IOMTTA Match Report 6 November 2013
Two of the most important matches of the season so far took place this week in the Isle of Man Table Tennis League with a meeting between the top two teams in each of the first two divisions. The fixtures didn't disappoint with second placed Breakaway A defeating leaders Copy Shop A 6-4 in Division One while Travellers B and Zurich Spinners fought out a 5-5 draw in Division Two.
Next week's fixtures indicate that Breakaway A and Arbory both have the opportunity to overhaul Copy Shop A at the top of Division One. Copy Shop aren't playing, and the other two take on the bottom two clubs, so there could be a major shift at the top.
Youngsters enjoying their first season in the league.
Copy Shop’s Libby Quaggin with doubles partner Sophie Sheard closely watched by referee Kitty Thomas.
RESULTS:
DIVISION ONE
Copy Shop A 4, Breakaway A 6
Ronan McDonnell kept his unbeaten record for Copy Shop with three singles wins, Sean Drewry adding one more, but Mark Johnson and Paul Corran won two each for Breakaway. Darren Smethurst brought the total to five by beating Jane Kneale and everything then rested on the doubles which went to Breakaway in four sets giving them the win.
Foxdale B 0, Arbory 10
Ironically, although Breakaway won the top of the table match they drop to third place as Arbory beat bottom team Foxdale B 10-0 to move into second place. Mike Tamarov, Liam Chan and John Magnall rattled off all ten leaving Mike Bayley, Andy McLarney and Ken Mitchell with just the odd hard won set.
Travellers A 2, Tower A 8
Gary Shilling was Travellers' only singles winner and he and Paul Nelson won the doubles, but that was all they had to show for their night's work. Tim Baker and Dave Parsons were undefeated for Tower while Paul Kozlowski lost only once.
Foxdale A 6, Strathallan A 4
A strengthened Foxdale side pulled off a good win over the team just above them in the league table. David Lovelady, making a welcome return to league table tennis, and Will Bayley won two singles each and added the doubles for good measure. They showed their resilience by winning two of their matches at 12/10 in the fifth. Foxdale’s Marc Townsend started brilliantly and beat Julian Briercliffe 11/9, 9/11, 11/7, 15/13 to take their total to six. However, the two Andys - Horne and Patterson - contributed two singles wins each for Strathallan by sinking Townsend and beating Lovelady and Bayley respectively.
DIVISION TWO
Zurich Spinners 5, Travellers B 5
Nigel Beattie dropped only one game in winning all his singles for Spinners while Tommy Cowin helped his captain by taking another. The pair then won the doubles to claim a draw. Travellers' captain Stu Douglas lost his unbeaten record to Beattie but won his other two matches. Colin Brown added a further two. Stu Mason leveled the match for Travellers by robbing Colin Barron 7/11, 11/8, 7/11, 11/6, 11/6.
Copy Shop B 6, Peel A 4
Three matches required a decider in another hard fought encounter. Keeran Chan was the star for Copy Shop with three good wins while Malcolm Lambert (2) and Pedro Cardoso (1) backed up well. Les Wilson was best for Peel with two singles wins and an assist in the doubles with Malc Lewis. Copy Shop won two very close matches Cardoso beating Matty Evans 12/10 in the fifth and Lambert edging out Lewis 11/9 in their final frame.
Tower B 4, Travellers C 6
This was a good win for next to the bottom Travellers, although it has to be said Tower were not at full strength. Tower captain Steve Curtis had a hand in all four of their victories but the Travellers' trio of Maurice Campbell, Alan Harding and Jackie Gill mopped up the remainder against Margaret Forsyth and Yan Wang.
Tower C 2, Breakaway B 8
Dave Callow and Mike Chapman each won a singles for Tower but Breakaway climbed up to third place by winning the other eight. Chris Kewley led the way with three singles wins closely followed by Ben Christian and Aaron Faragher with two each and the doubles. Lack of league matches told its tale for Tower’s Heather Kennett.
Surestrike Ramsey A 6, Peel B 4
Ramsey consolidated their mid-table position, Wael Kassim leading the way with three victories, Rhys Yardley adding two more and joining Kassim to deliver the doubles. Ashley Reid, Vishal Patel and Fraser Dorling all beat Carl Blatcher, but Peel’s best performance was Reid’s nail biter opening win over Yardley 14/12, 8/11, 5/11, 12/10, 12/10.
DIVISION THREE
Peel C 10, Copy Shop E 0
Peel edged one point clear to top the league ahead of Surestrike Ramsey B, who weren't playing this week. Nathan Evans, Harry Walters and Sasha Thomas were relatively untroubled by Libby Quaggin and Sophie Sheard who are enjoying their first season in the senior league. Team captain Pat Halliwell came closest to gaining a point, losing to Evans by the remarkable score of 7/11, 12/10, 10/12, 10/12.
Travellers D 10, Breakaway C 0
Travellers are moving rapidly up the table and are now just outside the promotion places. Juan Moore Snr and Junior together with David Buck pressed home their advantage. Joe Walters tried hard to get Breakaway on the scoreboard, losing to Moore Jnr in four close games but Jack Christian and Kieran Lane went out in straight sets.
Junior Development 1, Surestrike Ramsey C 9
Billy Cain and Liam Cooper were unbeaten in the singles and the doubles for Surestrike while Olly Brew added the final point in battle by beating Corin Haddock. Tom Noble made sure the two man JD team didn't leave empty handed, defeating Brew 12/10, 11/3, 6/11, 7/11, 11/5 for their lonely point.
COLIN BROWN
