Three Way Tie At The Top Of Division One

The race for the Division One title is as close as ever with the top three sides all level on 21 points each. Only one of the top three played this week and DTH Redlands Fluffy Toys made the most of the fact that their nearest rivals and club colleagues The Rookies match was postponed and Worksop Miners Welfare 'A' had a blank week by beating Stanley Street 'A' 9-1. There were hat tricks for both Steve Walker and Peter Cowburn whilst Steve Johnson enjoyed wins over both Peter Eyre and Alex Millward but lost to the improving Jack Kirkland who was the only Street player to manage to win a singles game on the night and he was unlucky not to make it two wins losing in 5 sets to Cowburn. Cowburn and Johnson then took the doubles in a 5 set thriller against Millward and Eyre to complete the scoring. The win puts the Fluffy Toys on top of Division One but only by virtue of scoring more sets than their rivals but they have played a game more.
Keeping in touch with the top three are Manton Nomads who have almost slipped under the radar in terms of challenging for the title being only two points behind the top three and if they can play their strongest team week in week out then they may just upset some of the other teams battling it out at the top. Their latest win came away at DTH Redlands Monsters who are improving all the time under the guidance of their coach Howard Knott and in fairness they could have snatched a draw. For the Nomads Chris Cattell continued his good form with yet another hat trick with Ian Henderson and Kartik Lakhani adding a win each over the same opponent in Martynas Riauba. Cattell and Henderson then teamed up to take the doubles in straight sets against Valentinas and Orestas Riauba to clinch a narrow 6-4 victory. Valentinas and Orestas Riauba both enjoyed wins over Henderson and Lakhani in the singles but it wasn't quite enough to snatch a draw.
At the other end of the table Sparken Hill Starlings gave themselves a boost in their battle to avoid relegation as they beat bottom side Worksop Welfare Snipers 'A' and in doing so dragged themselves out of the bottom two places by leapfrogging Manton Misfits. For the Starlings both Andy Lee and Helmuth Osborne registered comfortable hat tricks over Erlands Skels, Pete Hodgson and Jim Westwood which set them up for a much needed 8-2 victory. Ivan Guilliatt couldn't match his team mates losing to both Westwood and Skels before notching up his only win of the night against Hodgson. The doubles also went the Starlings way as Lee and Osborne beat Hodgson and Skels in straight sets.
In Division Three Worksop Owls managed to register their second league win of the season coming out on top 6-4 in a tight affair against Sparken Hill Hawks. Louis Spray was the Man Of The Match as he won all his three singles games which was the backbone of the Owls victory. Spray was well supported by Finlay Coburn who added vital wins against Sam McFarland and Scott Lee before losing out to Justin Flear. Jasper Turner then joined Spray in the doubles to beat McFarland and Lee in straight sets to complete the scoring. Despite the loss the Hawks put in a real team effort with all three players contributing with Flear winning 2, McFarland 1 and Lee 1.
Worksop Welfare Cypriots 'B' continued their push for promotion with a 9-1 win over DTH Redlands Tarr Babies which included hat tricks for both Neil Fisher and Graham Stent and a double for Dean Marsh. Adam Pinches endured that the Tarr Babies avoided a whitewash by beating Marsh coming back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in what was a close game from start to finish. Fisher and Stent took the doubles against Rizzo and Rosser.
Other Division Three Result: Real North Notts 'B' 1 Sparken Hill Falcons 9
Division Two Results: DTH Redlands Joggers 9 DTH Redlands Rookies 1, Manton Sports 6 Worksop Welfare Snipers 'C' 4, Real North Notts 'A' 1 Sparken Hill Eagles 9, Manton Tigers 5 Worksop Welfare Snipers 'B' 5