3rd Report - Winter League
Premier Div Reports from Duncan Taylor
Week 8
There were wins for both Hockley teams in the Premier Division of the Southend & District Table Tennis League this week. Hockley A were in fine form as they pulled out an unlikely 9-0 scoreline over Hadleigh Forum A. Sanjay Saptarshi living up to his ‘Sensation’ nickname from the Burnham league won all his games as did Matt Stringer and Player of the Match Dan Patynski.
Hockley B overcame the Millers of Rayleigh 6-3 in a match that saw a number of hard fought games. Three wins as you might expect for Andy Cunningham but there was also a great hattrick for Player of the Match Dave Colwill as he saw off the best efforts of Rob Harris, Colin Chatfield and Eric Green. There was one win a piece for the Rayleigh trio over Keith Abbott.
In a top of the table clash Thorpe Bay A came out on top against Rawreth A 5-4 despite a great hattrick for Liam Squirrell against Paul Sayer, Mark Stones and John Poysden. Stones and Sayer picked up two wins over Charles Sweeny and Kevin Read while Poysden defeated Sweeny for the win.
In the final game this week there was a close win for Irons A over Thorpe Bay B, in the main due to three wins for Reece Seddon. Player of the Match Seddon was backed up with a win each for Dave Bowles and Babul McLeod over Adam Deadman. Kieran Skeggs and Richard Stubbington with two wins a piece for the Bay.
Sanjay Saptarshi with 3 wins for Hockley A
Division 2 Reports from Paul Strutt
Week 8
When an irresistible force meets an immovable object something’s got to give! That’s what the song says and that’s what happened when the two top teams in Division 2 of the SDTTL met at the Riverside this week. School not football ground that is.
The match couldn’t have been set up more perfectly with the home side Matchpoint A sitting at the top of the table just one point clear of arch rivals Basildon A, both teams unbeaten, and three players also boasting individual unbeaten records. Only one player emerged afterwards with their record intact.
The evening started with a five set match between Evie Knaapen and Szymon Jarka the first of six consecutive such games at the end of which, not surprisingly, the teams were level at three all. Knaapen started well going two sets up before Jarka fought back to level only to lose the fifth 11/6.
In the second game the home side’s Harry Sawford raced into a two set lead against Arun Joy but a superb comeback from the Basildon man saw him take the next three 11/8 11/2 12/10.
Match three saw teenager James Elliott take on Basildon’s very experienced Les Hoey and he led 2-1 before going down 11/9 in a close deciding set. Basildon lead 2-1.
Harry Sawford met Szymon Jarka next and a two set lead for Jarka soon evaporated but a closely fought decider eventually fell 13/11 in his favour. 3-1 to the Basildon boys!
The fifth game was now all important for the Matchpoint side, to go 4-1 down would leave them a mountain to climb, and this match between Knaapen and Hoey, both unbeaten this season, was to prove a turning point. First set to Knaapen 11/7, second to Hoey 13/11, third set to Knaapen 11/6, fourth set to Hoey 11/5. Fifth and final set and it’s the teenager Knaapen who wins 11/8 to bring the overall score back to 3-2 to Basildon and ruin Hoey’s unbeaten record.
Elliott stepped up next to take on Arun Joy and although it was another five set match it must have been a quick one as Joy rushed through the first two sets 11/8 11/4, but the tables turned completely after that as Elliott won the next three sets 11/5 11/6 11/5. Joy’s unbeaten record falls and the match now level at 3-3.
The next two games didn’t go to five sets as Hoey defeated Sawford in four but Elliott then restored the equilibrium beating Jarka in three sets and leaving the match score at 4-4. The crucial last and deciding game saw the still unbeaten Knaapen take on Joy, both sides with everything to play for.
Like all the other five set games before, this one swung back and forth as Knaapen won the first two sets 11/4 12/10 only to see Joy fight back winning the next two 11/8 11/8 to level the match. The fifth and final set couldn’t have been closer but in the end game set and match went to Knaapen 13/11.
A fitting end to an exceptional match played in very good spirit and congratulations Matchpoint A – still top of the league!
Division 3 Reports from Dave Woolmer
Week 8 Report
Firstly, a result carried over from Week 7. The young Hockley ‘F’ side took on a (much) older and more experienced Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ team. The evening started well for Hockley when Kris Chankov got the better of Edward Philcox after the closest of games, Kris eventually winning 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the home side with Rawreth eventually running out 8/1 winners with the further loss of only two sets. Jan Thorpe took the POTM honours with Graham Back also unbeaten.
The first three matches played in Week 8 were all close affairs.
Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ were a player short for their trip up the A13 to take on Stanford ‘C’. Despite this, they made a fight of it, with two wins apiece for Mike Webb and Ro Brett, although neither were able to get the better of Stanford skipper, Mark Farley. With Mandy Till and Karen Kempster unable to add any points, the home team were 5/4 winners.
Alex Bowden continued his impressive run with another unbeaten performance as his Matchpoint ‘C’ side travelled to the home of the league leaders, Invicta ‘C’, and came away with a 5/4 victory. His ‘perfect’ hat-trick was backed up with two wins from Roger Sherman. Indeed, Roger was close to recording a maximum himself. In his game against Trisha Winter, he led by two sets before Trisha rallied and got home 9-11, 5-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9. The Invicta points came from Trisha with two wins with Brendan Raja and Keith Baxter adding a win apiece.
There was a first hat-trick of the season for Matchpoint ‘D’s Blake Stewart in his teams 5/4 win over Hadleigh Forum ‘D’. Teammate Oliver Milchard gave good support with a couple of wins; indeed, it was his 5-set win over Forum’s Jean Catley in the final game of the match that confirmed the win for his team. Todd Barker was Forum’s best player on the night with two wins. Jean and Sineh Ball both with a single win.
It was a tough night for a young Evolve team when they took on Hockley ‘E’. Although Ben Berwick took Graham Gregory to a deciding set, they were only able to win one more set as Hockley ran out 9/0 winners. Keith Denyer took the POTM honours with teammates Graham and Gary Beck also undefeated. 11-year-old Archie Wakerly played his first match for Evolve and will certainly learn and improve as the season progresses.
It was an equally tough night for the junior players of Hockley ‘F’ when they hosted Stanford ‘F’. Vaughan Chambers, Andrew Jessop and David Arnett showing their greater experience in a 9/0 victory. There were though encouraging signs for the future as Elliot Brackenbury forced Andrew into a fifth set and William Evesham pushed David all the way before eventually going down 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11. No scares for Vaughan as he took the POTM with a straight sets maximum.
Week 7 Report
It was a busy week for Stanford ‘D’ who, in addition to their scheduled fixture against Invicta ‘C’, also played a rearranged match against Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’.
In the first, they were up against the league leaders and emerged with a convincing 8-1 victory. Martin Winter was the POTM with a straight sets maximum. Tony Papasifakis was also unbeaten, and Andrew Jessop weighed in with two wins. Keith Baxter was the single point winner for Invicta, a hard earned, 5 set win over Andrew.
Their second match of the week saw them record a similarly emphatic 8-1 win over Rawreth Meggazone. They fielded a completely different team for this match, but the outcome was the same. Skipper Peter Moxham and Andrew Jessop were both unbeaten on the night and, with Vaughan Chambers adding two wins, Stanford have closed the gap with Invicta ‘C’ at the top of the table. Graham Back was the only winner on the night for Rawreth Meggazone.
A seventh maximum of the season for Trevor Hayes was not enough to prevent his Canvey ‘C’ side from slipping to 5-4 defeat at the hands of Hockley ‘E’. It was a good team performance from Hockley with Ron Rogerson and Gary Beck each recording two wins with John George adding another point. Stepen Parker won the extra point for Canvey, but it was another blank night for Ruben Teixiera.
To end the week, there were convincing 8/1 wins for Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ and Evolve over Stanford ‘C’ and Matchpoint ‘D’ respectively.
Douglas Brown and POM Todd Barker were both unbeaten for Forum and, with skipper Jean Catley adding a brace, they saw off the challenge of Stanford, for whom James Parker scored the only point. James can consider himself rather unfortunate though as he suffered fifth set defeats in his other two games.
A very young Evolve side, containing two 11-year-olds, put together a strong performance as they overcame Matchpoint ‘D’. Aaron Price and Ben Berwick recorded hat-tricks and Novanidhi Sriman Narayanan, in his first league match, picked up two wins. Jeff Gritzman prevented the whitewash by defeating Nova in the final game of the match.
