SDTTL 2016/17
Week 9 Results
Third place Thorpe Bay A went down 5-4 to a strong Rayleigh Mill side for whom Minda Sinkus was in great form as he recorded three victories over Paul Sayer, Paul Whatton and John Poysden. It was Rayleigh Mill’s second game that I can report on this week as they also produced a fine performance as they overcame Stanford le Hope 6-3 with Peter Radford in particular outstanding form. The Stanford trio having no answer for him or Colin Chatfield but all picking up a win a piece.
There was also an intriguing battle at the other end of the table which saw Stanford le Hope record their first win of the season against Customs A. There were two wins each for Chris Hancox, Andy Paton and Ryan Sutcliffe with Roy Thomas remaining unbeaten for the losing side.
There was a small consolation for Warehouse A as they went down 8-1 to Lentern A led by player of the match Terry Guymer in that they were beaten so quickly they could be in the bar enjoying a consolation pint by 10 o'clock. And finally this week a good team effort from Hadleigh Forum A saw them victorious over Hockley A. Dave Bassett, Neal Barker and John Tendler all winning two with one win a piece, each against a different opponent, from the Hockley trio of Matthew Nariel, Matthew Stringer and Dave Colwill.
Duncan Taylor, Prem. Div DRS
• 1st Div
Hadleigh Forum B continue to lead the division and are looking good for promotion this year. Following their first loss last week, they bounced back with a 9-0 win over Hadleigh Forum C. The winning team of Gus Heath, Mick Tappenden and Tony Jacks inflicted the C team’s heaviest loss this season and set out their intentions for the rest of the league. This has opened up a comfortable 16 point margin however, chasing teams do have a game in hand. Graham Farmer and Mark Everard did take 3 of the matches to 5 sets but the B team were too strong and looks like joining their A team in the Premier next year if they can match the second half of the season with that of the first.
Canvey A meanwhile are chasing hard in second spot and scored a good 6-3 win over Warehouse B with Phil Puckey scoring a hat trick over his old team mates from two seasons ago for Canvey. With Ray Wilson adding two and Terry Giddens with one it was a good all round team performance for Canvey. James Marshall continued his impressive comeback with two points for the Warehouse team.
Third placed Lentern C were without a game this week. The next 9 teams are all closely in the chase with only 7 points separating 4th from 12th.
Invicta A lead the pack despite going down 5-4 to Hockley B, picking up some much needed points towards the bottom of the pack. In a match where everyone contributed at least a game, Dave Colwill for Hockley was the stand out player taking all 3 games while only dropping two sets. Neil Daines was the pick of the Invicta team only losing out to Dave.
Hullbridge C’s up and down season continued this week with a 5-4 loss to Lentern B. Bill Smith and Andy Seaman with two apiece were not enough to secure the points and game with John Lott taking all three for Lentern and playing very well this season since returning from injury.
In contrast, Hullbridge D won their 4th game on a trot by 5-4, this time taking it against their counterparts from Lentern D. Matt Rolfe continued to impress with three points and has a 75% average for this year. The future also looks bright with Adam Jackman playing up from the E team after some impressive Man-of-the-match displays and two good wins over experienced players Peter Pond and Dave Kirston to give the Hullbridge side their victory. Sue Body managed to stop Adam in his tracks and overall added two for the Lentern team.
Rawreth C continue to quietly progress up the table this time proving far too strong for bottom club Castle Point B and running out 8-1 winners. Trevor Ward and Chris Nunn (in his first game this year) won three each for the Rawreth side, with Colin Clements adding two. Mick Grout scored the consolation for the Castle point team outfoxing Colin to gain the sole point in what was a one-sided battle.
Barry Delf, Div. 1 DRS
• 2nd Div. In a match between two teams near the top of the division, Canvey B entertained Hockey C this week. A sparkling performance from experienced home player Talbot Wiseman, winning all his games, gave Canvey a 7 – 2 win. Hockley’s Joe Lock came close in a couple of his games, winning one of their two, whilst Stuart Adshead got the other.
The youngsters of Hullbridge E travelled to Rawreth D and also recorded a 7 – 2 win. Adam Jackman again starred for them with a maximum and Reece Harris-Griffiths and Dan Zeffie each won two. Andy Nunn did well too, recording two wins for Rawreth.
Hat tricks from veteran Stan Dyson and Ron Coutts lead to another 7 – 2 win for RESSC at home to Invicta B. David Barnes and Barrie Murphy managed one win each for the visitors.
Wakering’s match at home to Basildon Hospital was unfortunately postponed.
David Barnes, Div. 2 DRS
This win does not decide anything for Hockley though,as the only unbeaten team in the division Stanford Le Hope, remained hot on their heels with an equally comprehensive win 9-0 against Customs B. Adrian Armstrong led the way with a perfect hat trick backed up by John Handscombe and Dan Harris.
Hullbridge G made their appearance in the top three for the first time this season after another 9-0 victory this time against the luckless Rochford team. They could only field two players and Hullbridge took full advantage allowing young Ellena Hart to step up from the H team and record her first maximum.
Whilst on the subject of one sided games Hockley E ran out 8-1 winners against their F team but there were some close encounters within that. Harry Sawford got the consolation point with a hard fought 5 set win against Andrew Strutt and late stand- in Claire Stringer held a 2-0 lead against Sean Miller and was within two points of winning in the fourth set but lost 14-12 and then 11-4 in the fifth. In fact it was a good night for Sean who recorded a hat trick on his first appearance this season. The quiet and retiring Laurie Witte made up the winning team.
Hullbridge also had two of their teams in action against each other but it was experience that won the day as the F team ran out 7-2 winners against the H team. Sue Reece and Ann Lane both weighed in with hat tricks with Paul Malone chipping in with one. Harrison Sadler and Ellena Hart got one each for the H team with Ellenadoing particularly well against Paul. Having lost the first two sets she won the crucial third 11-9 and then ran out a comparatively easy winner 11-4 11-5.
Warehouse D maintained their push for promotion but it was a close run thing against Invicta C. Having raced into a 3-1 lead Warehouse were pulled back to 3-3 but a crucial five set win by Conrad Gomes over Jon Gould, coming back from 2-1 down to win 12-10 in the fifth swung it in their favour, before Dave Walton clinched victory with a straight sets win over Keith Baxter. Dave finished with a maximum backed up by one each from Conrad and Phil Mardle whilst John Golding and Keith shared the points for Invicta. Warehouse stay 4th in the table and Invicta 8th.
Closest match of the week was Rawreth F against Warehouse E with Warehouse picking up their first win of the season 5-4 and all decided on the last match of the evening. Having raced into a 4-1 lead it was looking easy for the Warehousemen but Rawreth fought back with young George Davis winning a five set match against Larry Lisner coming back from 2-1 down to win 11-9 in the fifth. Ryan Williams completed his hat trick to make it 4-4 and then another five set match saw Edward Philcox also come back from 2-1 down to win 11-8 and clinch the match for Warehouse. Lindsey Carroll and Edward got a brace each with one from Larry Lisner.
Team of the Week – Warehouse E
Player of the Week – Sean Miller
