Headline: 'Amit's stunning win in Division 2 Table Tennis' 

Week 11 of the Fun88 sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League took place last week. There was some tremendous play from our promising group of youngsters across the divisions, and none more so from Amit Lannin.  

Division 1

Travellers A (9) Desmonds Douglas A (0)

Travellers A: Scott Lewis (3); Liam Chan (3); Malcolm Cummings (3)

Desmond's Douglas A: Tommy Cowin (0); Russell Kent (0)

Scott Lewis made short work of the unfortunate Cowin and Kent, defeating them both in 3 games, as did his teammate Liam Chan. A further 3 points followed for Travellers due to Desmond's not being able to field a third player. Tommy Cowin managed to take a game off Malcolm Cummings, but the Travellers man steadied himself and took the following 2 games, and the match. It was a very similar picture in Cumming's match with Kent, but he came through in 4 games there too. A further 9 points extends Traveller's lead at the top to 15 points. 

Ramsey A (6) Tower A (3)

Ramsey A: Chris Holland (3); Chris Holmes (1); Duncan Alexander (2)

Tower A: William Bayley (0); Ken Mitchell (1); Dave Parsons (2)

Will Bayley used his excellent backhand technique to great effect against Chris Holland to take the second game 11-9, but narrowly lost the third 9-11 and the fourth game 5-11, to see Holland taking the match. Holland then made short work of Ken Mitchell in 3 games and defeated Parsons in 4 games, but this match was far closer 12-10, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4. Chris Holmes pulled out all the stops to come back from 7-5 in the final game of his match with Will Bayley to take the game 11-9 and the match. Holmes then lost in 5 tight games against a determined Ken Mitchell, and to Parsons in 4 games. Left hander Duncan Alexander returned to action for Ramsey and was highly effective against Will Bayley, defeating him in 3 close games, and replicated this against Mitchell. The match of the night though was between Alexander and Parsons, which produced some breath-taking play from both players. Parson pulled through in a nerve-jangling 4th game 13-11, thus ending Alexander's winning run. 

Arbory (7) Ramsey C (2)

Mike Tamarov (2); Jason Quirk (2); John Magnall (3)

Ramsey C: Adam Teare (2); William Dalugdugan (0); Adrian Slater (0)

Adam Teare continued his return to play, picking up another valuable 2 points for Ramsey C from third placed Arbory. His match with Mike Tamarov went to 4 games with the latter taking the third 12-10, before Teare steadied himself and out-played his opponent in the final game. Tamarov then retrieved the situation by defeating both William Dalugdugan and Adrian Slater, in straight sets. Dalugdugan did well to take the first game against Jason Quirk 12-10, but the Arbory man then refocused to take the next 3 games in routine style. Quirk came unstuck however against Teare with the Ramsey player taking the match 11-7,11-9,11-8. Elsewhere, John Magnall looked to be in tremendous form in his matches, beating young prospect Dalugdugan in 3 games, then following up with a tight 15-13, 12-10, 11-6 win over experienced Adrian Slater. Magnall then used all his matchplay nous to defeat Teare 13-11, 11-8, 11-6. This win keeps Arbory in touch with second placed Ramsey A. 

Copy Shop A (3) Ramsey B (6) 

Copy Shop A: Sean Drewry (3); Ewan Watterson (0); Sasha Thomas (0)

Ramsey B: Wael Kassim (2); Tim Baker (2); Glenn Callow (2)

Sean Drewry was in dominant form, sweeping aside Tim Baker, Wael Kassim and Glenn Callow in 3 games apiece, albeit Callow did well to take his final game to 10-12. Ewan Watterson returned to action for Copy Shop, but struggled to cope with young bucks Kassim and Callow, losing in 4 games apiece. Sasha Thomas was Copy Shop's third player and he was also unable to keep up with Kassim and Callow. His match with Glenn was particularly close, with Callow pulling through 14-12 and another valuable point for him, and indeed his team. Baker had 2 good wins against Thomas and Watterson in 3 games. 

Strathallan (5) Travellers B (4) 

Strathallan: Wayne Taylor (1); Andrew Patterson (2); Julian Briercliffe (2) 

Travellers B: John Shooter (3); Malc Lewis (1); William Shooter (0)

John Shooter continued his excellent form this season with 3 good wins against the experienced trio of Strathallan. His toughest match appeared to be against old foe Andy Patterson, who took him to 5 games. It was particularly tight with Shooter taking the first 2 games 11-9, only to lose the 3rd and 4th 11-13, 10-12. Shooter then refocused to take the final game 11-7, and breathed a huge sigh of relief for sure. Patterson had the consolation of beating young William Shooter in 3 games, and Malc Lewis in 4 close games. Julian Briercliffe produced a further 2 points for Strathallan by also defeating young Shooter and Lewis. Wayne Taylor defeated William in 3 straight sets, but came a cropper against a battling Lewis, losing in 4. 

Division 2 

Peel A (7) Desmonds Douglas B (3) 

Peel A: Stuart Mason (2); Ken Hegarty (2); Ronan Thompson (2) 

Desmonds Douglas B: Peter Russell (1); Neil Ronan (2); Richard Hill (0)

Stu Mason continued his excellent form, picking up 2 points against Peter Russell and Richard Hill. Neil Ronan did a great job however in defeating Mason, taking the match 11-7, 14-12, 11-6. Ronan also managed to take out Ken Hegarty in a tight 4 setter. He was unable to make it 3 out of 3 however, falling short against young Ronan Thompson in 4. Thompson then defeated Russell and Hill in 4 games. Ken Hegarty did well to pull through against Russell in 5 games, and against Hill in 3. The doubles went to Hegarty and Mason in 4 games against Ronan and Russell. 

Tower B (9) Travellers D (1)

Tower B: Graham McFarlane (2); Dario Mazzotta (3); Simon Radcliffe (3)

Travellers D: Maurice Campbell (0); Jackie Gill (0); Amit Lannin (1)

This fixture featured the match of the night between young Amit Lannin and Graham McFarlane. A true 'battle of the ages' and I'm sure Graham won't mind me mentioning the 70 year age gap! Amit stepped up from the third division to play in this tie as one of a group of Junior Development Players. The excellent IOMTTA coaching programme these youngsters are involved with is now really bearing fruit. Amit was able to attack with precision against the experienced McFarlane, but also control the game by pushing when he had to. He retained his composure and was cool under pressure to pull through 14-12, 14-12, 11-9. A tremendous win for the young man and this will surely add to his growing confidence. That aside, great credit to Tower B who were able to take 9 points on the night, which means they have regained top spot in Division 2, just ahead of Peel A. 

Peel B (7) Ramsey D (3)

Peel B: Maggie Mulhern (1); Nathan Evans (3); Matty Evans (2)

Ramsey D: Geoff Ball (2); Nathan Walker (1); Sally Green (0)

Nathan Evans had a highly successful evening for Peel B, defeating Geoff Ball, Sally Green, and Nathan Walker in 3 games apiece, albeit he had to work hard to take the first 15-13 against Walker. Maggie Mulhern added a point against Sally Green, but had no joy against Ball or Walker. Matty Evans had a good win in 4 games against Walker, and Green in 3. The doubles went to the Evans brothers in 4 games against Walker and Ball. 

Travellers C (6) Copy Shop C (4)

Travellers C: Adrian Tinkler (1); David Buck (2); Paul Matthieson-Nelson (3) 

Copy Shop C: Kevin Drewry (2); Rob Wright (1); Darren Shaw (0)

Paul Matthieson-Nelson steam-rollered his way through Kevin Drewry, Rob Wright and Darren Shaw in impressive style. All 3 can be tricky opponents so it says much about Paul's excellent form. He has surely staked his claim to first division selection next season. Kevin Drewry defeated David Buck 11-9 in each of their 3 games, and did likewise against Darren Shaw. Rob Wright had an excellent win in 5 sets against Adrian Tinkler, just pulling through 11-7 in the 5th. 

Copy Shop B (7); Tower C (3)

Copy Shop B: Malcolm Lambert (3); Ege Niyazi (1); Kevin Drewry (2)

Tower C: Barry Jenkins (1); Steve Curtis (2); Margaret Forsyth (0)

Malcolm Lambert was in excellent form in this tie, beating Jenkins and Forsyth, and perhaps most notably Curtis in 3 games each. Ege Niyazi was playing up for Copy Shop B and managed to beat Margaret Forsyth, but lost to Barry Jenkins in 4, and in 3 to Curtis. Kevin Drewry was involved in the closest matches of the night - defeating Jenkins in the 5th, and then losing to Curtis 11-8, also in the 5th game. Doubles went to Drewry and Lambert against Curtis and Jenkins 11-7, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7. 

Division 3

Ramsey E (2) Peel C (8)

Ramsey E: Francesca Lord (0); Wilma Dalugdugan (1); Lisa Lord (1)

Peel C: Amit Lannin (3); Bob Borland (1); Dave Stevenson (3)

Not content with being star of the night whilst playing up in Division 2, Amit Lannin also featured heavily in this tie, taking 3 points for Peel C alongside teammate Dave Stevenson. He was however pushed hard by an in-form Lisa Lord, but pulled through 11-8 in the fifth. Lisa then admirably retrieved a point by defeating Bob Borland in 4 games, but came up short against the experienced Stevenson who appears to be playing well after making a welcome return to the sport. He counter-attacked his way to victory against Francesca Lord in 3, and Wilma in 4 games. Amit and Dave then took the doubles 12-10 in the fifth despite some great play from Wilma and Francesca, in what appears to have been an extremely tight match. 

Ramsey G (2) Peel D (8)

Ramsey G: Henry de Silva (0); Megan Lord (0); Geoff Burchill (1)

Peel D: James Devereau (2); Liam Bibby (3); Ali Ramirez (3)

Ramsey G's Megan Lord and Geoff Burchill played in the doubles in this tie, and pulled off an excellent win against an otherwise dominant Peel D team. In a close match they defeated Liam Bibby and Ali Ramirez 11-8 in the fifth. Megan seemed to be in good form in this tie, taking Liam and James to 4 games, and Ali to 5. Geoff Burchill was able to add a point for Ramsey by defeating James in 4 games, with the last going to 12-10. 

Copy Shop E (7) Ramsey F (3)

Copy Shop E: Ege Niyazi (2); Daniel Levine (2); MIke Levine (3)

Ramsey F: Matthew Bell (1); Ryan Holland (2); Tom Tsitsos (0) 

Mike Levine continued his winning run with victories in 3 games against Tom Tsitsos and Matthew Bell in 3 games, and Ryan Holland in 5. Ryan had managed to get back into the match by levelling the match at 2-2, but Levine used all his guile and experience to take the fifth end 11-5. Daniel Levine added a point by defeating Tom Tsitsos in 3 games, and Ege Niyazi added a further 2 by beating Matthew and Tom in 3 games. Doubles went to Mike Levine and Ege in 4 games against Holland and Bell. The win extends Copy Shop E's lead in the third tier to 5 points with a game in hand over Ramsey F. 

Picture (credit to Malcolm Lambert): 'Amit Lannin was in great form last week both for Travellers D and Peel C'