PEEL B OPEN THEIR ACCOUNT WITH A WHITEWASH WIN IN DIVISION TWO
Strathallan A remain 2nd in the First Division of the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League. However, 3rd placed ABC Arborists are now just one point behind them and top placed Copy Shop A’s lead has been cut to five points as they had no fixture. Undefeated Travellers B move to the top of Division Two and the previous leaders Peel A drop to 3rd having been beaten by Copy Shop B. Surestrike Ramsey C are the new Division Three leaders, nine points clear of Victory Roll Saints who were off enjoying bonfire night.
DIVISION ONE
ABC Arborists (9) Zurich Spinners (0)
Liam Chan, Mike Tamarov and John Magnall set off like a rocket, dropping just one set in their first six matches. Then Nigel Beattie nearly stole a point for the Spinners falling just short 9/11, 11/3, 7/11, 12/10, 13/15 against Tamarov. Tommy Cowin won a couple of sets but Colin Barron ground away to no avail.
Strathallan A (7) Foxdale A (2)
Julian Briercliffe was the hat-trick hero for Strathy dropping just one set to Will Bayley who denied Andy Horne and Andy Patterson clean sweeps by finishing extremely close five setters 11/9 for both of Foxdale’s points. Andy McLarney had a marathon battle to secure a single set 16/14 against Patterson, but that was all he and Ken Mitchell could purloin.
Breakaway A (3) Travellers A (6)
A Paul Corran hat-trick benefitted Breakaway but bottom placed Travellers moved up a place thanks to two apiece from Stu Mason, Stu Douglas and substitute Garry Shilling. Keeran Chan came closest to converting another point for Breakaway, narrowly losing 8/11 and 9/11 in the final set of two of his matches. Likewise, Aaron Faragher was short-changed by Shilling.
DIVISION TWO
Peel B (10) Tower C (0)
Tower turned up one player short and Margaret Forsyth lost her opening match 13/11, 6/11, 6/11, 11/8, 11/13 against Sasha Thomas. This spurred the Peelers on to their first victory of the season and it was an emphatic one as neither Forsyth nor Heather Kennett could quell Thomas, Nathan Evans or Harry Walters.
Copy Shop C (1) Travellers B (9)
Travellers moved to top spot with their sixth straight win and they still have a game in hand over their closest rivals. Malcolm Lambert took a token point from Gary Shilling but Colin Brown and Paul Nelson added another hat-trick to their tally by comprehensively beating Lambert, George Melvin and Kevin Drury.
Surestrike Ramsey B (5) Travellers D (5)
Top seed Tim Baker remained unbeaten for Surestrike B. His less experienced team mates Jack Craik and Carl Blatcher both beat Alex Buck to deliver the draw as super-sub Craik came back from 1-2 down to pip Buck 9/11, 11/7, 10/12, 14/12, 14/12. Juan Moore Jr and David Buck both bagged a brace for Travellers and then teamed up to take the doubles and even the score.
Tower B (3) Surestrike Ramsey A (7)
A Rhys Yardley hat-trick helped Surestrike Ramsey A move up to joint 4th with their opponents Tower B for whom Steve Curtis beat both Wael Kassim and Calvin Koske. Kassim won his other two matches but was spun out by Curtis. Tower’s other point was won by Simon Radcliffe with a straight sets victory over Koske who bounced back to beat Yanchun Wang and then assist Yardley to win the doubles.
Peel A (3) Copy Shop B (7)
Top placed Peel were unravelled by 4th placed Copy Shop B. Late substitute Malcolm Lambert did the damage. Dario Mazzotta added two more and although he and Rob Sim also delivered the doubles they both lost to Malc Lewis. Maggie Mulhern unsuccessfully took Sim to five sets but in an oscillating opening match, Matt Evans disappointed Sim 12/10, 10/12, 11/9, 9/11, 11/5.
DIVISION THREE
Surestrike Ramsey C (10) IOM Junior Development (0)
Sharp shooting Billy Cain, Frank Feeney and Kerenza Baker have taken Surestrike C to top spot with a nine point cushion over Victory Roll Saints who have a game in hand. Their JD opponents Josh Dudley, Scott Horne and Cameron Dudley are gaining confidence with every match and were involved in some cracking rallies.
Surestrike Ramsey D (0) Breakaway B (10)
Joe Walters overturned a 1-2 deficit to beat Alex Yardley 9/11, 11/3, 7/11, 11/9, 11/6 but that was the nearest that Surestrike D came to winning a point against their more experienced opponents. However, Walters, Jack Christian and Kieran Lane did drop a total of six sets to Leon Crowe, Alex Yardley and his brother Dylan.
Copy Shop E (4) Surestrike Ramsey E (6)
Despite being a player short the Ramsey lads top-spun their way to victory over the Copy Shop girls. Jack Craik hit a hat-trick and Tyler Hannah was only halted by Kitty Thomas who counterattacked well to win 11/8, 14/12, 6/11, 11/5. Both Pat Halliwell and Sophie Sheard secured a point for being there but nothing for their valiant efforts.
MALCOLM LAMBERT
