TRAVELLERS B REMAIN UNDEFEATED IN DIVISION TWO
Defending champions Copy Shop A have now opened up a 12 points lead at the top of Division One after this week's matches in the Isle of Man Table Tennis Leagues. The big match in Division Two between the top two teams ended in a draw while Peel C maintain their lead at the top of Division Three - although they haven't got much to spare.
DIVISION ONE
COPY SHOP A 7, FOXDALE A 3
Ronan McDonnell and Sean Drewry were on top form for the champions, winning all their matches, although Drewry was taken to 11/9 in the fifth by Will Bayley. Bayley, Marc Townsend and David Lovelady each narrowly won one each for Foxdale against Jane Kneale who was even more annoyed that the late unexpected call up meant she had to miss a planned night out with her husband.
ARBORY 5, TOWER A 5
Arbory were a player short in this important match but they managed to salvage a draw thanks to three wins from John Magnall and two from Mike Tamarov. It could have been much worse for them as Tower's Tim Baker lost two of his matches at 11/6 in the decider but Paul Kozlowski had a good four set win over Tamarov and Tower took the doubles to square the match. Substitute Graham McFarlane also played a vital role as he picked up a point for the walk over against the Arbory absentee.
BREAKAWAY A 7, STRATHALLAN 3
Breakaway edged closer to Arbory in the battle for the runners-up spot, Mark Johnson leading the way with three wins. Malcolm Cummings added two more and Paul Corran one with a 9/11, 11/8, 11/5, 12/10 win over Andy Patterson. Andrew Horne was best for Strathallan with two wins, Julian Briercliffe contributing their third point with a 14/12 fourth set win over Corran.
FOXDALE B 6, TRAVELLERS A 4
This was the first win of the season for Foxdale against their fellow strugglers but both are now on the brink of relegation. Mike Bayley, Andy McLarney and Ken Mitchell won two each for Foxdale while Paul Mathieson-Nelson featured in all four of Travellers' points, winning three singles and the doubles with Brent Hanson. Paul’s son Jack from Travellers D stepped in to make up the numbers and in doing so he is probably the youngster player to make his debut in the top league.
DIVISION TWO
TRAVELLERS B 5, ZURICH SPINNERS 5
This was the eagerly anticipated clash between the top two teams and with two of Travellers' regular players -Stu Douglas and Stu Mason - both being off the island on golf trips Spinners would have hoped for a victory. However, reserve Dave Stevenson did Travellers proud, winning one singles and helping his stand-in captain Colin Brown win the doubles as well. The latter contributed three singles wins, most notable of which was a 12/10, 12/10, 11/13, 11/9 titanic tussle with the division’s top seed Nigel Beattie. Beattie and Tommy Cowin both won two each for Spinners and Colin Barron secured the draw by beating substitute Adrian Tinkler. Spinners led 5-2 at one stage but Travellers took the last three matches to preserve their unbeaten record.
TRAVELLERS C 2, TOWER B 8
It's between Travellers C and Tower C to see who joins Peel B in Division Three next season and Tower B did their C team a favour by taking eight points from Travellers. Steve Curtis and Graham McFarlane were unbeaten while reserve Margaret Forsyth emerged with one win after losing to Maurice Campbell and Alan Harding when she held on to beat Adrian Tinkler 12/10, 11/8, 2/11, 8/11, 11/9 in a real nail-biter.
BREAKAWAY B 8, TOWER C 2
There was no change in the bottom positions in the league as Tower C also lost 8-2. Tower were playing one short but Heather Kennett and Margaret Forsyth each won a singles for them. Chris Kewley and Aaron Faragher were unbeaten for Breakaway and their young substitute Kieran Lane almost opened his account in Division Two but just lost out 10/12, 11/13, 11/4, 11/8, 10/12 against Kennett.
PEEL B 1, SURESTRIKE RAMSEY A 9
Peel will be relegated but their plight was not helped by fielding just one player. Vishal Patel put their point on the board by beating Carl Blatcher but could make no impression on Wael Kassim or Rhys Yardley. Peel’s lack of players gave the opportunity for guest players to fill the gaps and Harry Walters recorded a notable 11/2, 11/13, 12/14, 16/14, 15/13 win over Blatcher but the result did not count.
PEEL A 8, COPY SHOP B 2
This was some match, the longest in any division, with five going the distance. One ended 12/10 in the fifth and three others 11/9. Four of the five went Peel's way as otherwise it could have been a totally different story. When the dust had settled the card showed that Malcolm Lewis had won three for Peel with two each coming from Les Wilson and Maggie Mulhern. Keeran Chan had two good wins for Copy Shop but Pedro Cardoso and Chris Aspden just needed more self-belief.
DIVISION THREE
JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT 0, PEEL C 10
In this top versus bottom fixture it was all over in straight games which was not surprising as Corin Haddock, Tom Noble and Billy Coulter are new to the league this season. Nathan Evans, Sasha Thomas and Harry Walters maintained their grip on this division, although they have a mega match coming up against one of their main challengers, Travellers D.
SURESTRIKE RAMSEY B 3, COPY SHOP D 7
This match featured the teams in fourth and third positions and it was Copy Shop who drove forward their promotion challenge. Divisional champion Kevin Drewry was unbeaten while Max Walker weighed in with two more and Zac Walker one against Kerenza Baker 8/11, 11/6, 11/7, 11/8. Marcus Koske was best for Ramsey with two wins, Calvin Koske adding one more.
SURESTRIKE RAMSEY C 7, COPY SHOP E 3
Pat Halliwell with two wins and Freya Melvin (1) put the Copy Shop girls on the scoreboard but Ramsey C were just that little bit stronger and triumphed thanks to three wins from Liam Cooper, two from Billy Cain and one from Olly Brew who did his best to quell the irrepressible Sophie Sheard. Match of the night saw Cooper just edging out Melvin at 12/10 in the final frame.
COLIN BROWN
