Morris Men And Tigers In Stalemate

All the matches in Division Two this weeks were all close encounters with the closest of them all being the game between DTH Redlands Morris Men and Manton Tigers. The man in form on the night was the Tigers Paul Allison who notched up yet another hat trick which proved to be key in the Tigers managing to scrape a 5-5 draw. Steve Beeston managed a solo win and then teamed up with Allison to take the doubles set to secure the draw. For the Morris Men both Ewan Pickersgill and Dilip Malka both secured wins over Beeston and Phil Hall with Kyle McIntosh completing the scoring for the Morris Men by beating Hall.
In another close match it went down to the last game of the night to separate club rivals DTH Redlands Geriatrics and DTH Redlands Red Bulls. For the Red Bulls Steve Johnson continued his good form by managing to win all of his three games which included the deciding set against Lea Dickinson which turned out to be a 5 set grueller to secure his team's victory. Johnson was yet again well supported by young Elvis fan Tom McIntosh who despite looking all shook up when he lost to Dickinson still went on to win two of his games. The Geriatrics trio of Dickinson, Mark Bloomer and Dennis Learad all beat Brian Hall before Dickinson and Learad paired up but lost out to Johnson and McIntosh in the doubles leaving the Red Bulls to run out 6-4 winners.
Perhaps the most impressive performance in Division Two this week came from young Jack Kirkland of Stanley Street 'B' who pulled of a superb hat trick against Manton Sports. Kirkland had straight sets wins over all the Sports team of John Lowde, Alan Wilson and Keith Smith. Kirkland's fine hat trick proved to be pivotal in the outcome of the match as Sports pushed Stanley Street all the way before going down 6-4. Ralph Rodda added two more wins for the Street 'B' team with Kirkland capping a fine performance when he teamed up with Matthew Williams to take the doubles sets. The scorers for Sports were Alan Wilson 2, Keith Smith 1 and Lowde 1.
The most important match this week was surely in Division Three as the top two sides clashed in what could prove to be the defining moment of where the Division Three title ends up. DTH Redlands sides Tarr Babies and X-Youth met in a match that ebbed and flowed throughout but it was the X-Youth side that just managed to keep their noses in front throughout and ran out 6-4 winners. Clive Eden with 3 and Matt Turner with 2 were the backbone of the X-Youth's win with Jeff reay this time missing out although he did team up with Turner to win an important doubles set. Matthew Mudd had a good night for the Tarr Babies winning two of his games with Antony Coupe and Lewis Comley managing a win each. The result now leaves X-Youth 8 points clear at the top and looking odds on title winners.
Other Division Three Result: Ryton Park Dragons 1DTH Redlands Cypriots 9.
Division One Results: Ryton Park Adders 1 MBE 9, Global Marble 5 DTH Redlands Outlaws 5.
The League's Annual Closed Championships sponsored by DTH Engineering took place last Sunday. This season saw larger than normal entries for the Championships with some fabulous table tennis being played from start to finish. Below are a of all the players that made their respective finals.
Open Singles Final
R.Wesley v C.Cattell
Open Doubles Final
R.Wesley & T.Wesley v P.Cowburn & A.Lee
Ladies Singles Final
K.Radford v A.Zygadlo
2nd Division Singles Final
P.Eyre v J.Kirkland
2nd Division Doubles Final
T.McIntosh & S.Johnson v A.Millward & P.Linfield
3rd Division Singles Final
C.Eden v M.Turner
3rd Division Doubles Final
J.Reay & M.Turner v L.Comley & D.Cutts
Junior Singles Final
P.Cowburn v S.Johnson
Cadet Singles Final
T.McIntosh v K.McIntosh
Boys U12's Final
T.McIntosh v L.Comley
Over 40's Singles
C.Cattell v J.Zygadlo
Over 50's Singles Final
J.Zygadlo v S.Lyon
Over 60's Singles Final
S.Lyon v D.Capewell
Handicap Singles Final
C.Eden v K.Radford
Draw Doubles Final
R.Wesley, T.Wesley, K.Bhatt and A.Millward
Draw To Me Made On Night Of Final
Plate Singles Final
D.Hodgkin v T.Emmerson