Oldham Table Tennis League Report for Week 22 - W/c 6th March 2017
Division 1
The main issue in Division 1 was the relegation battle with the 3 protagonists being Uppermill A, Unison A and Rosehill. Uppermill struck first blood when defeating a below strength Coldhurst A, who were struggling with injuries, by a 7-3 scoreline. All the Uppermill team of Gary Crossley, Dave Grundy and Mark Simpson all won 2 whilst Simon King’s treble for Coldhurst was in vain. This meant that the Unison team required 4 points from their match against Honeywell B to ensure safety which they duly gained in going down 6-4. Dave Cheetham trebled for Honeywell whilst Brian Hallsworth completed a double for Unison who also have a game in hand.
The other relegation contenders were Rosehill who required a draw against Saddleworth A to ensure survival but unfortunately went down to a 7-3 defeat with all the Saddleworth team winning 2 matches and all the Rosehill team winning one.
Division 2
While the issue in Division 1 was with relegation more naturally it is with promotion in Division 2 with 3 teams vying for the 2 guaranteed promotion places. Honeywell C are guaranteed promotion after their 9-1 win away to Stanley Square with Lucasz Maciejewski and Tommy Ryan scoring trebles and Pete Fowler assisting with a double. Glen Dowse gaining Stanley’s consolation.
Unison B had the chance to confirm promotion but were surprisingly held to a 5-5 draw by mid table Hyde YMCA B. The main thorn in their side was the mercurial Steve Hilton who scored a maximum for Hyde whilst Jacob Reilly-Cooper and, new Oldham junior champion, Sophie Newton scored 2 each for Unison.
This means that Hollinwood B, who won 8-2 against Grotton A, need a similar result against their B team to ensure promotion or a 10-0 win to finish top of the division.
Division 3
In Division 3 the promotion and relegation issues were basically already settled with the celebrated Deaf A team winning the title and the young Unison D team finishing runners up. Deaf B and Pollards A finished in the bottom 2 but with a reorganisation of the divisions highly likely next year, they will probably keep their Division 3 status.
A mention has to go to Adam Rowbotham of Honeywell F who won all 50 of his matches this year only being taken to 5 sets on 1 occasion by Liaquat Ali of Deaf A in the first game of the season.
Division 4
Uppermill C have already won the title in Division 4 but there is still a massive game to decide who will finish runners up as there are still outstanding games 3rd placed Hollinwood F and the 4th and 5th placed Unison E and Hollinwood E teams. This week the Unison E team had a good 8-2 win away at Thornham, with Jacob Sharp and Mike O’Gara scoring maximums. The Hollinwood E team was held to a 5-5 draw by Owls B who had Ged Lennox to thank for scoring a treble. Barry Collier and Lauren Brassington score 2 each for Hollinwood.
Division 5
The title and runners-up places are still very much up for grabs in this division with top spot currently held by Unison F who have 5 points in hand of 2nd placed Denshaw A and 10 in hand of 3rd placed Hollinwood G. However, Denshaw have a game in hand and the Hollinwood team have 2 games in hand. The crucial match will be the outstanding fixture between the 2nd and 3rd placed teams.
This week Denshaw A beat Pollards B by a 9-1 scoreline with Gary Kershaw and Dave Renton scoring maximums Hollinwood G had 2 wins against Tame Valley, they will have been pleased with winning the away fixture 8-2 but possibly surprised at only winning 6-4 at home. Fraser Dallas scoring an excellent treble for Tame Valley in the latter match.
