2024-25 Weekly Press Report - Week 7
'Clash of the Titans - Ramsey lose ground to Travellers’
Week 7 of the Fun88 sponsored IOM Table Tennis Association league saw a resumption of singles play in Divisions 1 & 2, with the usual singles and doubles fixtures in Division 3. Travellers A have now pulled clear of Ramsey A by 3 points in Division 1. Travellers C remain top in Division 2, ahead of Peel A by 4 points, whilst Travellers D are well ahead in Division 3. Highlights of each fixture are summarised below, with full match results and statistics to be found on our website at www.tabletennis365.com/IOM
Division 1
Travellers A (6) Ramsey A (3)
Second placed Ramsey A had an opportunity to close in on league leaders Travellers A, but instead they lost ground with this result. Despite still missing Liam Chan, Travellers were able to call upon John Shooter who was a more than capable stand in. He dutifully won 2 of his matches, against Becky Taylor and Chris Holmes, both in straight ends. Shooter was beaten by Taylor the last time they met, so this time he moved the Ramsey player around a little more, and it bore fruit for him. Scott Lewis was again unbeaten and remains the beating heart of Travellers A. Chris Holmes took a game off Scott, but other than that Lewis was untroubled. Malcolm Cummings then chalked up a great win in 4 ends against an off-colour Taylor. He was unable to make any impression against Duncan Alexander however, losing in straight ends. Alexander was also successful against Shooter - in a tremendous tussle, the attacking left hander overcame the experienced Shooter, with a scoreline of 12-14, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9. Finally, Chris Holmes recorded a superb win over Cummings, triumphing 11-8 in the 5th, with some tremendous attacking shots to the wings.
Arbory B (3) Arbory A (6)
Mike Tamarov was Arbory A’s rock with another clean sheet, taking wins over John Magnall in 5 ends (after being 2 games down), Amit Lanin in 4, and Dan Levine in 3. Teammate Sonja Shaw added a point by coming back from a game down to win 3-1 against Levine. Malcolm Lambert was playing up again for the A team and once again acquitted himself admirably with 2 superb wins. In a tight match, he edged past Dan 5-11, 11-5, 12-10, 12-10, and then had a tremendous victory over Magnall, out-foxing him in 4 ends.
Tower A (3) Travellers B (6)
Dave Parsons had a hard fought but valuable win for Tower over Malc Lewis in 5 ends, and then swept aside Keeran Chan in 4. Ken Mitchell also out-manoevred Chan, winning in the 4th end. He had 2 match points in the 4th against Lewis but the wily Travellers player thwarted his efforts, taking the game 13-11 and the 5th 11-9. Star of the night was Will Shooter who is improving by the week. His down the line backhand counters proved deadly in each of his matches, and he didn't drop a game all night against the hapless Mitchell, Parsons and Mike Bayley. Keeran gained some solace by defeating Bayley in their 4th end.
Tower B (0) Strathallan (9)
Tower B fell victim to a rampant Strathallan team consisting of Julian Briercliffe, Andy Patterson and Wayne Taylor. Simon Radcliffe nabbed a game off Julian in their 4 setter, but other than that it was plain sailing for Strathy, who continue to move up the table.
Division 2
Ramsey B (5) Travellers C (4)
Wael Kassim once again stepped in for Ramsey and had 2 excellent wins against Paul Mathieson-Nelson and David Buck, each in 4 ends. Geoff Ball added 2 further points by defeating Buck in 3, and then notched up a notable win over the tough to beat Mathieson-Nelson. Player of the night was once again Dave Lovelady who is unbeaten so far this season. His toughest encounter was against Wael, but Loveleday used all his experience to edge past the young Ramsey player 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3.
JRTE Marketing (4) Peel A (5)
Darren Smethurst was always going to be gold dust for JRTE in Division 2 with his top-notch table tennis credentials. After a 10 year lay off he has come back with a bang and only been beaten once, and he added another 3 points in this tie. Having said that Stu Perry gave him a good run for his money - taking him to a 5th end before fading out 7-11 in the last. Jon Taylor Burt also took a game off him. JRTE’s Paul Mitchinson had a stellar match against Ken Hegarty, pulling off an against the odds win 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7.
Ramsey C (0) Desmonds Douglas (9)
The Ramsey C trio of Martyn Howard, Keith Herington and Geoff Burchill on paper are a strong team but they were no match sadly for an even stronger Desmonds outfit. Brandon Mointgomery, Neil Ronan and Sasha Thomas were just too strong for Ramsey with only 3 matches going to a 4th end.
Arbory D (2) Arbory C (7)
JP Banaag once again demonstrated what a good stand-in he is for the D team, with 2 excellent wins against Dave Bufton and Rob Wright. Bufton pushed him all the way, but fell in the 5th end 9-11. JP was stopped in his tracks however by Player of the Night Kevin Drewry who proved too tricky for him, taking it 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9. Rob Wright did well to add 2 points for the away side by defeating Liav Lanin and Bob Borland.
Division 3
Travellers G (2) Travellers F (3)
Thomas Taylor Burt was star of this tie, notching up 2 points by defeating Sydnie Weaver in 4 ends, and Rhys Bufton in a tight 5 setter. Tom and Max Doyle could not quite match the skills of Sydnie and Rhys however, losing the doubles in 3 ends.
Ramsey E (0) Travellers E (5)
Henry Weaver once again showed how far he has progressed this season by beating Saul Tumblety in 4 ends, and then Teddy Clayton in 3. He therefore retained his 100% record. Henry’s teammate Eban Moore is also progressing well this season, and the young left hander showed great determination to take both of his wins in the 5th end, with some close games being seen in both matches. The boys then added a further valuable 5th point to take a 5-0 win.
JRTE Marketing B (5) Ramsey D (0)
Newcomer Anil Paul did well to take 2 wins for JRTE, with a 3 set victory over Pat Halliwell, and a 4 set win over Tony Sewell. Gary Skillicorn did likewise without dropping a game, and he and Anil combined well to take the doubles 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 which resulted in a 5-0 win.
Follow local table tennis via our Facebook page at ttp://www.facebook.com/TableTennisIOM or via our Instagram page at http://www.instagram.com/IOMTTA. There is a break in the league for 3 weeks whilst the Divisional Championships are played, with it resuming 4/12 - reports to follow. Friday night practice continues between 7pm - 9pm each week and all are welcome. Fee is £5 for adults and £3 for juniors.
Picture 1 - Thomas Taylor Burt and Max Doyle of Travellers G who were in action in Division 3 last week
Ken Mitchell
Week 7 of the Fun88 sponsored IOM Table Tennis Association league saw a resumption of singles play in Divisions 1 & 2, with the usual singles and doubles fixtures in Division 3. Travellers A have now pulled clear of Ramsey A by 3 points in Division 1. Travellers C remain top in Division 2, ahead of Peel A by 4 points, whilst Travellers D are well ahead in Division 3. Highlights of each fixture are summarised below, with full match results and statistics to be found on our website at www.tabletennis365.com/IOM
Division 1
Travellers A (6) Ramsey A (3)
Second placed Ramsey A had an opportunity to close in on league leaders Travellers A, but instead they lost ground with this result. Despite still missing Liam Chan, Travellers were able to call upon John Shooter who was a more than capable stand in. He dutifully won 2 of his matches, against Becky Taylor and Chris Holmes, both in straight ends. Shooter was beaten by Taylor the last time they met, so this time he moved the Ramsey player around a little more, and it bore fruit for him. Scott Lewis was again unbeaten and remains the beating heart of Travellers A. Chris Holmes took a game off Scott, but other than that Lewis was untroubled. Malcolm Cummings then chalked up a great win in 4 ends against an off-colour Taylor. He was unable to make any impression against Duncan Alexander however, losing in straight ends. Alexander was also successful against Shooter - in a tremendous tussle, the attacking left hander overcame the experienced Shooter, with a scoreline of 12-14, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9. Finally, Chris Holmes recorded a superb win over Cummings, triumphing 11-8 in the 5th, with some tremendous attacking shots to the wings.
Arbory B (3) Arbory A (6)
Mike Tamarov was Arbory A’s rock with another clean sheet, taking wins over John Magnall in 5 ends (after being 2 games down), Amit Lanin in 4, and Dan Levine in 3. Teammate Sonja Shaw added a point by coming back from a game down to win 3-1 against Levine. Malcolm Lambert was playing up again for the A team and once again acquitted himself admirably with 2 superb wins. In a tight match, he edged past Dan 5-11, 11-5, 12-10, 12-10, and then had a tremendous victory over Magnall, out-foxing him in 4 ends.
Tower A (3) Travellers B (6)
Dave Parsons had a hard fought but valuable win for Tower over Malc Lewis in 5 ends, and then swept aside Keeran Chan in 4. Ken Mitchell also out-manoevred Chan, winning in the 4th end. He had 2 match points in the 4th against Lewis but the wily Travellers player thwarted his efforts, taking the game 13-11 and the 5th 11-9. Star of the night was Will Shooter who is improving by the week. His down the line backhand counters proved deadly in each of his matches, and he didn't drop a game all night against the hapless Mitchell, Parsons and Mike Bayley. Keeran gained some solace by defeating Bayley in their 4th end.
Tower B (0) Strathallan (9)
Tower B fell victim to a rampant Strathallan team consisting of Julian Briercliffe, Andy Patterson and Wayne Taylor. Simon Radcliffe nabbed a game off Julian in their 4 setter, but other than that it was plain sailing for Strathy, who continue to move up the table.
Division 2
Ramsey B (5) Travellers C (4)
Wael Kassim once again stepped in for Ramsey and had 2 excellent wins against Paul Mathieson-Nelson and David Buck, each in 4 ends. Geoff Ball added 2 further points by defeating Buck in 3, and then notched up a notable win over the tough to beat Mathieson-Nelson. Player of the night was once again Dave Lovelady who is unbeaten so far this season. His toughest encounter was against Wael, but Loveleday used all his experience to edge past the young Ramsey player 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3.
JRTE Marketing (4) Peel A (5)
Darren Smethurst was always going to be gold dust for JRTE in Division 2 with his top-notch table tennis credentials. After a 10 year lay off he has come back with a bang and only been beaten once, and he added another 3 points in this tie. Having said that Stu Perry gave him a good run for his money - taking him to a 5th end before fading out 7-11 in the last. Jon Taylor Burt also took a game off him. JRTE’s Paul Mitchinson had a stellar match against Ken Hegarty, pulling off an against the odds win 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7.
Ramsey C (0) Desmonds Douglas (9)
The Ramsey C trio of Martyn Howard, Keith Herington and Geoff Burchill on paper are a strong team but they were no match sadly for an even stronger Desmonds outfit. Brandon Mointgomery, Neil Ronan and Sasha Thomas were just too strong for Ramsey with only 3 matches going to a 4th end.
Arbory D (2) Arbory C (7)
JP Banaag once again demonstrated what a good stand-in he is for the D team, with 2 excellent wins against Dave Bufton and Rob Wright. Bufton pushed him all the way, but fell in the 5th end 9-11. JP was stopped in his tracks however by Player of the Night Kevin Drewry who proved too tricky for him, taking it 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9. Rob Wright did well to add 2 points for the away side by defeating Liav Lanin and Bob Borland.
Division 3
Travellers G (2) Travellers F (3)
Thomas Taylor Burt was star of this tie, notching up 2 points by defeating Sydnie Weaver in 4 ends, and Rhys Bufton in a tight 5 setter. Tom and Max Doyle could not quite match the skills of Sydnie and Rhys however, losing the doubles in 3 ends.
Ramsey E (0) Travellers E (5)
Henry Weaver once again showed how far he has progressed this season by beating Saul Tumblety in 4 ends, and then Teddy Clayton in 3. He therefore retained his 100% record. Henry’s teammate Eban Moore is also progressing well this season, and the young left hander showed great determination to take both of his wins in the 5th end, with some close games being seen in both matches. The boys then added a further valuable 5th point to take a 5-0 win.
JRTE Marketing B (5) Ramsey D (0)
Newcomer Anil Paul did well to take 2 wins for JRTE, with a 3 set victory over Pat Halliwell, and a 4 set win over Tony Sewell. Gary Skillicorn did likewise without dropping a game, and he and Anil combined well to take the doubles 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 which resulted in a 5-0 win.
Follow local table tennis via our Facebook page at ttp://www.facebook.com/TableTennisIOM or via our Instagram page at http://www.instagram.com/IOMTTA. There is a break in the league for 3 weeks whilst the Divisional Championships are played, with it resuming 4/12 - reports to follow. Friday night practice continues between 7pm - 9pm each week and all are welcome. Fee is £5 for adults and £3 for juniors.
Picture 1 - Thomas Taylor Burt and Max Doyle of Travellers G who were in action in Division 3 last week
Ken Mitchell
Author: Tim Baker via Isle Of Man Table Tennis Association
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