Match Report  (courtesy of Bob Andrews)   

   Crown & Sceptre B   4 - 6   Adeyfield C   

At the beginning of the week, this was a match between the top two teams of Division 2, but by Wednesday, it was a match between 3rd placed C&S B and 4th placed Adeyfield C !  Unbelievable how close the division has been, this year.  

Adeyfield C fielded the same team that won back in January.  One change for C&S B, with Colin Tibbles instead of Dave Easey.  Could Adeyfield C make it 9 league wins in a row, or could C&S B end their run and stay ahead of them in the League Table? 

Adeyfield took the first set with Bruce Ghaemi winning 3-0 against Colin.  Then the first of many dramatic games saw Alan Jones play Bob Andrews.  Bob won the first game comfortably, 7-11.  Alan came back strong to be 8-2 ahead in the second, before a comeback by Bob to win 12-14.  Alan then easily won the third game 11-5, but Bob completed a win in the fourth game, 11-3, to put Adeyfield 2-0 ahead.   

Set three was another thriller between Aidan Walsh and John Fox.  Strong offensive topspin put Aidan ahead 2-0, then a comeback by John to take it to a deciding fifth game.  John was ahead 5-3 at the turnaround, but Aidan won the next 4 points with a very powerful offensive attack.  John managed to saved four match points, but Aidan eventually took it 14-12.  Next up, Bruce was always in control of set four, beating Alan 3-0, to put Adeyfield 2 ahead at 3-1.

Next was another five set thriller for John, this time against Colin.  John won the first 2 games comfortably, but Colin won the next 2 as the rallies got longer, with a very steady game.  The fifth game was close, but Colin just won it 11-9.

Aidan then beat Bob in set 6, in an encounter which had many powerful attacking rallies, in what was a good comeback by C&S to now be level 3-3 on the night.

John then put Adeyfield back in front beating Alan Jones in straight games, and Bruce extended the lead to 5-3, by beating Aidan in four games, to secure yet another Player of the Match, and maintain his 100% average. Colin beat Bob in set 9 in a close game to bring it to 5-4.     

Adeyfield paired Bruce with John in the doubles for the first time, and theywere matched against Colin and Aida for C&S.  The doubles turned out a slight anti-climax compared to the rest of the night, with a controlled 3-0 win for Bruce & John.   So, a 6-4 win for Adeyfield C, and their win run extends to 9 matches.

So the league positions swap between the teams, with Adeyfield C back to second but C&S B still only one point behind in third.  Division 2 continues to draw many observers on how the season will conclude.   

Nothing gets decided until the final week.  Both of tonight’s teams have competitive fixtures, as C&S play the in form McAlpine, while Adeyfield C have to play club rivals, Adeyfield B, who are the new leaders this week having beaten Northchurch 10-0 the previous night.