleywood C moved withing four points of second placed Buttsbury B with a 7-3 away win at the two-person team of Hatfield Peverel B - Peverel’s Neil Freeman was the star of the show with three victories. Freeman beat Bryn Thomas in three, Colin Blore in four and managed to overcome a rallying Robin Armstrong in five. Dave Moles was on fire as his bottom of the table Writtle E side beat tenth placed Danbury H 7-3 to move within two points of eleventh placed OCA C. Moles dropped just one game in his three victories - one of which was a 3-1 victory over Danbury’s Gordon Gatheral who saw success in his two other matches.
Peter Harverson won all three as eighth placed Danbury J drew 5-5 with ninth placed Chelmsford F. Harverson won his first two matches of the evening with 3-0 scorelines but was well tested by Chelmsford’s Salih Salim who finally went down 13-11 in the fifth. There was a Tom Barker treble in eleventh placed Old Chelmsfordians C’s 6-4 away win at fifth placed Writtle D. Barker had to recover from 2-1 down against Malcolm Henstock in order to register his second win of the evening while Barker’s teammate Luke Richardson also caused Henstock angst when recovering from 2-0 down for the victory in their encounter.
Division four leaders Hutton A and second placed Maldon B were not in action in week 22 so the focus was on whether third placed Buttsbury C could close the gap when hosting fifth placed Danbury K in one of their two games in hand. Buttsbury were boosted by news that Danbury were only able to field two players for the fixture as Joshua Freeman’s two 3-0 victories fired the hosts to a 8-2 win. Buttsbury D moved above Danbury K into fourth place with a 9-1 away win at Danbury M thanks to trebles from Keith Abbott and Kevin Willis. Danbury’s David Smith scuppered Buttsbury’s Lyndon Bubb’s hopes of a treble when eeking out a 3-2 win (3-11, 11-6, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10). There were two wins apiece for Chelmsford G’s Mark Nolan, David Parker and Atharv Gupta in their 7-3 away win at Danbury L John Manning put the hosts 1-0 up with a five-game win over Nolan before teammates Roy Gandy and Ken Wilding made the score 3-0. Those three matches were the highlights of the evening for Danbury as Chelmsford then took the next seven matches, Nolan and Atharv Gupta recovered from 2-0 down to win the doubles contest and David Parker weathered a Gandy fight back from the same position in a 3-2 win. In two mid-table encounters, Nathan Blore was undefeated for Galleywood D as they ran out 8-2 winners against Hatfield Peverel C, while Farooq Ahmed won all three for OCA D despite a 6-4 away loss at the hands of Highwood A.
There were two wins for Buttsbury E in week 22 who sit 10 points clear at the top of division five though second-placed Hutton B have the advantage of three games in hand. There were three wins for both James Hughes and Chris Hughes in a 9-1 victory over Hatfield Peverel F, while OCA E’s Matthew Porter’s treble couldn’t prevent Buttbury running out 6-4 winners. Michael Anthony hit a hat-trick as third placed Writtle F won 7-3 at Highwood B while Tim Huxtable won all three as fourth placed Maldon C won 7-3 at Hatfield Peverel C. The basement battle between Anglia Ruskin and Hatfield Peverel F ended in a 5-5 stalemate as Peter Hughes took the player of the match honours with two wins from three while James Grindlay and Shengbing Zhu won three apiece as Chelmsford H posted an 8-2 home win over Hatfield Peverel D.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
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Issued on 10 February 2025
Top two continue domination as season moves into final third
There were three one-sided results in division one this week as leaders Danbury C won 9-1 at Danbury A, second placed Chelmsford A won 9-1 at Chelmsford B and fourth placed Danbury B blasted Writtle A 10-0. Keith Adams and Gary Young won three each in Danbury C’s victory, A team’s Chris Penrose earned the sole point for the hosts with a 3-0 triumph over two-match-winner Paul Davison. None of the matches in the Chelmsford derby went more than four ends with Simon Jarvis and Aidan Lees securing trebles and Josh Bickles winning two. Dan Anderson, Sam Lowman and Ian Wall were all flawless in Danbury B’s 10-0 victory over Writtle A. Anderson was well pushed by Matthew Brown but triumphed 11-8, 9-11, 19-21, 11-5, 11-9.
In division two, leaders Buttsbury A were back to winning ways with a 9-1 home victory over OCA B, Evie Knaapen celebrated receiving an invitation to play in both the U15 and U17 National Championships with three wins with Robert Burton getting in on the act with a treble also. Maldon A are 15 points back from top spot with a game in hand and they earned a good 8-2 home win over Danbury E. Chris Hancox and Colin Napper were both unbeaten for the hosts with Lloyd Bennett-Smith just missing out in a cracking match with Neil Want (11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 12-14). Alastair Piper (3 wins) and Julie Johnson (2 wins) didn’t let the lack of a teammate stop them from boosting Hatfield Peverel A (5th) to a 6-4 win over Chelmsford C (3rd). Chelmsford’s Adi Kamma fought back from 2-0 down to win the opener against Julie Johnson though Johnson held her nerve later in the evening to beat Dusan Doszkoty 11-13, 11-7, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9. Doszkoty had earlier lost out 12-10 in the fifth against Piper. Three wins were not enough for Ian Whiteside’s Danbury F as they fell to a 6-4 loss against Danbury D. Two wins each for David Penrose and Peter Harverson helped the D’s take the evening’s honours. Gary Ward and John Webber did the business again for Writtle C in their 7-3 win at Writtle B. Ward had to fight back from two games down against Richard Storey while Phil Smith won one of B’s three points with a 11-13, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9 victory.
Chelmsford D lead the way by two points in division three with a game in hand over closest rivals Buttsbury B as both teams posted victories in Week 21. Christopher Denyer and Keith Martin fired hat-tricks as the leaders beat Danbury J 9-1 with Danbury’s Peter Harverson winning 3-2 over Alex Tkachuk before pushing Keith Martin to five games. Paul Sturton and Harry Sawford were both undefeated as Buttsbury B earned a nice 7-3 away win over the tricky Danbury G trio Mervyn Perriman, Louis Gunn and Denis Crapnell. Gunn will be disappointed to be on the wrong side of a 15-13 fifth game scoreline in his match with Harry Sawford, while Crapnell beat Jeremy Giffin in five. OCA C (11th) got the better of Writtle E (12th) thanks to doubles from Richard Baxter, Richard Upson and Tom Barker. All three OCA players were denied trebles by losing fifth game deciders to their opponent - Colin Barham doing the damage on two occasions (against Upson and Barker) while Baxter was undone by Dave Moles 19-17, 14-12, 11-13, 9-11, 3-11. There were three 3-0 victories for Hatfield Peverel B’s Neil Freeman as his team won 6-4 on the road at Danbury H. Teammate Gareth Davies was undefeated in his two matches while Freeman teamed with Gary Simmons to recover from 2-1 down to take the doubles encounter against Scott Perry and Gordon Gatheral.
Third placed Buttbury C did themselves and the chasing pack a huge favour by winning 7-3 at division four leaders Hutton A on Friday night. Joshua Freeman led the way for Buttsbury C with three wins with Lucy Elliott backing him up with two. Second placed Maldon B could not take advantage of the Hutton slip up as they fell to a 7-3 away loss to a Russell Hall inspired OCA D, while Danbury K sit fourth following three wins from Dave Powell and two apiece for Richard Allen and Dave Hancox in an 8-2 victory over Chelmsford G. It was a ‘wonderful world’ as Lewis Armstrong trumpeted [sic] his way to three wins in Galleywood D’s 7-3 home win over Danbury L. Armstrong beat Ken Wilding in three, Greg Cooper in four and Paul Thirkettle in a fifth game decider. Neil Wood scored a treble in Hatfield Peverel C’s 6-4 home win over Danbury M. Wood’s toughest contest of the night was against Peverel’s Steve Martin which was not decided until the fifth game, Martin lost a very close match with Samuel White (10-12, 18-16, 11-9, 11-9) who broke the 4-4 tie in the fixture before Wood earned the win for the hosts in the final match of the evening.
Connor Casey went undefeated as division five’s Anglia Ruskin University won their first league fixture of the season in quite unconventional circumstances as they beat Hatfield Peverel D by a rarely seen 5-4. In one of the few fixtures played where both teams fielded a player short, Casey beat Bruce Wickham in three, then teamed with Kingsley Omo-efe for a 3-1 doubles win before holding on for victory over Andy Whiey 3-2 in the crucial final contest of the evening. There was yet another treble for second-placed Buttsbury E’s Lyndon Bubb in the 6-4 home win over Hatfield Peverel E. Bubb beat Philip West over three close games, Kath Little in four before getting the better of Davina Brazier in a see-saw contest which ended 9-11. 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9. Maldon C’s Shirley Carroll fired a hat-trick in her side’s 6-4 loss to seventh placed Highwood B, Maldon remain fourth while Highwood sit seventh. Steve Peacock and Doug Blaber each won three as Galleywood E scuppered Hatfield Peverel F’s hopes of a third league win of the season. Blaber’s three-win evening proved more difficult to achieve than his teammate’s as he was taken all the way by Peter Hughes and David Benstead. Two wins apiece for Paul Aarons and Michael Anthony helped third placed Writtle F beat sixth placed Chelmsford H 6-4 at home to keep themselves in the title race. Chelmsford’s James Grindlay and Shengbing Zhu won two each for the visitors with an entertaining evening on Paradise Road seeing six five-gamers.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
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Issued on 4 February 2025
Barrett and Hicks lift Galleywood off bottom spot
Galleywood A won the battle of the bottom two teams in division one with a 9-1 home victory over Chelmsford B, the result moved Galleywood off the foot of the table for the first time since Week 10. Peter Barrett and James Hicks went undefeated for the hosts with Kelvin Edeh the sole point scorer for the visitors. All three Galleywood players produced recoveries from losing positions, Gary Brignall from 2-0 down against Waseem Qureshi, James Hicks from 2-1 down against Edeh and Peter Barrett from 2-1 behind Christopher Denyer. This victory was Galleywood’s first league since Week one when the two sides last met. The fearsome duo of Eric Green and Bruce Kettle went unbeaten once more as Danbury A moved up to second place following an 8-2 win over fourth placed Danbury B. Green didn’t drop a game in his three wins while Kettle dropped just two. Neil Want won one for the A team but was undone by a Dan Anderson comeback from 2-1 down.
Week 20 saw division two’s bottom two teams Old Chelmsfordians B and Danbury F go toe-to-toe with neither team getting their noses in front by more than one point during the course of the evening. The OC’s found themselves 3-2 and 4-3 up and were on the verge of their first victory of the season before Danbury took a 5-4 lead with one match remaining. OC’s Mick Richardson managed to get the better of Denis Crapnell in four games to earn his team a 5-5 draw but the OC trio may look back at the David Porter-Ian Whiteside matchup (which finally went to Whiteside 11-5, 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12) as a missed opportunity. Leaders Buttsbury A saw their unbeaten run ended 6-4 by an inspired Hatfield Peverel A side who had lost their previous seven matches - albeit many by narrow 6-4 scorelines. Julie Johnson put in a player of the match performance with three wins though her biggest test came from youngster Joshua Freeman who she managed to see off in the fifth game: 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8. Freeman put on a good show in his loss to Martin Archie and showed no ill effects from the Johnson match when beating Alastair Piper in an epic encounter 9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10. Ninth placed Galleywood B put a spanner in the works of third placed Chelmsford C when restricting them to a 5-5 draw thanks to a treble from Gary Brignall. Brignall’s hat-trick didn’t come easy as both Chrisopher Denyer and Adi Kamma took him to four games with Kelvin Edeh going down in five having led 2-1. Sixth placed Danbury E beat eight placed Writtle B 7-3 thanks to three wins from Tim Cramphorn, two from Tony Forster and one from Dick Wyman. The closeness in league positions was reflected in the matches on the night as six of the nine singles matches went to fifth game deciders with Wyman’s sole win and two losses all going the distance.
It was a busy week for division three’s Chelmsford E who played fixtures on Monday and Friday - gaining 12 points to consolidate 6th position. First, Andy Swales and James Grimston hit trebles in the 8-2 away win at 11th placed Writtle E before they fell 6-4 to a Paul Sturton inspired Buttsbury B. Sturton dropped just one game for his three wins while teammate Harry Sawford’s only defeat was to Chelmsford’s Kuzey Musabak - a two match winner himself. The result means Buttsbury B move level on points with leaders Chelmsford D who were not in action in week 20. Danbury G remain third despite a 7-3 loss to Writtle D who benefited from another hat-trick from Matthew Brown, The result means fourth placed Writtle D are just 3 points behind third placed Danbury G with a fixture in hand. The fixtures between Hatfield Peverel B and Old Chelmsfordian C as well as Danbury J and Galleywood C both resulted in 5-5 draws with trebles from OCA C’s Richard Baxter and Danbury J’s Peter Harverson.
Hutton A sit 18 points clear at the top of division four following three wins by Alex Ware and two apiece by Nick Giles and Oladapo Owolabi in an 8-2 win at Chelmsford G. Third placed Buttsbury C cruised to a 10-0 home win over Old Chelmsfordians D thanks to perfect outings from Lucy Elliott, Frances Hutt and Oscar Hutt. The closest match of the night across the two fixtures was Chelmsford’s Martin Brunker - a two match winner - who recovered from 2-1 down to beat Hutton’s Nick Giles. Both Buttsbury C and Hutton A have won their last eight league matches. A 5-5 home draw with Buttsbury D meant second placed Maldon B not only lost more ground on the leaders but will be looking over their shoulders at a Buttsbury C side who are 14 points behind them with two fixtures in hand. Chris Ravenhill and Brian Riedling won two matches each while Buttsbury’s Jenne Seibolt and Kevin Wills also won two of three. Danbury K moved from fifth to fourth with a 7-3 victory over Danbury L, K’s Dave Powell didn’t drop a game as he fired his second treble in three matches. Stewart Ireland and Nathan Blore were undefeated as Galleywood D cruised to a 9-1 away win over Danbury M while Neil Wood and Bob Hillis won three apiece in Hatfield Peverel C’s 9-1 success at Highwood A.
A sixth treble of the season from Lyndon Bubb fired second-placed Buttsbury E to a hard-fought 6-4 away win at Highwood B in division five. Bubb dropped just one game from his two wins while teammate Ray Horton chipped in with two wins though lost out to Galleywood’s Keith Pallett who won two himself. Buttsbury’s Chris Hughes will feel unfortunate to have not registered a win when taking two of his matches to a deciding game. Having seen both teammates fire trebles last week, Writtle F’s Paul Aarons posted his first hat-trick since week two in an 8-2 away win at ARU. Aarons beat Valentino Marimelli in three, Kingsley Omo-Efe in four and the two-win Connor Casey in five as Writtle move up to third position. Bruce Wichkam won all three as fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel D won 6-4 at ninth-placed Galleywood E. Wickham had to recover from 2-0 down against Steve Peacock while Galleywood’s Darren Wright did likewise in his match with Richard Drozd and David Benstead edged a fifth-game decider 12-10 against Galleywood’s Doug Blaber.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
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