News & Views from the Colchester Table Tennis League
with Press Officer Martyn Green

27th October-2009
BUTTON SEWS UP FINE MAXIMUM (Fred, not Jenson that is!!!)

Fred Button turned in the individual performance of the season so far in completing a superlative hat-trick of wins against second placed Gt Horkesley A in the Colchester and District Table Tennis League Division One. Prior to their match against H20 Rowhedge C, Horkesley had only dropped five points in five matches, but Button’s sterling effort saw them lose their one hundred percent record in a 5-5 draw. Button opened the proceedings with a five set win over Richard Goodhand backed up by a similar result from team-mate Phil Smith against Colin Bennett. The Super-Veteran who reached all three ‘Vets’ finals last season, then went on to win his remaining two games, both in three straight sets as his team fight to avoid relegation. Walton A were the other team to draw with H20 Rowhedge C with no player unbeaten. Button was joined by another senior club member, John Stubbings, along with Walton’s John Rice and even more senior Colin Dearman all winning two! Dearman went one better against his ‘C’ team in an 8-2 win despite a fine solo performance from Mark Gale, who won two. Meanwhile table toppers H20 Rowhedge A continue their march to retain their Division One title with a flawless 10-0 victory over a two-man Walton A, albeit Clacton Men’s and Veteran’s champions Colin Stallwood and Martin Hogg. After a shaky start Michael Andrews came back from two sets down to beat Stallwood 1, 7 and 2 in the last three ends! Steve Joslin and Antony Greenwood were also unbeaten. Gary Young and Greg Green have dropped just one game each and once again the pair were undefeated, although in failing to play doubles together, St Mary’s dropped what could be a vital point to Gt Horkesley B in an 8-2 win.

Result of the week in Division Two must be Clairmont’s 6-4 win at Lawford B thanks mainly to Paul Tracey’s triple as his team won all five games that went the full five set distance. Paul Hewitt weighed in with two and the pair teamed-up to take the match winning doubles, a result that lifts them off the bottom. Lawford did enjoy some success however, in a reverse of the Clairmont scoreline against St Peters . John Seabrook won three, clinching the win 11-9 in the fifth end against Roger Warren, who was previously unbeaten on the night. H20 Rowhedge D continue their assault on the top teams with a 7-3 win over third placed Gt Horkesley C that moves them up to fifth. Despite Wudong Liu’s maximum, messrs Kirkland , Simmonds and Price all won two, to secure their third win. Pegasus A and H20 Rowhedge I fought out a 5-5 draw, Alan Burgess returning to maximum form for Rowhedge with Pegasus’s Steve Noble winning two, apparently very unlucky to lose to Burgess 10-12, 10-12,10-12!

In Division Three leaders Walton E hammered bottom team H20 Rowhedge E 10-0 with Ferdy Rodriguez, Mark Salter and Ian Fielder all winning their three, despite Colin Powell playing up for Rowhedge. Tollesbury A move back to second with a 7-3 win over Gt Horkesley D with Phil Wolski winning the three for the losers as he did in identical defeat to H20 Rowhedge F. Tollesbury also beat their ‘B’ team 8-2 thanks to a maximum from Paul Freeman. John Moore picked up two for the second string. Nigel Claydon won three in the battle of Rowhedge as his ‘F’ team beat the ‘E’ team 6-4 to move up three places to third.

University of Essex are up to second in Division Four following a big 10-0 win over Lawford D.