Week 11 Match Report

ZURICH SPINNERS CLOCK-UP THEIR FIRST WIN

The biggest news of the night was Zurich Spinners’ inaugural win in the top division of the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League. Their 6-3 victory over fellow relegation contenders Travellers A means they are now just two points adrift. Man flu or tummy bugs laid low numerous players so several teams were a competitor short or had to make hasty substitutions.

Copy Shop A moved a point further ahead of ABC Arborists in the First Division after beating two man Foxdale 9-0. In Division Two Travellers B won 9-1 and are now 19 points clear of both Copy Shop B and Peel A who they play next week. Surestrike Ramsey C increased their lead in Division Three to five points over Victory Roll Saints and these two teams also meet in the league next week.

DIVISION ONE

Travellers A (3) Zurich Spinners (6)

Prior to this match the Zurich Spinners from Laxey hadn’t won a match all season, but hat-tricks from Tommy Cowin and Nigel Beattie brought that unfortunate run to an end and moved them to within two points of 7th placed Travellers.  Stu Mason and Stu Douglas both beat Colin Barron and Travellers’ decision to call up young Juan Moore Jnr from Division Two was vindicated when he boldly beat Barron 11/7, 11/8, 16/14.

Tower A (1) ABC Arborists (8)

4th placed Tower could only turn out two players and although Paul Kozlowski did well to win his opening match against Mike Tamarov 4/11, 13/11, 11/9, 12/10 it still left 2nd placed Arborists 3-1 up. Despite winning a few more sets neither Kozlowski nor Mike Bayley could convert perspiration to points so Tamarov, John Magnall and Jason Quirk moved a point further ahead of 3rd placed Strathy whilst Tower tumbled backed to 5th spot.      

Foxdale A (0) Copy Shop A (9)

Top placed Copy Shop’s straight sets win over 6th placed Foxdale made it ten wins out of ten for the defending champions who now enjoy a six point cushion over their nearest rivals the Arborists.  With Foxdale being a player short Andy McLarney and Ken Mitchell didn’t get the chance for a rest between matches but at least they and the victorious trio of Jane Kneale, Sean Drewry and Ewan Watterson could enjoy an early night.  

Strathallan A (7) Breakaway A (2)

They didn’t know it at the time but the opening match between Strathy’s Andrew Horne and the Breakaway’s captain, Paul Corran, turned out to be a hat-trick decider. Corran went down 11/13, 11/,7, 8/11, 5/11 to Horne but went on to defeat both Andy Patterson and Julian Briercliffe who, along with Horne, all beat Ben Christian and Aaron Faragher. However, Corran’s two hard won points were enough to keep Breakaway in 4th place.

DIVISION TWO

Tower B (1) Travellers B (9)

Top placed Travellers looked likely to leave Tower B without a point to show for all their efforts. Both Colin Brown and Paul Nelson hit hat-tricks and Gary Shilling had beaten both Simon Radcliffe and Barry Jenkins when he met Steve Curtis. Shilling started strongly but failed to cash-in when two sets up and having the third set almost in the bag. However, Curtis edged that set and went on to win 5/11, 9/11, 14/12, 11/7, 11/5.

Copy Shop B (10) Tower C (0)

Copy Shop B found themselves two players short so called upon their C team colleagues Kevin Drewry and Pedro Cardoso who didn’t disappoint. Neither Heather Kennett nor John Atherton got beyond three sets for bottom placed Tower but Margaret Forsyth took a token set off both Adam Davies and Drewry. By way of contrast, Cardoso won in straight sets following his five sets saga against Forsyth only the week before. This win puts Copy Shop B level with 2nd placed Peel A who didn’t have a match but are playing the league leaders next week.

Copy Shop C (5) Surestrike Ramsey B (5)

Tim Baker maintained his unbeaten record for 6th placed Surestrike Ramsey B and together with Carl Blatcher they dominated the doubles. Kevin Drewry, George Melvin and Pedro Cardoso all hit back to beat Jack Craik and took a 5-4 lead when Drewry and Melvin both beat Carl Blatcher. The pivotal point in the tie came when Cardoso couldn’t convert the third set against Blatcher who battled back to win 11/13, 9/11, 11/9, 11/8, 11/6 which determined the draw.

Travellers C (7) Travellers D (3)

Alex Buck and Juan Moore Snr found their C team opponents Jackie Gill, Alan Harding and Adrian Tinkler to hard to handle but Juan Moore Jnr is playing with increasing authority and he deserved his hat-trick. Having humbled Harding his will to win was severely tested by Gill and Tinkler who he narrowly beat 13/11 and 12/10 respectively in their final frames. Young Moore and Buck ran out of luck in the doubles which went to Gill and Tinkler 11/8 in the last leg. After this result Travellers C moved up to joint 5th with Tower B and Surestrike Ramsey B.

 

DIVISION THREE

Victory Roll Saints (8) Copy Shop D (2)

3rd placed Copy Shop D could only field two players against the school teachers from St Ninian’s who are safely in 2nd place in the league. However, Zac Walker opened Copy Shop’s account in three close sets against Rob Campbell and then secured a second point 11/9, 9/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/6 in a see-saw match with Matty Kelly. Copy Shop’s Kyle Dodd found points hard to come by and, although his team-mate Walker took the first set against Matt Harvey, that was the only leg that Harvey lost in the singles or the doubles.

Breakaway B (1) Surestrike Ramsey C (9)

4th placed Breakaway B failed to field a third player against top placed Surestrike C who might have expected to make a clean sweep. Frank Feeney and Billy Cain remained unbeaten but, whilst Kerenza Baker blitzed out Kieran Lane and helped Cain convert the doubles, Baker came unstuck against Jack Christian who did well to win 12/10, 9/11, 11/5, 11/5.

Surestrike Ramsey D (1) Copy Shop E (9)

It was great to see Jack Yardley team up with his grandchildren Alex and Dylan Yardley who are representing Surestrike D in their first season in the league. Jack got ‘team Yardley’ off to a great start by beating Libby Quaggin 11/7, 11/6, 11/8 but then, despite three close five setters, the score was all one way for Quaggin, Pat Halliwell and Freya Melvin to consolidate Copy Shop E in 5th place.

Surestrike Ramsey E (6) Peel C (4)

These teams are in 6th and 7th place respectively so a close match was only to be expected. Tyler Hannay and Matthew Emison both bagged a brace for Surestrike, but were matched by Peel’s Corin Haddock who beat Hannay and then Fin Hill who added the fifth point for Surestrike by narrowly beating Tom Noble 9/11, 11/3, 11/7, 8/11, 11/9. Noble turned the tables by edging out Emison. Mason Prince purloined Peel’s final point in four sets against Hill, but Hill and Hannay hooked the doubles away from Haddock and Prince.  

MALCOLM LAMBERT

Author: via Isle Of Man Table Tennis Association
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