PEEL A CREEP ONE POINT AHEAD IN DIVISION TWO, BUT FOR HOW LONG?
Week 13 of the Fun-88 sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis Association league proved to be unlucky for some at the NSC last week. None more so than in the battle between two Island U’18 representatives where Arbory B’s Amit Lanin lost 5/11, 8/11, 11/3, 11/9, 10/12 to Travellers B’s Will Shooter.

Travellers A had their lead in Division One eroded by two points as second-placed Ramsey A took full advantage of playing bottom placed Tower B. In Division Two, Peel A crept one point ahead of Travellers C but, at the foot of the table, Ramsey C are now 31 points adrift. The top of the table clash in Division Three resulted in only the third defeat of the season for second-placed Travellers E.

DIVISION ONE
Travellers A (7), Arbory A (2)
Sonja Shaw and Arbory’s play-up player Mike Levine had no joy against the league leaders, but Jason Quirk did well to purloin their points against Liam Chan and Malcolm Cummings. Scott Lewis maintained his unbeaten run, not dropping a set against the third-placed side.

Tower B (0), Ramsey A (9)
It was an early night for these two teams. Neither Dario Mazzotta nor Sam Sen won a set, although Steve Curtis delayed Duncan Alexander and Chris Holmes by making it to the fourth. British League player Becky Taylor was peerless, winning all her matches in three swift sets.

Arbory B (2), Travellers B (7)
John Shooter and his son Will were hattrick heroes for fourth-placed Travellers B.  Arbory B edged away from the drop zone with both Amit Lanin and Dan Levine defeating MYG coordinator Malc Lewis who then focused on encouraging future star, young Liav Lanin playing up for Arbory.

Tower A (3), Strathallan (6)
KEB golf professional Andy Patterson stymied seventh-placed Tower’s Ken Mitchell (1), Mike Bayley (2) and luckless Simon Radcliffe who had been borrowed from their B team. Wayne Taylor added a further two points for fifth-placed Strathy and Andrew Horne chipped in another.

DIVISION TWO
Ramsey B (2), Peel A (7)
Wael Kassim’s late withdrawal left the home side a player short. Lisa Lord, who was playing up, took a set off Ken Hegarty but Ramsey’s points came from fine wins by Adrian Slater who bemused both Hegarty and John Taylor-Burt, but Stu Perry smashed past Slater’s scary spin.

Arbory D (3), Travellers C (6)
Keeran Chan top-spun his way to a hattrick for Travellers. Paul Mathieson-Nelson survived a tight tussle with JP Banaag only to lose 10/12 in five to archrival Malcolm Lambert. Both Banaag and Lambert beat David Buck who consigned young Liav Lanin to an energetic, pointless night.

JRTE Marketing A (7), Desmonds Douglas A  2

Emphatic hattricks from Brian Crellin and Darren Smethurst left third-placed Russell Kent and Neil Ronan with a consolation point apiece. This was gained from Paul Mitchinson who clung on to take fifth-placed JRTE’s other point with a last gasp, 11/9 final set, victory over Richard Hill.

Ramsey C (1), Arbory C (8) 
Darren Shaw and Geoff Burchill both drew a blank, but Keith Herrington’s baffling long pips flummoxed Rob Wright and so earned a solitary point for bottom placed Ramsey C. Dave Bufton and Kevin Drewry helped move Arbory C away from relegation worries with three points apiece.

DIVISION THREE
Travellers D (3), Travellers E (2)
Despite conceding over 100 years, Maurice Campbell and Mike Chapman won the doubles in straight sets to secure victory against their second-placed club-mates. Campbell was undefeated but Chapman ran out of puff against the youngsters Henry Weaver and Eban Moore.

Ramsey E (3), Travellers F (2)
Fourth-placed Ramsey’s Saul Tumblety beat Sydnie Weaver in straight sets and then Rhys Bufton in a fantastic five-setter 8/11, 11/9, 16/14, 10/12, 11/8. Third-placed Travellers took the doubles and then Weaver won her match against Teddy Clayton who had earlier beaten Bufton.

Thomas Taylor-Burt was taken to a fourth set by the evergreen Pat Halliwell, but she and team-mate Tony Sewell made no further headway against the ever-improving youngsters Taylor-Burt and Max Doyle representing sixth-placed Travellers G.

Next week there are three club derby matches: Arbory A take on Arbory B in Division One, while their C and D teams meet in Division Two. Simultaneously, Travellers F entertain their G team in Division Three.  However, the two fixtures that will probably evoke the most outside interest will be the top of the league clash between Travellers A and Ramsey A in Division One, plus the intriguing Division Two match involving leaders Peel A who face a revitalized JRTE Marketing A team featuring former Division One stars Crellin and Smethurst.

Fridays are practice nights at the NSC and all comers are welcome between 7-9pm. The cost is £5 per adult and £3 for juniors. 

Image: Ramsey B’s Adrian Slater who took the scalp of league champion Jon Taylor-Burt this week.

MALCOLM LAMBERT