Southend & District Table Tennis League
Winter League 2013-14 Season
Week 30 - Commencing 14th April 2014
Premier Division
With just a few games of the premier division season due to be completed, the position at the top is quite clear. Rawreth A will need a 7-2 or 8-1 win over Runnymede A if they are to draw level with or overtake Thorpe Bay A. This game will decide if the title will go to Rawreth A or Thorpe Bay A and was set up by Rawreth A’s 7-2 victory this week over Lentern A. Charlie Bates of Lentern A proving the thorn in Rawreth’s title challenge by playing really well and registering two good wins over Ben Warner and Charles Sweeney.
We can finally announce the winners of this years Premier Division and it could not have been closer. In one of the tightest finishes in recent memory Rawreth A needed a 7-2 win over Runnymede A to take the title. They did win but only 6-3 to leave them agonisingly 1 point behind our Champions THORPE BAY A. Congratulations to Thorpe Bay A and all their players and a big thanks to all players in the division for making it such a great season. See you all in September.
Duncan Taylor, Divisional Results Secretary, Premier Division
Division 1
Waiting for the Report
Andy Seabrook, Divisional Results Secretary, 1st Division
Division 2
The final round of matches in the last week of Division 2 saw the last outstanding issue resolved. Hullbridge E were unable to amass sufficient points at home to Rawreth D to lift themselves off the bottom of the table, so therefore take the wooden spoon. A hat trick from Jan Thorpe and two for Adam Hill were sufficient to give Rawreth a 5 – 4 win.
However, Castle Point C share the bottom place with Hullbridge E, having ended up with an identical record. There is absolutely no difference in the two teams’ results, but Castle Point C avoid last place solely on the alphabetical name they have chosen! Their last game of the season was away to the youngsters of Hullbridge F. Another excellent maximum from Dan Payne and one each from Emily Smith and Zoe Davies made it a 5 – 4 home win. Richard Riebold and Colin Smith tried their best for Castle, winning two each.
Despite being thumped by champions Invicta A 9 – 0, Hullbridge D soared above these bottom teams by the huge margin of one point, thanks to earlier results.
Second-place Hockley B finished off their season with a 6 – 3 win away to Castle Point B. That man Tony Vassallo was again undefeated and Keith Abbott won two. Paul Thompson was Castle’s best player, winning two games.
In a close fought match, Canvey C overcame Basildon Hospital 5 – 4. Peter Cray again had an unbeaten night, whilst Kieran Wood won two for the Basildon visitors.
Elsewhere, mid-table matches between Runnymede B and Hockley C, and RESSC and Warehouse C, both ended up 6 – 3. Runnymede overcame Hockley, thanks to maximums from Phil Digby and Dmitry Kisil. Warehouse were too strong for RESSC with Darren Launder recording a hat trick and Gordon Child winning two, Ron Coutts won two of RESSC’s points.
David Barnes, Divisional Results Secretary, 2nd Division
Division 3
With just an odd few results left to be submitted, the top places have been decided.
Wakering’s final game against Hockley F saw them record a 7-2 win and an unbeaten season. Cliff Noakes with three, was ably supported by Jenny Butler and Dave Accleton with two apiece. Jon Knight from Hockley put up some resistance scoring the two points, but the win by Wakering gave them a 24 point cushion over second place where they have been top of the table since week 6.
Warehouse D recorded their third 9-0 result in a row and this strong finish to the season has seen them gain runner-up spot by the closest of margins over Invicta B. With points and games equal, it came down to games won, which Warehouse had one extra win. Steve Bottom, Chi Cheung and Phil Mardle won the points for Warehouse.
Invicta B won 5-4 against Rawreth Juniors A, but just fell short by one game for the runner-up spot, which they have occupied since Week 7. Two each from Mike Keeble and John Golding and one from Sam Verrinder game them the win, but an unbeaten hat-trick from Justin Jeffery stopped them in their tracks. Jack Himpfen-Jones added the extra point for the Juniors which may have stopped Invicta from gaining the second place spot and ensured fourth place.
Hockley D won their final match with Hullbridge G 7-2, thanks to maximums from Stuart Adshead and Matt Stringer. Adam Jackman and David Zeffie scored one each for the Hullbridge team.
Barrie Delf, Divisional Results Secretary, 3rd Division
