6th Report - Winter League
PREMIER DIVISION Reports from Duncan Taylor
Week 15 Report
Three results from week 15 of the Premier Division to bring you and we start with the leaders Thorpe Bay A as brushed past a two man Rayleigh Mill side 9-0. Mark Stones, Paul Sayer and John Poysden nearly went through the evening without dropping a set until Steve Sayer managed to take one from Stones in a 3-1 defeat.
Two 7-2 scorelines next with wins for Brand Identity A and Rawreth B over Hadleigh Forum and Thorpe Bay B respectively. Simon Jacob led the way for Brand Identity with three wins in a player of the match performance and Neal Barker proving the resistance for Forum with their two wins over David Jacob and Richard Jackman.
A similar pattern to results in the final game of the week with Dan Zeffie back from University sweeping all before him with three wins ably supported by his team mates Peter Barratt and Kim Shead. They both picked up two wins each but weren’t able to get the better of Kieran Skeggs who picked up the two for Thorpe Bay.
DIVISION 1 Reports from David Barnes
Week 18 Report
Second place Invicta A managed to slightly reduce the deficit to leaders Stanford Le Hope A. They overcame RESSC 9 - 0 thanks to hat tricks from Tony Ayliffe, Steven Marr and Lee Marson.
Stanford beat Lentern 7 - 2 thanks, yet again, to that man Mitchell Jones, with yet another POM hat trick. Team mates Peter Weatherall and Ian Sangster got two wins each, but neither could overcome Lentern’s Paul Sims.
Yet another POM maximum from Canvey A’s skipper Ray Wilson led his side to a 5 - 4 away victory at lowly Hockley C. Joanna Hills got Canvey’s two other points. Hannah Harbour managed two wins for the home side, whilst Brian Bissenden and Tony Molisso got one each.
Fellow strugglers Hadleigh Forum C entertained Brand Identity B and were only able to register one win on a night when Brand comfortably won 8 - 1. Hat tricks from POM Mick Grout and Adam Jackman, with two from Dale Gutteridge, made light work of the fixture. It was Mark Everard who got Forum’s win.
The other Forum team (Forum B) had a more productive visit to Rawreth Megazone C, coming away with a 6 - 3 win. Paul Fawell was their hero, winning all his games to take the POM award. Tony Jacks got two and Jim Stait one. Gary McCarthy got two and George Davis one for the home side.
Week 17 Report
RESSC’s captain Bob Skews described their match with Stanford as, “the most one sided match I have ever played in (so far!)”. His side did not muster a single set, as Mitchell Jones, Dave Hancox and Ian Sangster tore them apart.
An under-strength B team handed the C team an unexpected victory in the Hadleigh Forum derby. The home (B) team were only able to find two players. (I guess they could hardly call on anyone from the C team!). Their two players (Jim Stait and Tony Jacks) managed two wins each. However, the C team’s Mark Everard, Tony Mace and Satwant Gill managed to amass sufficient wins to take the tie 5 - 4.
Week 16 Report
Leaders Stanford Le Hope A made a bright start to the New Year. A 6 - 3 win away to Hockley C extends their lead at the top to two points. Mitchell Jones was again their POM, easily winning all his matches. Dave Hancox added two and Peter Weatherall one. Hockley’s David Chenery, Aaryan Vasta and Joe Odegbami each won one.
Second place Invicta A overcame Brand Identity B 5 - 4 despite skipper Tony Ayliffe suffering with the flu. Mick Grout had an outstanding night for the visitors, taking the POM award and winning all his matches. However, two wins apiece for Steve Marr and Lee Marson and one from Tony won it for Invicta.
Bottom side Hadleigh Forum C recorded their first win of the season beating Canvey A 5 - 4. Ray Wilson will feel a little aggrieved having won all his contests for the visitors. However two each for Satwant Gill and Graham Farmer and one from Mark Everard saw the home side over the line. Jo Hills got Canvey’s other success.
Rawreth Megazone C could only muster two players for the visit of Lentern. It was a case of “what might have been” as the visitors won 6 - 3. Gary McCarthy won two and team mate Colin Clements one for the home side. Paul Sims was unbeaten for Lentern.
A Bob Skews hat trick led RESSC to a 6 - 3 win at Rawreth Megazone D, who also couldn’t find a third player. George Davis won two, and Charlie Kauders-Boothby one, for the home side.
The match between Mapledene and Hadleigh Forum B had to be postponed because Mapledene’s premises were not available.
DIVISION 2 Reports from Paul Strutt
Week 18 Report
No doubt about the story of the week which was Matchpoint A’s first defeat of the season at the hands of Wakering and a first defeat of the season also for the league’s top player this season Evie Knaapen.
Pushing that result hard for top billing was Invicta B’s 5-4 win at Basildon B, a second win of the season after 13 successive defeats dating back to the first week of the season.
Matchpoint’s cause in the 6-3 defeat at Wakering wasn’t helped by the absence of some of their regular players leading to a call up for the C team’s Roger Sherman who found the jump a little too much to handle. They then had to face the form of Wakering’s Callum Turner who, having lost previously to Knaapen, gained sweet revenge winning in four sets after losing the opener 11/4. Turner then went on to complete his hat trick and got further support from Zac England with two wins and one from Paul England. Knaapen won her remaining two games and Harry Sawford picked up the other point and was a bit unfortunate not to add to that losing in five to both Zac England and Turner who, in fact, he led by two sets and only went down 12/10 in the fifth.
The relief felt by Invicta B must have been palpable as they recorded their long awaited victory and they had to do it the hard way coming back from 4-3 down to win 5-4. The return of David Barnes to the team continued to pay dividends as he recorded another brace to match that of Steve Lennox and a single win for Sarah Ball. Barnes set the tone for the evening with a five set win against Andy Roff coming back from two sets down. Unfortunate to end up on the losing side was Basildon’s Jenne Seibolt who claimed a hat trick alongside Roff’s sole win.
Taking full advantage of Matchpoint’s defeat fellow title contenders Basildon A returned to the top of the table in some style eclipsing Rawreth Megazone E 9-0 and not conceding a single set – the ultimate whitewash! Les Hoey, Arun Joy and Szymon Jarka took the honours whilst the boys from Rawreth may wish to remain anonymous!
Elsewhere in the division Stanford B had to rely on an all round team performance to edge out an Andrew Murray inspired Canvey B. Braces for Rob Salvage and Mark Downey and one from John Handscombe were the answer to Murray’s hat trick and Tony Westwell’s single point. Stanford actually drop to fourth after Wakering’s win whilst Canvey stay sixth in the table.
The clash between Matchpoint B and Hockley D must have been the closest, and probably the longest game of the week, as the 5-4 win for Matchpoint featured no less than six five set matches. The first five matches all went the distance leaving Matchpoint 3-2 up, Alexander Deacon gave them a 4-2 lead after the sixth five setter, and Ben Murray got the crucial fifth. Deacon and Dan Stewart both finished with two wins. For Hockley spare a thought for Paul Ogden who won just won of his three full distance matches and for Paul Strutt who became the third player this week to record a hat trick but finish on the losing side. No joy for Ben Cook this time.
Team of the Week – Wakering
Player of the Week – Callum Turner
Week 17 Report
With the league leaders Matchpoint A not having a match this week second placed Basildon A took advantage to take over at the top as they hammered their own B team 9-0. Feeling confident enough to start without their best player this season, Les Hoey, the team of Arun Joy, Szymon Jarka and Stephen Walters only dropped one set the whole evening to leave their clubmates Jenne Seibolt, Andy Roff and Ross Letham firmly entrenched at the bottom of the table.
The two teams in third and fourth place Stanford B and Wakering both maintained their positions chalking up identical 8=1 wins against Matchpoint B and Hockley D respectively.
With a little bit more luck the Stanford/Matchpoint game could have been a lot closer as three games went the distance but all ended in favour of Stanford. Matchpoint’s Alexander Deacon can feel particularly aggrieved as, having picked up their only win beating Mark Downey, he then lost in five to both Rob Salvage and John Handscombe the latter after he won the first two sets. The defeat leaves Matchpoint in fifth place but 10 points behind Wakering.
The Wakering/Hockley match was a lot more straightforward with just three games going beyond three sets. Wakering’s team of Callum Turner, Zac and Paul England proved far too strong for the opposition but there was an excellent win for Neal Klyman against Paul. Callum Turner delivered the perfect hat trick.
Invicta B must be wondering what they have to do to record their second win of the season. Having won the very first game they have now lost 13 successive games, more than any other side in the division, but have still picked up enough points to keep them clear of the relegation places. I suspect that position may change shortly as this week saw the return of David Barnes to the side playing his first game since the end of October. His two wins weren’t enough to turn the tide this time but they did help ensure that Canvey were pushed all the way and had to rely on their top player Andrew Murray to secure the win in the last game of the evening. Kevin Walsingham and Des Duffield added a point each for Canvey whilst Sarah Ball and Mike Keeble did the same for Invicta.
The final game of the week saw another 5-4 result decided in the final game with home team Runnymede just edging out Rawreth Megazone E thanks to a Dmitry Kisil perfect hat trick. He was backed up by Andrew Humphris with a brace but no joy for Anne Adlington this time who was a bit unlucky not to get a point losing out in a marathon five set match to Steve Mcquillan 11/6 15/17 6/11 11/8 15/17. Rawreth’s points came via two from Richard Kidd and one from Jaspreet Singh.
Team of the Week – Stanford B
Player of the Week – Dmitry Kisil/Callum Turner
Week 16 Report
The New Year started with a bang for Debbie O’neill who picked up her first maximum of the season leading her Matchpoint B team to a 6-3 win against Invicta B. It was a match that could have been closer with three games going to five sets but two of those went in favour of Matchpoint to give them the edge. O’neill was pushed all the way by Mike Keeble who also lost another five set match to Ben Murray. Jack Riley’s brace backed up O’neill’s hat trick to add to Murray’s single point. For Invicta Mike Keeble eventually got a win defeating Riley whilst Sarah Ball and Keith Baxter also grabbed a single win each.
Biggest surprise of the week was Basildon B’s 9-0 thumping of Runnymede only their second win of the season. Andy Roff’s opening five set win, 15/13 in the decider against Andrew Humphris, must have inspired the ‘New towners’ to begin the New Year in style and they continued in fine form after that with Jenne Seibolt and Graham Bland proving just too strong for their opponents. Only Bland’s second match of the season and a POTM performance.
Elsewhere in the league leader’s Matchpoint A came away with an expected 7-2 win against bottom club Rawreth Megazone E but the scoreline didn’t tell the whole story. Apart from James Elliot, who recorded the perfect hat trick, team mates Jeremy Giffin and Lucy Elliot were pushed all the way by Rawreth’s Richard Kidd, Amar Al-Soufi and Jaspreet Singh with five matches going the full distance. Three of those matches involved Matchpoint’s Lucy Elliot who managed one win against Singh but Jeremy Giffin did better winning both his five set matches before completing his hat trick. This performance should give Rawreth some confidence as they enter the second half of the season.
In contrast to the last game the closest match of the week, Basildon A’s 5-4 win at Canvey B, was surprisingly straight forward as no less than seven games were decided in straight sets. Still with Christmas in mind Les ho-ho Hoey recorded another perfect hat trick whilst team mate Arun Joy brought some belated New Year joy winning two. Failing to add to their tally was Stephen Walters who missed out in the only five set match of the evening conceding a 2-1 lead to Tony Westwell. Andrew Murray picked up two wins for the Islanders with Des Duffield adding the fourth.
Player of the Week – Debbie O’neill
Team of the Week – Basildon B
DIVISION 3 Reports from Dave Woolmer
Week 16 Report
No sooner had the Christmas and New Year celebrations ended before it was time for competition to resume in Division 3.
League leaders, Matchpoint ‘C’ got off to a great start in their match against Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ and raced into a 4/1 lead before Meggazone rallied to win the last 4 games for a 5/4 victory. For Matchpoint there were 2 wins each for Lotte Mills and Max Mayo, including a fine win for Max over the experienced Jan Thorpe. Both Jan and Ethan Nunn recorded 2 wins for Meggazone and it was Ethan who clinched the match in the final game of the night, beating Max in 4 sets. Graham Back was the other point winner for Meggazone.
Canvey ‘C’ kept up the pressure on the top teams with a 6/3 win against Hadleigh Forum ‘D’. Another POM performance and hat-trick here for Trevor Hayes, ably assisted by Stephen Parker who was also unbeaten. A win apiece for the Forum trio of Todd Barker, Sineh Ball and Douglas Brown over John Saunders.
Second in the table, Stanford ‘D’ took on the juniors of Evolve and, to no great surprise, came away with a 9/0 win. Vaughan Chambers was the POM with a ‘perfect maximum, with unbeaten performances also from Andrew Jessop and Peter Moxham, although Peter had to dig deep in his game against Aaron Price, recovering from the loss of the first two sets to crawl over the line at 13/11 in the decider.
The Hockley ‘F’ juniors came up against Stanford ‘C’ and another whitewash was on the cards as Stanford reeled off the first 8 games with minimum fuss. However, Alby Richardson had other ideas and he stopped the rot, beating Mandy Till in 4 sets and, in doing so, recorded his first win of the season. Well done Alby! Randy Santiago was the POM here for Stanford with skipper Mark Farley also unbeaten.
