With only two rearranged matches to be played the top positions have been settled in Division One of the Eastern Valley Table Tennis League. As anticipated Cwmbran Colts are the new champions following their 20-16 win over Blaenavon Aces. Despite being without their top player Lee Thomas and the Pearce twins, Mathew and Ben, they still proved too good for the Aces. However the Aces did provide the player of the match in Ben Allen who had 3 wins including a surprising success over the highly ranked Lyndon Jones. For the Colts there were 2 wins each for Jones and John Thomas plus a win for the veteran John Spencer, making his first league appearance of the season. (Sorry John but you needed to play 3 matches to qualify for a medal.) Congratulations to the Cwmbran Colts team of Lee Thomas, Lyndon Jones, Mathew Pearce, Ben Pearce and John Spencer(Coach) on winning the title for the first time.
YMCA Preachers secured the runner-up position following their 26-9 win over Bristol Nomads. It was their guest player, Jon Allen, who was the player of the match with 3 wins. He was well supported by David Lloyd, also with 3 wins, and Ray Goulding with 2 wins. Goulding's only defeat came against Eleftherios Williams, making a welcome return to the Eastern Valley league after a number of years absence.
The final match in Division One saw Cwmbran Aztecs defeat Cwmbran Blues 20-15. This match saw the return to form of the Aztecs' Tony Collins with the player of the match award, following his 3 wins. Collins was well supported by Andrew Ryder with 2 wins. For the Blues Mark Farrow gained 2 wins and Roger Grech battled well for his 6 points.
The race for the Division Two title looks like being decided when the main contenders, Cwmbran Panthers and Cwmbran Dynamos meet on 13th March. With each side having only 3 matches remaining, Cwmbran Panthers are currently in the driving seat following their 21-14 win over Cwmbran Eccentrics. For the Panthers there were 2 wins each for Colin Price and Howard Gaut. The Eccentrics had to rely on two guest players in the absence of their regular players. It was one of these guests, Wayne Ford, who picked up the player of the match award with his 3 wins. Ford was well supported by Haydn Skinner with his 1 win and 5 points.
Cwmbran Dynamos suffered a surprise 14-19 defeat to Cwmbran Devils. The Devils' Roshan Rai picked up the player of the match award without dropping a set. Rai was well supported by Colin Scott and guest player Mick Mellor with their good wins over the higher ranked Will Smith-Haddon. For the Dynamos Alex Jones and Richard Lownsbrough picked up 2 wins each.
The final match in Division Two saw a competitive match with North Gwent Cougars overcoming Chepstow Chiefs 22-15. Player of the match was the Cougars' Greg Price with 3 straight set wins. Price just edged out Garin Edwards who had his best performance of the season with maximum wins including successes over the higher ranked Connor Pyke and Elliot Kempton. For the Chiefs Pyke, Kempton and Marta Morris all registered a win and 5 points each for their team.
