Walton D & Pegasus A Draw In 5-5 Thriller!
Division Two leaders of the Colchester & District Table Tennis League Division Two Walton A and third placed Pegasus A were involved in one of the best matches of the season that ended in a 5-5 draw. The result shows just how far Pegasus have come and had they have had Ian Whiteside playing would probably have won indeed been serious promotion rivals to Walton. No player was unbeaten as Pegasus pulled out a 5-2 lead. However, at 5-4 an unbeaten Steve Noble faced the experienced David Hall who had earlier lost in straight sets to an inspired Toby Turner. Noble led 1-0 and 2-1with nothing between the two players but Hall pulled the strings to win in five and secure the draw. This puts Walton fifteen points clear of Gt Horkesley C who have two games in hand. Fourth placed Lawford B beat Tollesbury A 8-2 with George Berry and Nick Galley both unbeaten, a result that all but relegates Tollesbury. H20 Rowhedge D edged past Walton E thanks once again to Alan Burgess’s tenacity but Terry May made life hard for him leading at one stage by two sets to one before going down in five ends.
H20 Rowhedge F move to second place in Division Three following a win and a defeat against Pegasus C and B. League President Mick Buckley won the two in a rare appearance for Rowhedge as his team lost 8-2. Paul Woolnough (3 wins) was the only man to beat him in a match of wildly fluctuating fortunes; 11-3, 0-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5! Rowhedge bounced back against Pegasus C with a convincing 8-2 reverse, with Colin Powell and Nigel Claydon unbeaten. Gt Horkesley D slipped up at Lawford C 6-4 with Mark Seymour undefeated although he was pushed all the way by Phil Wolski, winning 13-11 in the final set. H20 Rowhedge G did themselves the power of good narrowing the gap from eight to just two points in a relegation battle with the University of Essex as they won 8-2. Thomas Lewis starred winning three with Daryl Lott and Mark Burrows two apiece.
Division Four leaders Pegasus D won comfortably enough, 9-1 to bottom team Gt Horkesley F. Kevin Turner and Alistair Woodcock both won three but their lead was cut by one point as promotion rivals H20 Rowhedge H won 10-0. Jimin and Jane Li were joined by Oli Reynolds unbeaten. Pegasus E are holding on in third place, this week beating Lawford D 8-2 thanks to Paul Weston and Derek Miller. Lawford D are fourth in an interesting match that paired the youngest – CRGS and the oldest – Lawford teams in the league, with experience prevailing. Lawford’s combined age totalled some 231 years compared to the schools 51! For the record Ivan Jarred and Len Betts were unbeaten. Gt Horkesley C face another season in the division despite winning 8-2 against H20 Rowhedge I and 6-4 versus Lawford E. Denise Thompson made it three straight matches without defeat as her form has flourished since Christmas.
Gt Horkesley A takeover at the top of Division One with an impressive 9-1 win over a strong Walton team on paper. Colin Dearman was the seasider’s sole victor beating Ladies champion Aimee Sparkes. H20 Rowhedge B included Dave Cole in their line-up against their ‘C’ team and he duly won his three. Not surprisingly they won 10-0 against a weakened ‘C’ team that moves them to within four points of their ‘A’ team, in fourth place. Tollgate B beat Walton B 9-1 with Felipe Rodriguez winning his first match of the season against Sue Welham.