Northumberland County Table Tennis

The Northumbria League Junior side of Ethan Brown, Israel Shodeinde and Jack Cairns recently  beat Bishop Auckland, the leaders of the Junior National League North Eastern Division 5 – 4 and also defeated Darlington Academy and are now in second place with one more session to be played.

This coming weekend sees the staging of both the Northumberland Junior and Senior Tournaments at Cramlington Sporting Club, Cramlington Village School with the Juniors on Friday Evening at 7.00p.m. and the Seniors on Saturday starting at 9.00a.m.

Adam Webster is expected to retain the Junior Singles title and in the Seniors Graeme Barella will be all out to retain the Open Singles crown but he will have strong opposition in Andrew Wilkinson, Chun Yin Yu and Eddie Smith. 

In the Northumbria League Barella, Phil Prady and Anthony Ainley put The Mount back on top of the Premier Division after a comprehensive 10 – 0 victory over the bottom side  Cramlington Stingers.

Newton went to the top of the first division after John Russell, Graeme Bell and Dave Lucas defeated Cramlington Tigers 8 – 2 but Matfen Senators have a game in hand and are only two points behind them. Third placed Mount D were held to a draw by Saint Columba’s B for whom Lee Tinkler got a hat trick.

MItford slipped up in Division Two when they lost at home to Old England FATTS 6 – 4 which allowed Tyneside TTC B to go above them at the top of the table although Mitford do have a game in hand. Joe Perrin was unbeaten for the Old England side. Tyneside’s team of Jim Robertson, John Carr and Chas Robertson ran out 10 – 0 winners against Cramlington Swifts.

The clash between the top two teams in Division Three , Ouston C and Cramlington Spartans ended up all square with Ouston’s Duncan Hindmarsh winning all of his sets and also narrowly winning the doubles 14 – 12 in the fifth end partnered by Andy Harris

The Mount TTC took advantage of the fact the NESLC Eagles had no match to go back to the top of the Northumbria League Premier Division by beating Saint Columbas 8 -2, Graeme Barella getting a hat trick.

Their B team won 7 – 3 when they visited Cramlington Casuals and then had an 8 – 2 home victory over Old England Jacks. Dave Robson was unbeaten in both matches.

Matfen Senators had Alex Holiday in form as they defeated Saint Columba’s B team 7 – 3 to increase their lead at the top of Division One with Newton going down by the same score to The Mount D.

The North  East Chinese Assn B team moved well clear of Cramlington Tigers near the foot of the table when an unbeaten performance by Harry Saxton steered them to a 6 – 4 victory.

Both of the leading sides in the second division recorded victories with Mitford’s Barry Hill, Mick Bull and Karen Henry defeating a weakened Ouston A 7 -3 and Tyneside TTC’s Don Catley, Charlie Robertson and John Carr winning a close match with Cramlington Reivers 6 – 4.

There are new leaders in Division Three after Sree Kanakala, Sam Nair and Jamie Hall assisted by Adrian Barnes in the doubles saw Cramlington Spartans beat Matfen Cohorts to go ahead of Saints and Whitley Chapel.  Saints are now in second place after their side of Vince Killen, Steve Dawson and Ray Joynson beat Whitley Chapel 8 – 2.

Tyneside TTC moved eight points clear at the top of the fourth division when James Moore together with father and son Paul and Leo Conn demolished the Cramlington Dragons 10 – 0. 

In the same division Tom Firth won all of his singles and was also successful in the doubles partnered by David Peel for Prudhoe and District United Services B and with Chris Raffle and  Peel getting two singles each his team defeated Cramlington Lions 8 – 2.

Saint Columba’s TTC had Duncan Wraight in fine form when he won all of his singles and also the doubles partnered by Dale Aitkenhead as The Mount C team were beaten 7 – 3 in the Premier Division of the Northumbria league. Paul Baines got two singles and Aitkenhead one to complete their scoring. John Williamson won two for the losing side.

Alex Holiday and Neil Forsyth turned in unbeaten performances for Matfen Senators in an 8 – 2 victory over the North East Chinese Association B team to increase their lead at the top of the First Division.  At the other end of the table Cramlington Tigers team of Blair Carmichael, Lynsey Storey and Peter Wilkinson recorded their first win of the season with an 8 – 2 win over Brandon Anacondas to move off the bottom.

John Carr was the man in form when his hat trick helped Tyneside TTC B team to defeat Matfen Tribunes in Division Two. He also won the doubles with Jim Robertson who got two singles. Don Catley managed one, the final score being 7 – 3.

Third Division leaders Ouston C team of Andy Harris, Duncan Hindmarsh and Jamie Milroy had a good win over third placed Saints, beating them 7 – 3 although none of them could get the better of Steve Dawson.  However Peter Seago and Stefan Sobell were unbeaten for  Whitley Chapel against Matfen Cohorts in a 9 – 1 win that puts them level with Ouston.

Harry Veitch was on form as Ouston’s D team  won 7 – 3 away to Prudhoe and District United Services B side to keep the lead at the top of Division Four although Tyneside B, who have a game in hand, closed the gap to three points by whitewashing Cramlington Lions. 

The clash between  NESLC Eagles and The Mount, the top two teams in the Northumbria League, ended up all square and they remain locked together on equal points. Eddie Smith was playing instead of Andrew Wilkinson for the home side whilst Dan Dodds replaced Phil Prady in the visiting team. Smith  and Steve Penman both defeated Anthony Ainley and Dodds and Richard Wilson was also successful against Dodds but Graeme Barella won all three of his singles for The Mount and also the doubles with Ainley.

Alex Holiday was unbeaten for Matfen Senators in a 7 – 3 victory against Tyneside TTC in  Division One to edge ahead of Prudhoe who did not have a fixture at the top of the table.

In the second division Ouston B team of David Byers, Kevin Richardson and Tom Fowle easily defeated Cramlington Trojans 10 – 0 to close the gap on the leaders Mitford who won 6 – 4 away at Cramlington Reivers. Mitford’s Mick Bull, Barry Hill and Bob Atwell all won two but they all lost to Bernie McCardle who also won the doubles with Mike Dunn.

With Matfen Whitley Chapel postponing their third division match the  Ouston C team of Duncan Hindmarsh, Andy Harris and Shirley Robson took over at the top of the table with an 8 – 2 success way to Matfen Cohorts.

There was also another success for  Ouston  with their D team beating Newton C 7 – 3 thanks to unbeaten performances by Lewis Kilkenny and Harry Veitch and they now head the table by one point from Cramlington Dynamos who defeated Cramlington Magpies by the same score. Rohan Rawat, Alan Roskilly and Ojas Aggarwal won all of their matches but none of them could defeat the Magpies new signing, Roy Hugill.

Entry forms for the Northumberland Senior and Junior Tournaments are now available on the Northumbria League website, www.tabletennis365.com/Northumbria.

The Mount A team and NESLC Eagles  finished the first half of the season as joint leaders of the Northumbria League and they are due to play each other this week.

Both clubs include leading Northumberland County players with Graeme Barella in the Mount squad and Andrew Wilkinson with the Eagles.

Two of the teams struggling at the wrong end of the table meet when Cramlington Stingers take on Mount ‘C’ team.

Prudhoe and District United Services who do not play until next week lead the way in the First Division but only by one point from Matfen Senators who are away to Tyneside TTC.

Newton, who are only five points adrift of the leaders, are at home to fourth placed Saint Columbas B team.

Division two leaders Mitford start the second half of the season with a visit to lowly Cramlington Reivers and will be looking to consolidate their lead at the top of the table. Both of their nearest challengers, the two Ouston sides, also face Cramlington opposition. The B team who are one point ahead of their A team entertaining the Trojans and the A side away to the Swifts.

Ouston’s C team are in contention for promotion from Division Three, being in second place jointly with Cramlington Spartans behind Matfen Whitley Chapel, and they are away to Matfen Cohorts. The leaders visit struggling Cramlington Cobras who have Rob Lee back in their squad.  Saints could move closer to the top three as they are at home to the bottom team Cramlington Jaguars.

It is close in Division Four with top team Tyneside C only four points ahead of fourth placed Prudhoe B.  Both are without a match this week and either second placed Ouston D who entertain Newton C or third placed  Cramlington Dynamos who play bottom  team Magpies will take over the top spot.

Matfen Senators moved to within one point of the Northumbria League first division leaders Prudhoe after unbeaten performances by Alex Holliday and Neil Forsyth in both singles and doubles saw them defeat Cramlington Tigers 7 – 3.

In the same division North East Chinese Association  had Yao Li in fine form as they defeated Saint Columba’s B team by the same score to ease away from the relegation places.

Ouston C suffered a set back to their promotion hopes in Division Three as they were beaten by Saints for whom Vince Killen was unbeaten and was well supported by  John Cook and Ray Joynson in a 7 – 3 victory.

Cramlington Spartans moved level with the Ouston side when Sree Kanakala, Sam Nair and Jamie Hall came away from Newton B with a 9 – 1 success under their belts.

Youngsters Alan Roskilly and Rohan Rawat were both in unbeaten for fourth division Cramlington Dynamos who beat their Dragons side 8 – 2 to go into third place only five points behind the leaders and they have  a game in hand.

The Northumberland County Veterans side of Andrew Wilkinson, Eddie Smith, Martin Schapira and Christine Burke were in action in Huddersfield in  Veterans Division 1a of the County Championships where they drew with both South Yorkshire and Yorkshire Seconds but lost out to Yorkshire Thirds.

At the other end of the age scale the Northumbria League Cadet side were in good form at Ormesby in the second session of the North Eastern Section of the National Cadet league.  Ethan Brown of The Mount, Ferg Kilsby from Matfen and Brandon’s Patrick Nicholson won all four of their matches beating Darlington A, Scarborough B and Ormesby  first and second teams. They finished the session in third place, six points behind the joint leaders Darlington and Scarborough A teams.

Newcastle Estates Sports and Leisure Club Eagles  and The Mount are joint leaders of the Premier division of the Northumbria league after the Eagles team of Richard Wilson, Steve Penman and Eddie Smith defeated The Mount C team 9 – 1.

Dale Aitkenhead and Duncan Wraight were both on form for third placed Saint Columba’s as they beat Cramlington Stingers by the same score.

The battle of the top two in the first division went the way of Prudhoe and District United Services Club when a hat trick by Andy Firth helped them to defeat Newton 6 – 4 to retain top spot. Andy’s son Tom also achieved a hat trick for their second team in division four although his side went down 4 – 6 to leaders Tyneside TTC C team.

Matfen Senators, who have a game in hand, stayed on the heels of Newton with a 6 – 4 victory away to Brandon Anacondas.

Division two leaders Mitford lost their 100% record when the Ouston A team of Mike Lyons and father and son Neil and Mark Rodgers beat them 7 – 3 and were then beaten for a second time at the hands of the Mount E side of John Rowell, Bill Edwards and Dave Bannon.

Ouston A also beat Cramlington Reivers 6 – 4 although none of them got the better of Bernie McCardle but their B team remain one point above them in the table.

The third division leaders were given a tough match when they visited the young Cramlington Falcons side and it took a hat trick from Pete Seago to give them a 6 – 4 victory. Stefan Sobell got two as did Alfie Stokes for the losers.

Duncan Hindmarsh and Andy Harris were unbeaten for second placed Ouston C who came away from Cramlington Cobras with an 8 – 2 win under their belts.

Young Alan Roskilly was on form for fourth division Cramlington Dynamos with a hat trick against Matfen Consuls to give his side a narrow victory.

The Northumberland County Senior team have achieved promotion to the Premier Division of the County Championships after defeating Lincolnshire 6 – 4 and Cheshire by the same score in the final session in Scunthorpe to finish top of Division 1A. This is only the third time in their history that the County Seniors have reached the top level, the last time being in 1981.

The  successful squad is Andrew Wilkinson, Graeme Barella, Joe Clark, Christine Burke, Lynsey Storey and Chun Yin Yu who replaced the unavailable Clark in the last two matches.

The Northumbria League Junior side of Ethan Brown, Israel Shodeinde and Jack Cairns did well at Ormesby in the Northern Section of the National Junior League beating Ormesby 9 -0,  Darlington Academy 6 – 3 and Ormesby A 6 – 3.

Wilkinson and Burke will be in action again at the weekend in Huddersfield along with Eddie Smith and Martin Schapira for the County Veterans side

A number of matches in the second round of the  Northumbria League Handicap Cup were closely fought and only decided with a scoreline of 5 – 4.  Ouston D team defeating Mount C, Ouston B accounting for Cramlington Swifts, Cramlington Cobras beating Tyneside C, Brandon Bravehearts getting the better of Cramlington Magpies, Matfen Tribunes coming out on top against Tyneside B and Brandon Anacondas successful against Matfen Cohorts.

Israel Shodeinde and Jack Cairns who both played for the side that won the cup last year and are playing for Cramlington Trojans had Alastair Johnson to thank for making progress when his hat trick got them through after being 1 – 3 down to Cramlington Dragons.

Other winning teams were Mount B, Cramlington Falcons, Matfen Senators, Prudhoe, Tyneside A and Cramlington Jaguars.

The Northumberland County side are in action again this coming weekend for the second and final session of Division 1A of the County Championships at Scunthorpe when they have to play Cheshire and also the home county Lincolnshire. Having won three and drawn two of their matches in the first session they are top of the division and will be looking to achieve promotion to the Premier.

N.E.S.L.C. saw their lead at the top of the Northumbria League cut to a single point despite beating Cramlington Stingers 9 – 1 with Eddie Smith and Steve Penman getting hat tricks as The Mount team of Graeme Barella, Phil Prady and Dan Dodds went one better in defeating Old England Jacks 10 – 0.

Mark O’Connor and Shirley Gelder both turned in unbeaten performances for the First Division leaders Prudhoe and District United Services when they visited Cramlington Tigers and came away with a 9 – 1 success.
Second placed Saint Columba’s B team were held to a draw by the Tyneside TTC team of Mark Kimberley, Chas Robertson and Mark Patterson despite Lee Tinkler winning all of his matches.

Robertson also played for Tyneside’s B team in Division Two and was unbeaten in a 7 – 3 victory over Ouston B as was John Carr.
Mitford still boast a 100% record but were given a close game by Matfen Tribunes, only winning 6 – 4 when Matfen’s Keith Hodges won 2 of his sets. Micky Bull and Bob Atwell got two apiece for Mitford.

Paul Dale was in form for Brandon Bravehearts in Division Three and his hat trick helped his team to a 7 – 3 win over Newton B while a couple of sets each from Steve Ralph and Alan Hedley got a draw for Cramlington Cobras at Matfen Chorts for whom Richard Rayfield also won two.

Division Four leaders Ouston D were held to a draw by Cramlington Dragons with Ouston’s Norman Badger and Lewis Kilkenny winning twice and the Dragons’ Pauline Long and Paul Athey doing likewise.

The Northumberland County side, promoted to the first division of the County Championships last season included the Cleveland player Joe Clark who is at Newcastle University for the first session of matches along with Graeme Barella, Andrew Wilkinson, Christine Burke and Lynsey Storey and they made a good start with two victories and one draw from their first three matches.

In the Northumbria League Premier Division hat tricks by Wilkinson for NESLC Eagles and Barella for Mount A team  gave their sides 7 – 3  victories over Saint Columba’s  and Mount  B team  while three from Chun Yin Yu helped NECA to a narrow 6 – 4 win over St Chads.

First Division Newton had two narrow wins against Matfen Centurians and Tyneside TTC when John Russell won five of his six singles. Yao Li was in form for NECA B team with a hat trick against Prudhoe and District United Services to see his team home 6 – 4.

Ouston B are in second place in Division Two after an 8 – 2 success against Cramlington Reivers when Kevin Richardson was on song with three singles wins and the doubles with Tom Fowle.  Keith Hodges was player of the match as Matfen Tribunes accounted for Ouston A  and Trojans Alastair Johnson got a hat trick in a draw with Old England FATTS.

The clash of the top two teams, Newton B and Matfen Whitley Chapel in Division Three ended up all square with Ian Armstrong of Newton and Peter Seago and Stefan Sobell of Whitley Chapel all managing two singles victories. In the same division the young Cramlington Falcons side accounted for Matfen Cohorts 7 – 3.

Norman Badger, Lewis Kilkenny and Harry Veitch were all unbeaten for Ouston D as they beat Tyneside C 9 – 1 in the top of the Fourth Division clash while  youngster Noah Rutherford caught the eye when he won all of his matches for the Lions in drawn match against Newton C.