Southend & DTTL Report for Week 24

HADLEIGH FORUM B CROWNED CHAMPIONS.

Congratulations to the leaders Hadleigh Forum B, who were without a game this week but were crowned champions as the chasing pack were unable to capitalize and now, mathematically, are unable to be overtaken and will take their place with their A team in the Premier next season.

Rawreth C who were the only team who could have caught them won 5-4 against Lentern C and now have a battle to retain the runners-up spot, leading from Invicta by two points but with a game in hand. Gary McCarthy was in great form winning POTM and  all three of his matches and was backed up by John Blackman with two points. Brian Spencer scored two for the Lentern team and was the best performer for Lentern.

Invicta A earned a comfortable 7-2 win over Hullbridge D. Sid Dorn returned back to the table after 2 years out the game with a well-earned2 points for the Invicta side. Michael Piper adding two further points on the night. Unfortunately Jo & Adam couldn't help Hullbridge for any points on the night, Jo very unlucky not to beat Sid. Ben Matthews playing very well for his side getting a valuable 2 points preventing a whitewash. Himself & Steven Marr come head to head to battle it out for the hat trick for the sides which saw Steve win 3 straight which wasn't as easy as it sounds, 15:13 in the third saw some incrediblerallies and points played out.

Hullbridge C fought out a close game against Canvey A, just edging them out 5-4. Andy Seaman was again in great form, unbeaten on the night to earn his 6th POTM for the season. Veteran, gnarly-player, Bill Smith added two for the win, but was unable to beat Peter Cray who won in 5, and won two points for the Canvey Side. With Terry Giddens and Ray Wilson only able to add one each the Canvey team fell short.

In the final match of the week, Castle Point B continued their mini-resurgence with a 5-4 win over Lentern B, but may be a little too late to avoid relegation. In a match where everyone contributed and no-one was unbeaten, Tony Ayliffe and Keith Neville scored two each for the Castle Point side. Malcolm Henstock scored two for the Lentern side to keep them in it. It was left to Martin Roberts, with only his second win of the season (coincidentally the first was against Malcolm in the reverse fixture) against Paul Sims to gain the extra crucial point needed for the win.

Barrie Delf DRS

RESSC carried on their good recent form, overcoming Castle Point D 9 – 0. Sarah Mapes, Ron Coutts and Stan Dyson were all too strong for their visitors. 

Another team coming in to good form at the tail end of the season is Rawreth D. Thanks to a hat trick from their hero Sam Thompson, they recorded a 6 – 3 home win over Castle Point C. There were also two wins for David Barnes and a good win for Olivia Jones. David Jacob won two for Castle.

Despite a hat trick from Tony Coeshall, one of their big guns, Runnymede went down 5 – 4 at home to Canvey C. Two wins for Harry Keys and Steve Robinson, together with one from Steve Parker, swung things in Canvey’s favour.

Warehouse C gained a 5 – 4 home win over Basildon Hospital thanks to two wins each for James Spencer and Andy Humphries, with Jonathan Allen chipping in with one. Mike Smith and Kevin Smart shared the medics’ points.

Zac England was player of the match for Wakering when they hosted Invicta B, winning all his three matches. Paul England added two and Nigel Cook one in a 6 -3 victory. David Barnes was the visitors’ main opposition, with two of his team’s points.

Invicta C sit in ninth place in the table after a  9-0 win over Rochford LTC which leaves them well clear of the bottom five places and within striking distance of the four teams above them as we reach the closing weeks of the season. Jon Gould, Dave Youngman and Rob West made up the winning team. They are 10 points behind 5th placed Hullbridge G.

Stanford B brought out their ‘big guns’ to face the threat of third placed Warehouse D but, in the end, the threat never materialised as they ran out 9-0 winners in a one sided match. The closest the Warehousemen got to taking a point was the very first match of the evening between ‘Big’ John Handscombe and Dave Walton, which John edged winning 11-9 in the fifth. After that Stanford only conceded two more sets all evening confirming what we already know in that they and Hockley D have been a class apart in Division 3 this season. Adrian Armstrong and Dan Harris made up the rest of the winning team.

Fourth placed Canvey D were almost surprised by Hullbridge F but just managed to stay in front finishing 5-4 winners in a very close match with two games going to five sets and a further four going to four sets. Canvey were in fact 3-2 down at one stage before winning the next three games. Kevin Hughes, making only his second appearance of the season, was the man of the match with three wins backed up by Steve Robinson with two. Sue Reece claimed two for Hullbridge with one each for Ann Lane and Bob Singleton-Smith. Ann was involved in both five set matches leading 2-1 at one stage against Steve he came back to win the last two sets 11-5, 13-11, but she did better against Tom Jarvis coming back from 2-1 down herself to win the last two sets 11-9, 12-10. Hullbridge F are now seventh in the table.

Team of the Week – Stanford B

Player of the Week – Kevin Hughes of Canvey D