SDTTL - 2017/8 Week 20
- Premier Division
Hullbridge A and Thorpe Bay A have been in formidable form since the turn of the year as this week they both recorded their third 9-0 win of 2018. This time the unlucky opponents were Stanford le hope and Warehouse A respectively. With only two points separating these two sides, if they maintain this form we are in for another exciting finish to our season in the premier division.
Close on the top two’s heels are Rawreth A who themselves have only dropped two points this year, both coming this week in a 7-2 win over Hadleigh Forum A, Neal Barker and Hamish Innes with very good wins over George Reeves.
Elsewhere Hockley juniors’ Matt Stringer recorded a hattrick and Harry Small 2 wins, to help ease their relegation worries. Tim Pang added 1 win leading to an important 6-3 win over Hadleigh Forum B. For the Forum Ben Matthews was unlucky as all his games went to 5 ends but he was only able to convert that into 1 win.
Duncan Taylor got revenge this week on his early season defeat to Kieran Skeggs as he recorded three wins against Thorpe Bay B. Unfortunately for the Millers those three wins are all they had to show for the evening’s work as Skeggs, Liam Squirrel and Gurj Bhambra all won twice to ensure a 6-3 win for Thorpe Bay B.
The final two games of the week were close games. Firstly Rawreth B beat Brand Identity A 6-3 with Babul McLeod, Bruce Kettle and Eric Green all winning twice and an even closer affair as Hullbridge B beat Lentern A 5-4. Glenn Johnson was the man of the match with three wins against Charlie Bates, Norbert Fullerton and Ian Wall. The Youngs, Daniel and Gary also recorded a win apiece to ensure the close win for Hullbridge B.
Duncan Taylor DRS
- Division 1
Pressure may be telling at the top of the table as Hullbridge E lose their second match of 2018, but retain top spot by two points thanks to their previous margin. This week in the local Hullbridge derby, Hullbridge C returned to form and won 7-2 against the youngsters who have performed so well up to now. Lin Roff certainly returned with a bang, winning all three of her matches and leading from the front with Andy Seaman and Rod McLennan adding two each for the overall victory. There were good wins for Adam Jackman and Dan Zeffie to add the consolation points for Hullbridge with the C team moving up to 5th position.
Lentern B kept up the pressure and are now only two points behind the leaders after winning a close encounter with Canvey A, 5-4. Canvey had rising star, Harry Keys to thank for an unbeaten maximum, but with only one extra point from Ray Wilson, ended up on the losing side. A solid team performance led by John Lott and Mark Jupe with two points each and the final win for Martin Archie saw them take the win and gain valuable ground on the league leaders. Canvey slip to 6th in the table but are showing encouraging signs with Harry hitting some form.
Customs A elevated themselves into 3rd place with their 3rd win in a row, another close 5-4 win over Invicta A. Once again Roy Thomas scored all three for Customs, with Dave Morgan playing well for two wins to take the overall victory. Neil Daines top-scored for Invicta with two wins with one each for Tony Ayliffe and Steve Marr to leave them 5 points clear from the bottom and still in some trouble.
In the local Hockley Derby (B v C) it was the B team who came out on top with a 6-3 win. For the B team, Dave Colwill took top honours with three wins, backed up by Joe Locke with two and Craig Aukett with one win to seal the victory. There were good wins however for Alex Barnetson who won two for the C’s and one for David Chenery. Still not quite enough to lift the B team from bottom spot but are now only one point adrift of a close pack above them with Hockley C sitting comfortably in mid-table.
Rawreth C took a close game, 5-4 against Hadleigh Forum C to stop their run of three losses, whilst Hadleigh are scrapping for all their points at the moment to move away from the bottom of the table. Trevor Ward scored a maximum with support from Colin Clements and Gary McCarthy with one each. Mark Everard scored two for Hadleigh with one each for Charles Yenug and Graham Farmer in a match where everyone contributed to the final score.
Finally, there was an important game at the bottom between Brand Identity B and Lentern C. Brand unleashed their latest signing, long pips player David Gatheral, who had an immediate impact on the game earning the POTM award with Brand taking the game 6-3. Mike Grout also added three with David Jacob coming close with two games going to 5 ends, but ending up pointless on the night. The Lentern team of Pat White, Peter Lucraft and Peter Pond (thankfully returned from injury last week) were all able to win against David but could make no impression on the two stout defenders from Brand, Pat White coming closest being 2-1 up against David, only for him to storm back to take the match -8,9,-10,8,7.
Barrie Delf DRS
- Division 2.
Leaders RESSC kept up their good form in their home fixture when they entertained Canvey B. Hospitality was thin on the ground though, as they overcame their visitors 8 – 1. There were maximums from PoM Rob Skews and Mike Worship. Tony Westwell’s victory over Ron Coutts spared his side’s blushes.
Second place Rawreth D have started to experience serious problems fielding players. Regrettably, they were unable to put together a team for this week’s home match against Hockley D, so were forced to concede all nine points. It will be a big shame if this continues, however, it does open up possibilities for those teams around them.
One such team is Stanford Le Hope B, whose 7 – 2 win away at Canvey C moved them up the table. John Handscombe and a resurgent Adrian Armstrong were too strong for their hosts, each recording maximums. Andy Murray and Stuart Curham got one victory each for the home side.
Another team in the mix is Wakering, who overcame Basildon Hospital 7 – 2, thanks to a maximum from young Zac England. Adam Deadman and Stewart Mills chipped in with two wins each, whilst the ever-reliable Kevin Smart was responsible for both the Medic’s wins.
Towards the wrong end of the table, thanks to a Botond Mezo hat trick, Rawreth E overcame Invicta B 5 – 4. It could have been much worse for the home side, as Rawreth were leading 5 – 2. However, the last two matches went Invicta’s way. Andy Deadman got two wins as did Invicta’s David Barnes, whilst his team mates Barrie Murphy and Mike Keeble finished with one apiece.
David Barnes DRS
- Division 3
No doubt about the game of the week in Division 3 as leaders Hadleigh Forum were pushed all the way by Hockley E coming back from 4-3 down to win 5-4 the last game of the evening. Five games in all went the distance and no one player won all three games. Ron Rogerson was the surprise star of the evening for Hockley coming back from 2-1 down against Satwant to win and then beating the highly ranked David Thomas in four sets. The ever improving Gary Linzell also weighed in with a brace including an impressive five set win against Tony Mace but he couldn’t get the better of David Thomas losing in four. Dave Cross missed out for Hockley. Tony and David both got two for Hadleigh with Satwant providing the vital fifth coming back from 2-1 down against Ron to win the fifth 11/8.
Close behind that match was another 5-4 win with Hullbridge H picking up a win against high flyers Brand Identity C. Tony Molisso was the MOTM winning his three and Dave Booroff grabbed the other two. Richard Reibold got two for Brand with Andy Roff and Jenne Seibolt chipping in with a point each. Surprisingly only one game went to five sets with Tony edging out Richard 12/10 in the decider. That was Brand Identity’s third defeat in five games and sees them drop to fourth in the league.
The rest of the week’s matches turned out to be pretty one sided.
Hullbridge I ran out 9-0 winners against Rochford TTC James Buscombe, James Skelt and Josh Jones taking the honours but Joseph was MOTM not dropping a set all night. Oliver George, Travis Armstrong and Mike Richardson made up the Rochford team.
The Warehouse ‘derby’ between C and D resulted in a predictable 9-0 win for the C team of Jonathan Allen, Tamas Mezo and Simon Lisner. Only Jim Higgins and Edward Philcox managed a set for the D team. This was a sixth successive win for the C team which keeps them in second place albeit Canvey D are just four points behind them with a game in hand.
Invicta C provided another 9-0 win against Rawreth G Chris Gregory, Keith Baxter and Robert West not dropping a set all night against their young opponents.
Teammates Rawreth H did slightly better against Canvey D losing 7-2 with Alice Cole and Robert Bates both picking up wins against Tyler Fleming. Ray Baker and Gordon Johnstone made up the Canvey team.
Team of the Week – Hadleigh Forum D
Player of the Week – Tony Molisso
Paul Strutt DRS
