Northumberland County Table Tennis

This week saw Cramlington Falcons crowned division 5 champions when they defeated second placed Brandon Fire to clinch the title with only a rearranged fixture left to play.

Israel Shodeinde got the falcons who were the home side off to a flying start in the first game of match when he won with relative ease by three games to nil against Paul Henderson and then Jack Cairns made it two nil with a win over Bill Maclennan. Up next was Alfie Davies against Abbey Maddison from Brandon who won making the match score 2-1 to the Falcons.

Cairns then won against Henderson before combining with Shodeinde to win the doubles and then going on to win his next singles against Maddison to make the match score 5-1 to the home team.

Next up was Alfie Davies vs Bill Maclennan who lost in three giving brandon a little hope that they may get something out of the match. This however did not materialise as the Falcons won the next 3 sets to run out 8-2 winners on the night. Shodeinde winning the last game between the two number ones who were both unbeaten at this point to claim the man of the match award.

Although losing Brandon finish runners up in the division and will be promoted along with the Falcons.

At the other end of the table Brandon Energy lost 8-2 against East Boldon B who are one of the new teams entered this season but have acquitted themselves well with a mid-table finish and all their young players showing promise. Their star performer being Ethan Brown who has only lost 4 matches all season.

There are a handful of matches left and we’re in the two weeks set aside for matches that were postponed to be played which will decide the outcome of the other divisions.

The final week of matches in Divison 4 were played this week and Lanchester found themselves on the end of a heavy defeat which has ultimately sealed the team’s relegation to Division 5 next Summer season. Lanchester’s Martin Johnson, Neil Forster and Nigel Cardale hosted an Ouston B line-up of Andy Harris, David Nichols and Harry Veitch and found themselves outgunned as they lost 10-0 and managed to win only 4 ends.

Another big match in the final week saw Redby take a vital win over Backspin B as Malcolm Deneven, Frank Booth and Istvan Soos won 9-1 over Adam Butler, Alex Nicholl and Debbie Irwin with Butler taking the only win for the away side. This allowed Redby to leapfrog Backspin into second place, securing promotion for the club who were, this year, new to the Northumberland Summer league.

Brandon Crusaders and Brandon Devils had a more closely-fought contest as the Crusaders won 6-4 but this result didn’t affect the outcome of the promotion or relegation places in the division.

Now that all of the matches in Division 4 have been played, the table is complete. Brandon Crusaders have had a phenomenal season, winning every single one of their matches and dropping just 28 sets in the process. In second place, 18 points behind them, lie Redby who, as mentioned, narrowly earned themselves promotion. Backspin B placed third, Ouston B placed fourth and then Brandon Devils narrowly escaped the drop as they finished 3 points above Lanchester. The bottom three spots were tightly contested as Cramlington Jaguars finished in seventh position with just three points less than Lanchester and six away from safety. Unfortunately this means both Lanchester and Cramlington Jaguars will be relegated to next year’s Summer league Division 5.

Leading the averages by a considerable margin is Jamie Westwater who proved that playing at Division 4 is simply too low a standard for him as he won every single match out of the 24 he played. Alongside him is Brian Childs with 23 wins out of 27 and Jamie Collins with 20 wins out of 24 – all three players belonging to title winners Brandon Crusaders. Redby’s two Istvans, Istvan Franko and Istvan Soos, are also worthy of mention as they found themselves on 79% and 89% respectively. These players’ wins have undoubtedly gone a long way to helping the team earn promotion this season.

Brandon Bravehearts’ Jack Jacomb won his hat-trick this week in Division 3 against Sacriston Comets as his team won 6-4. Teammates Jordan Dove and Ryan Morton chipped in with 3 wins between them to clinch the victory. The Comets’ line-up of Peter Whitfield, Dan Hutchinson and Ian Mcpherson weren’t far off the pace however as Hutchinson won 2 and Mcpherson won 1, plus the two combining to win the doubles.

Matfen Tribunes’ match wasn’t quite so close, unfortunately for them, as they lost 9-1 to visitors Prudhoe United Services B. Andrew Firth took man of the match for the away team, Maurice Cheek also winning his 3, Shirley Gelder losing out to Nigel Tree. Tree will be happy with this win as his game has been progressing consistently each season and Gelder will be seen as a considerable scalp for the Winter Division 2 player. John Henderson and Mark Perrin were unfortunately unable to take any wins.

Matfen’s other team, the Senators, fared significantly better as they travelled to Boldon and rampaged home to a 10-0 whitewash. Boldon’s line-up of Michael Stafford, Adam Allsopp and Ryan Campbell all struggled, winning just 3 ends in the singles matches against David Swan, Alex Holliday and Stephen Oxley.

The final match in the division this week saw another one-sided fixture as Cramlington Trojans faced club rivals Cramlington Corinthians. The Trojans’ Lynsey Storey, Karen Henry and Blair Carmichael won 9-1 overall with only Storey losing a match as she struggled with Phil Smith’s strong serves and heavy spin. Neither Pauline Long nor Adrian Barnes were able to pick up any wins, sealing the away team’s fate.

Matfen Senators’ consistency of line-up, having played the same three players in the vast majority of their matches, has helped them to retain the top spot in the division, as they find themselves with 98 points and only a single loss. Prudhoe United Services B lie in second place and have not actually lost a game, but closer scores mean they find themselves with fewer points, 5 points behind the Senators on 93. There is a big gap between Prudhoe and the third-placed team, Cramlington Trojans, who have played a game more and are still 15 points adrift. At the other end of the table, East Boldon look like they won’t be able to survive the drop as they are a full 30 points away from safety. Above them, Cramlington Corinthians are halfway to safety as they find themselves 15 points above East Boldon, and 15 points below sixth-placed Sacriston Comets.

Tyneside A’s Mark Patterson did well in Division 2 this week as he took a hat-trick and the Player of the Match award against Backspin A. He beat stand-in John Cook with relative ease in three straight ends and had a hard five-ender with David Mcallister but arguably his best performance came as he beat Craig Fryer 3-1. Teammates Steven Dickinson and Bob Sanderson chipped in with a single win each, Dickinson losing out to Cook but earning a strong win against Mcallister as he edged to a 11-9 victory in the deciding end. The away team’s Fryer and Mcallister combined to win the doubles, giving them a hard-earned match draw.

Tyneside’s second team didn’t perform quite so well however as they faced a 9-1 defeat against Mount C which saw them slide into the second relegation slot. Mount posted a strong lineup with former Premier player Tony Gelder, recently-returned Dan Dodds and stalwart Alan Livingstone. Tyneside B’s Dan Kubacki raised his game for the occasion, pulling off an excellent win against Dodds and being unfortunate to lose out 11-9 in the fifth end against Gelder. The latter game in particular was a Premier-level encounter with counter-looping rallies, great retrieving and some superb touch shots. Unfortunately teammates John Carr and David Craddock both lost all of their matches, winning only a single end between them, eventually leading to a 9-1 defeat for the away team.

Cramlington Cobras hosted a weakened Sacriston Aces lineup of Jonathan Mawson, Ian Mcpherson and Daniel Hutchinson as they were without any of their first team players. Blair Carmichael had a tough evening as he failed to win any for the home team but Richard Williamson and Paul Jamieson both took hat-tricks to seal a 6-4 victory.

The final game of the week in Division 2 saw an almost total whitewash as the North East Chinese Association romped to a 10-0 victory over Ouston A. Team captain Ken Lee lost the only two ends of the evening as he beat Duncan Hindmarsh and Jeff Mckenna 3-1 but otherwise the away side simply could not compete. Keming Lee and Terry Kwong both won all of their matches without dropping an end, Jamie Milroy for the away team unable to win a single game.

As things stand, Ouston lie bottom of the table with a 13 gap to Tyneside C who find themselves in the second relegation slot. Cramlington Cobras are just above them, albeit with a game in hand, then NECA are 10 points further ahead. At the top of the table, Mount C are opening up a sizeable gap as they lie top with 73 points, 10 points and a game in hand over second-placed Sacriston Aces. Tyneside A also aren’t far off, just a single point separating them from the promotion spots.

Division 1 this week saw a mixed bag of two whitewashes and two very close victories. Cramlington Stingers’ Dale Aitkenhead, Marc Cotton and Steven Penman beat an Old England line-up of Jake Helm, Lynne Herrington and Alan Atkinson 10-0. Cotton versus Herrington went to five ends, as did Penman versus Atkinson, but neither match really looked in doubt. Aitkenhead won the Player of the Match award for losing the fewest ends.

On the same night, Cramlington Casuals helped themselves to a shock defeat as they beat St Chads 6-4. Paul Jamieson, playing up from Division 2, found himself first on against veteran long pimples defender Jimmy Scope. Jamieson went 2-0 up with relative ease before the exertions of a veteran’s tournament the weekend earlier saw Scope concede the match and retire from the rest of the evening. Chads’ Chris Blake won Player of the Match as he showed a class above his opponents but Rob Reed and James Bradbury both did well to beat David Bissett. Bissett had a close game with Jamieson, winning 13-11 in the deciding end, but it wasn’t enough as Reed and Bradbury combined to win the doubles 3-1 and give the Casuals the overall victory.

Despite having a large squad and only two teams, Prudhoe United Services A find themselves having difficulty fielding a team at the moment. Shirley Gelder and Maurice Cheek are unable to play any more games for the ‘A’ team as doing so will render them ineligible to play for the ‘B’ side in Division 3. John Williamson recently sustained a broken wrist in a match at Cramlington and Geoff Salter has only been able to play a single evening so far this season. Combined with some bad timing for Andy Benjamin who was moving house on the same day, Prudhoe were only able to field two players when they hosted Mount A this week. Mount were in a similar situation with Jamie Dent and Dan Dodds playing up from their ‘B’ team but Prudhoe, due to having only two players, were unable to capitalise. In the end, both Dent and Dodds played incredibly well and came home with two solid victories against the home side’s Mark O’Connor and Peter Stempczyk. Mount’s regular first teamer Duncan Wraight took Player of the Match as he beat both opponents without dropping an end, and combined well with Dan Dodds to win the doubles and complete the 10-0 rout.

Mount’s B team also did well the following day when they beat visitors Brandon Air 6-4. Brandon’s Jamie Lupton won Player of the Match when he won all three of his matches but Rodney Roberts and Jamie Dent did well to beat both Lee Tinkler and Troy Maddison. The home side’s David Cutler also beat Maddison but lost out to Tinkler. The real story in this match however was the doubles where Roberts and Cutler faced Lupton and Tinkler, eventually winning 18-16 in the deciding fifth end. Every single end was close and it was this match which sealed the victory for the home team, once again showing just how important the doubles can be in local league.

As things stand, Cramlington Stingers are running away with the Division 1 title. They find themselves 22 points ahead of second-placed St Chads though Chads do have a game in hand. Mount A are in third place but have played all 11 matches already. Below third place, there’s a real battle between fourth and seventh as only 19 points separate those positions. Mount B find themselves languishing in the first relegation spot, 2 points and a match ahead of Prudhoe United Services A. Old England are bottom on just 18 points and it looks like they won’t be able to remain promoted at this point unless something significantly changes in their favour over the next few fixtures.

The Mount team

Jamie Westwater retained his 100% average in Division 4 this week when Brandon Crusaders hosted Backspin B. Westwater won his 3 matches but it was teammate Jamie Collins who took Player of the Match as he also won 3 but lost fewer points overall. Alan Perry was their third player but he was unable to beat Adam Butler, John Cook or Alex Nicholl who all won only one match each. Butler and Nicholl did however combine to win a scintillating victory in the doubles, scraping by with the narrowest of margins 16-14 in the deciding fifth end.

It was a similar story for Redby as they travelled to Lanchester. The away team’s Istvan Franko and Istvan Soos both won hat-tricks, Soos taking Player of the Match, but Andrea Frankone wasn’t able to pick up any wins. This time however Redby also won the doubles leading to a 7-3 victory over Lanchester’s Reuben Emery, John Rayner and Neil Forster.

In the division’s last fixture of the week, Cramlington Jaguars’ line-up of Mick Sursham, Aubrey Drapkin and Daniel Mcmanus faced an Ouston B team consisting of Duncan Hindmarsh, Jamie Milroy and David Nichols. New player Daniel McManus did well to beat Milroy and Nichols but Ouston’s Duncan Hindmarsh was too strong, winning his three and taking Player of the Match. Sursham beat Nichols but Drapkin was unable to grab a win resulting in a 7-3 loss for the home team.

Division 5’s bottom team Brandon Energy had an uncomfortable encounter with the top team Cramlington Falcons when they lost 10-0 at home. Brandon’s Keith Mckenzie, Jack Huntley and Paul Dunn were unable to win any ends in the singles matches but did nearly win the doubles, eventually losing 11-5 in the fifth end. This keeps the Brandon side rock bottom of the division but with no fear of relegation the community hopes that these new players will persevere and continue to enjoy the game.

Cramlington’s rising star Oliver Ho played twice this week against the same team when he turned out for both Cramlington Knights and Cramlington Magpies against club rivals Cramlington Lions. In his first match for the Knights, he played well to comfortably beat both Rohan Rawat and Tony Roskilly in three straight ends. In his second encounter Rawat was much more competitive and won 3-1 with two very tight deuce ends but Ho also managed to beat Ojas Aggarwal. In both games Ho had phenomenal encounters with another youngster, Alan Roskilly. Both matches went to five full ends and unfortunately for Ho he lost by just 2 points in both. In the first match Ho lost the fourth and fifth end 12-10 and in the second match he lost the fifth 11-9. Both matches were excellent to watch with long attacking topspin rallies, lobs and drop-shots. Unfortunately for Oliver his teams weren’t able to support him as they lost both matches 8-2 overall.

In the other two Division 5 matches, Backspin C beat Brandon Fire 7-3 with the home team’s Debbie Irwin winning her hat-trick and Player of the Match, supported by 2 wins from Lyndsey Beacham and 1 from Martyn Parry. Brandon’s Bill Maclennan won 2 and Abbey Maddison won 1 but Paul Henderson was unable to grab a victory. Cramlington Knights hosted East Boldon B and the Knights’ John Hogg won three with teammates Patrick Easton and Joel Harris winning one each. This gave them a drew as Boldon’s Ethan Brown won 2 and both William Walton and Bruce Davison won one each plus the doubles.

In what can only be described as a concerted effort to ensure promotion, Prudhoe United Services B fielded an incredibly strong team in Division 3 this week as they hosted Sacriston Comets. Division 1 players Mark O’Connor, Andrew Firth and Maurice Cheek made life incredibly difficult for Sacriston’s Nigel Coe, Kevin Richardson and Colin Pritchard, eventually running out with a 10-0 win. Kevin Richardson was unlucky to lose out to Mark O’Connor, losing 11-9 in the deciding end, and Nigel Coe also managed to take Andrew Firth to five but otherwise the away side couldn’t muster much in the way of a defence.

Unfortunately, this win wasn’t enough to push them to the top of the division as Matfen Senators inflicted a heavy loss on Cramlington Corinthians. Matfen’s line-up of Alexander Holliday, David Swan and Stephen Oxley lost only one match against the Corinthians’ Phil Smith, Adrian Barnes and Pauline Long. A notable mention however goes to Smith as, despite only playing the game for a couple of years, he managed to beat the veteran Dave Swan at a canter in three straight ends. Pauline Long also managed to get close to Swan but couldn’t convert as she lost 11-4 in the final game.

Cramlington Trojans and Brandon Bravehearts had a much less one-sided encounter when they drew 5-5 at Cramlington. The home side were boosted by the return of Karen Henry who hasn’t been able to make many matches in recent seasons due to working away. Henry stepped up to win 2 matches against Jordan Dove and Ryan Morton but was unable to beat anti-spin player Stephen Pattinson who won his hat-trick and Player of the Match. Alan Hedley and Lyndsey Storey won one match each, Hedley beating Jordan Dove and Storey beating Ryan Morton in a close five-ender. The two Cramlington ladies combined to win the doubles in another tight match, beating Dove and Morton 11-7 in the fifth to confirm an overall match draw.

The final game in Division 3 was also tight as Matfen Tribunes hosted East Boldon A. Nigel Tree took Player of the Match in this one as he won his hat-trick and the Tribunes scraped a 6-4 win as Mark Perrin and David Crompton chipped in with a win each plus Tree and Perrin combined to win the doubles. Boldon’s Adam Allsopp and Ryan Campbell both won 1 each and the away side’s David Byers did well to win 2.

As things stand, Matfen Senators are top by 7 points and second place Prudhoe United Services B have a whopping 20-point margin over Brandon Bravehearts in third. East Boldon look to be struggling at the other end of the table with 0 wins and just 16 sets won but the real battle is between Sacriston Comets in sixth place and Cramlington Corinthians in seventh. 7 points separate the two teams and whoever wins the fewest sets in their remaining matches will invariably be relegated to Division 4.

Divison 1 this week didn’t see much action due to the postponement of Cramlington Stingers vs. St Chads and a 10-0 forfeit for Brandon Air against what should have been Cramlington Casuals. Old England hosted Prudhoe United Services A in a close-fought encounter which the away side eventually edged 6-4. Old England had Winter season Division 2 players Barry Matthews and Kenneth Clark playing but they both managed to win 1 match against Shirley Gelder and Peter Stempczyk respectively. Joe Muldowney won 2 for the home side as he also beat Stempczyk and Andy Benjamin but losing out to Shirley Gelder. The two Mount teams in this division also faced off against each other in an unusual encounter whereby each of the Mount A players won 2 each but all lost to a different player. David Pringle lost to Jamie Dent, Anthony Ainley lost to David Cutler and Duncan Wraight lost to John Russell. Ainley and Wraight combined to beat Cutler and Russell in the doubles leading to a 7-3 victory for the “away” team.

In Division 2, Backspin A played twice this week as they caught up on a postponed game. Firstly they travelled to Ouston A where they comfortably beat Ouston A. Tom Fowle and Jeff Mckenna were unable to pick up any wins for the home side but Mark Rodgers beat John Cook. Unfortunately this was the only win Ouston were able to scrounge which meant Backspin picked up a comfortable 9-1 victory which helps them to slightly edge away from the perils of relegation. In their second match of the week they travelled to Tyneside Badminton Centre to compete against Tyneside B. Backspin’s David Mcallister won his three and Player of the Match with relative ease but John Cook and Alex Nicholl, both playing up from Division 4, were only able to win 1 match between them as Cook beat Steve Pearce. David Craddock had a closely-contested battle with Cook as he made his way to a 3-1 victory with two deuce ends falling his way and also managed to beat the other stand-in Nicholl. Daniel Kubacki was Tyneside’s other player who also beat both Cook and Nicholl giving the home side a narrow 6-4 victory against their relegation rivals.

Ouston A also played two matches this week and their second appearance was only slightly more lucrative than the first as they lost 8-2 to Mount C. Tony Gelder and Alex Smith, previous Winter season Premier Division players, were too strong for their opponents and both won three matches. Mount’s other player, Mick Hope, chipped in with a win over Peter Scott but couldn’t overcome Jeff Mckenna or Tom Fowle.

Paul Jamieson gets another mention this week as he won three matches and Player of the Match award in his second consecutive match. Jamieson has now played 6 individual games and not dropped an end, helping Cramlington Cobras to successive victories. This week they faced Tyneside A and his three wins were backed up by 2 wins from Paul Fairlamb and 1 from Peter Wilkinson. Tyneside’s Steve Dickinson won 2 matches and Mark Patterson won 1 but Bob Sanderson wasn’t able to assist with any wins leading to a 6-4 defeat. The last match of the week in Division 2 saw NECA beat Sacriston Aces 6-4 as Keming Li won a hat-trick, Kit Robinson won 2 and husband Steve chipped in with another. Sacriston’s Dean Eadington beat Steve Robinson and Duncan Fraser beat both Steve and Kit. Peter Whitfield was unable to pick up any wins for the away side.

Brandon Crusaders continued their dominant form in Division 4 this week as they beat Ouston B 9-1. The Crusaders line-up of Jamie Westwater, Jamie Collins and Brian Childs are currently top of the Individual Averages in the league with 12, 12 and 11 wins respectively. Ouston visited Brandon with Duncan Hindmarsh, Jamie Milroy and Shirley Robson and, unfortunately, were no match for the experienced home team. Hindmarsh did well to beat Jamie Collins but Milroy and Robson couldn’t pick up any wins.

Lanchester and Cramlington Jaguars had a closer game as a hat-trick and Player of the Match performance from Alan Kent helped the home side to a 6-4 victory. John Rayner picked up 2 wins and Nigel Cardale picked up another, Mick Sursham and John Murrells winning the only games for the Jaguars. This was an important win for Lanchester as they find themselves bottom of the table, albeit with 2 matches in hand.

Brandon’s other team in Division 4, the Devils, continue to find themselves unable to win any matches as they were on the receiving end of a 7-3 loss against Redby. Istvan Franko and Malcolm Deneven both won their hat-tricks plus the doubles. Brandon recouped some points as their line-up of John Spencer, Ian Cumpson and Caroline Lee were all able to pick up wins against Redby’s Angela Wilkinson but on the night it wasn’t enough for them to acquire any points to aid their struggle for survival.

Things aren’t looking great for Brandon’s Division 5 team either. The group of youngsters playing under the banner of Brandon Energy are brand new to competitive table tennis and have barely won a game all season, registering only 2 sets won. This week was unfortunately no different as they faced Cramlington’s brightest youngster Matthew Mastaglio and his teammates Patrick Easton and John Hogg. The Brandon line-up of Jack Huntley, Stevaan Hall and Jacob Hall were unable to win any games leading to a 10-0 defeat, keeping them bottom of the table.

East Boldon were also on the receiving end of a heavy defeat this week as they travelled to Oxhill to play against Backspin C. Backspin’s Debbie Irwin won her hat-trick plus Player of the Match, supported by another hat-trick from Lyndsey Beacham and 2 wins from Bob Cook. Bruce Davison won a consolation game for the away team but James Collar and William Walton were unable to pick up any wins ending up in a 9-1 win for the home team.

It’s Cramlington Falcons who are top of Division 5 and their bid for promotion received a welcome boost as they beat club rivals Cramlington Magpies 10-0. Israel Shodeinde, Alfie Davies and Jack Cairns are all top of the averages in the division and Shodeinde just pipped Davies to the post in this match as he lost the fewest points and therefore won the Player of the Match award. New players Jessica Yang and Oliver Ho, supported by Paul Athey, did well to win some sets but none of the games ever really looked in doubt.

Tyneside A are currently top of Division 2 with a game in hand. This week they hosted Ouston A, a game which helped them to temporarily claim this position as they won 8-2. Steve Dickinson took Player of the Match as he won his hat-trick alongside Mark Kimberley who did the same, Mark Patterson chipping in with a single win. Tom Fowle and Jeff Mckenna both beat Patterson but third player Mark Rodgers was unable to pick up any games. Mount’s C team fielded a strong line-up when they faced Sacriston Aces. Former top Premier player Tony Gelder turned out for the Mount, returning from a significant period away from the game. He won 2 matches, as did Mohinder Rawat and Dave Bannon helped out with 1. The Aces’ Duncan Fraser was too good on the night though as he beat Rawat in 5 ends, Bannon in 4 and, surprisingly, Gelder in 3 straight, earning him the Player of the Match award. Jonathan Mawson was able to beat David Bannon but teammate Kevin Richardson won none.

Paul Jamieson was the star of the show when Cramlington Cobras took on Backspin A. He beat John Cook, Liam Ord and Craig Fryer, never dropping an end. The fact that Fryer won his other two matches comfortably showed the level of class displayed by Jamieson on the night. Jonathan Rippington and Mike Jones both beat Cook and Ord, giving an 8-2 victory overall. In the final game of Division 2 this week, NECA faced break-away rivals Tyneside B. The home side lined up with former Premier players Steve Robinson and Terry Kwong plus Haoran Wang. All three players won two matches and Robinson and Wang combined to take the doubles, giving an overall victory of 7-3. Daniel Kubacki, new to the region and training at Cramlington, did well for the away team when he beat both Robinson and Kwong but was unable to make it a hat-trick as he lost out to Wang in the deciding end. Steve Pearce chipped in with another win but David Craddock continued his difficult season with a duck.

In Division 3, Matfen Senators encountered no difficulties when they played host to East Boldon A. Alex Holliday, David Swan and Stephen Oxley won 10-0 over Boldon’s Adam Allsopp, Ryan Campbell and Jeffrey Hope. Matfen’s other team, the Tribunes, found themselves on the receiving end of a similarly-difficult evening as they visited Prudhoe United Services B. Prudhoe’s usual A team turned out for the B team, Mark O’Connor, Maurice Cheek and Shirley Gelder having all played just two weeks earlier in Division 1 against Mount A. John Henderson, Nigel Tree and Robert Neil Forsyth found themselves a bit out of their depth and only managed to win 4 ends in the singles matches.

Sacriston Comets and Brandon Bravehearts battled for the only draw of the week in either division when Dan Hutchinson, Ian Mcpherson and Nigel Coe faced Stephen Pattinson, Ryan Morton and Jordan Dove. Anti-spin player Pattinson proved that his unique brand of chess-like table tennis to be effective as he won his three and took Player of the Match. Hutchinson and Mcpherson won two matches each and combined to win the doubles, Nigel Coe unable to win any for the home side. Brandon’s Ryan Morton and Jordan Dove both won 1 each to support Pattinson’s hat-trick. The final match of the week in Division 3 was again fairly one-sided as two Cramlington teams, the Corinthians and the Trojans, faced off against each other. The Trojans, league favourites, fielded Alastair Johnson, Blair Carmichael and Lynsey Storey. Johnson lost the fewest ends and therefore took Player of the Match but Carmichael also won his three. Storey lost out to Richard Williamson but neither Adrian Barnes nor Pauline Long were able to win any matches leading to a 9-1 defeat for the home team.

Paul Jamieson