Double Trouble For Toys Who Are Stuffed Twice In A Week

Having only lost two league games in the last two and a half seasons DTH Redlands Fluffy Toys can be forgiven for being a little shell shocked this week after suffering two defeats in little over a week!
There first loss was surprisingly at the hands of mid table Manton Nomads who after gaining promotion from Division Two last season and after recruiting some new players have adapted well to life in the top division. The Nomads victory was even more surprising as they came from 4-1 down to hit back to win 6-4 with a real team effort and all three players made telling contributions with both Ian Henderson and Sarah Short securing two wins each as Henderson beat both Steve Walker and Lea Dickinson whilst Short managed to defeat Steve Johnson and Dickinson. Kartik Lakhani chipped in with a solo effort also defeating Dickinson and then stepped aside to allow Henderson and Short to team up to defeat Walker and Johnson in the deciding set to secure the doubles.
The loss to Manton Nomads was bad enough but then their defeat to their title rivals DTH Redlands Roosters a week later left their chances of retaining their Division One title that they've won for the last 6 seasons in tatters. For the Roosters Tom McIntosh was again the man in form winning all his three games yet again to maintain his 100% record which now reads played 33, won 33. McIntosh can't do it all on his own though and he was well backed up by Rick Harris who beat both Steve Johnson and Mick Brooks but slipped to a straight sets defeat to Lea Dickinson. Steve Fox also contributed for the Roosters beating Brooks in a 5 set ding dong of a match which ebbed and flowed throughout before Fox won the deciding 5th set by the closest of margins 11-9 and then he went on to defeat Johnson and Dickinson in the doubles with McIntosh, again in a 5 set match and again winning 11-9 in the decider which all meant that the Roosters won 7-3 putting them 11 points clear of the Toys at the top of the division.
Manton Nomads continued their good form and after beating the 2nd placed team in Division One DTH Redlands Fluffy Toys they then went on to beat the 3rd placed team in Manton Misfits although the Misfits had to play a player up from Division Two to field a full side. Sarah Short was the Player Of The Mach remaining unbeaten in her singles matches defeating Kerry Harvey, Malcolm Manuel and James Weston with her match against Harvey being the game of the night. Kartik Lakhani also had good wins for the Nomads over Manuel and Weston and when Vaughan also beat Weston they had the 6 sets they needed for victory. Weston and Harvey then beat Short and Vaughan in the doubles to complete the scoring.
Ryton Park Eagles who are scrapping for their lives at the bottom of the division nearly pulled off a much needed victory away at Stanley Street 'A' who sit just above them in the league. Helmuth Osborne was the player in form as he beat all three Stanley Street players , he had little trouble brushing aside Matthew Williams but then had to go to a deciding set against both Alex Millward and Peter Eyre to secure his hat trick of wins. Both Alex Olliffe and Brian Allen also beat Williams to secure a share of the spoils for the Eagles but neither player could defeat either Millward or Eyre who both won 2 games each for Street 'A' with Millward and Eyre teaming up to secure the doubles set against Osborne and Allen.
Bottom side Ryton Park Adders continued their miserable run of form losing 10-0 to Worksop Miners Welfare 'A' and now haven't managed to register a league win so far this season with 10 defeats and 2 draws to their name. There were hat tricks all round for the Welfare trio of Stuart Element, Richard Element and Phil Walton who defeated an Adders side that contained Harry Tomlinson, Andy Lee and Ivan Guilliatt but with 4 of the 5 matches going to a decider it was a little closer than the scoreline suggests.
Division Two Results: DTH Redlands Monsters 7 Worksop Miners Welfare 'B' 3, Stanley Street Cypriots 4 Manton Sports 6, DTH Redlands Joggers 7 Stanley Street 'B' 3, Manton Tigers 4 DTH Redlands X-Youth 6
Division Three Results: DTH Redlands Rookies 10 Stanley Street 'E' 0, Ryton Park Falcons 5 DTH Redlands Tarr Babies 5, DTH Redlands Liver Birds 1 Ryton Park Cougars 9, DTH Redlands Tarr Babies 0 DTH Redlands Rookies 10