Northumberland County Table Tennis

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.

Andy Benjamin was in good form for Old England Jacks when they visited Cramlington Stingers in a bottom of the table clash in the Premier Division of the Northumbria League, winning his three singles victories plus the doubles with Alan Atkinson. With  Lynne Herrington getting two the Jacks ran out 7 – 3 winners.

Hat tricks by Josh Weatherby and Dan Dodds helped Saint Chads and Mount B  to defeat Saint Columbas and Mount C respectively.

Prudhoe  closed the gap on Matfen Senators in Division One when Andrew Firth, Mark O’Connor and Peter Stempczyk beat Mount D 6 – 4.

Cramlington Tigers won their first match of the season with two sets each by Blair Carmichael, Lynsey Storey  and Peter Wilkinson against Matfen Centurians.

In the second division Mitford seem to be all set for a quick return to Division One having won all six of their opening matches, the latest by 9 – 1 against Cramlington Trojans with both Barry Hill and Karen Henry unbeaten.

Two sets each by John Carr and Don Catley helped second placed  Tyneside TTC B to a draw against Old England FATTS.  Barry Matthews and Joe Perrin both got two for FATTS.

While Matfen Whitley Chapel continue to lead the way in the third division their nearest rivals Newton B and Ouston C shared the points with John Henderson and Ian Armstrong each getting two for Newton and Duncan Hindmarsh and Andy Harris doing likewise for Ouston.

James Moore, Paul Conn and Leo Conn  all won twice in Division Four for the leaders Tyneside C who beat Cramlington Knights 7 – 3 while second placed Ouston D lost out to Cramlington Dynamos , Alan Roskilly unbeaten for the winners.

The Northumberland County team of Graeme Barella, Joe Clark, Andrew Wilkinson, Christine Burke and Lynsey Storey are in action at the week end in the first group of matches in Division 1A of the County Championships.

The match between last year’s champions, North East Chinese Association and The Mount,  favourites to win the Northumbria League this year ended up all square with Graeme Barella winning all of his sets for Mount including victory over Chu Yin Yu who won his other two. Adam Webster got two for the Chinese with Mount’s Anthony Ainley and Phil Prady both managing one. The doubles set went to Chu and Webster.

Cramlington Casuals defeated Mount C 8 – 2 but their Stingers went down 10 – 0 to Mount B whilst NESLC Eagles beat Old England 10 – 0.

Peter Stempczyk and Andrew Firth were both in form for Prudhoe and District United Services in the first division both getting hat tricks to defeat Tyneside A 6 – 4.

The Mitford side of Barry Hill, Mick Bull and Bob Atwell kept up their unbeaten record in Division Two with an 8 – 2 victory over Tyneside B, Hill and Atwell both getting three whilst at the other end of the table a hat trick by Bernie McCardle helped Cramlington Reivers beat Matfen Tribunes to record their first win of the season.

Ouston A came away from Cramlington Trojans with a 7 – 3 victory and their B team beat Mount E 9 – 1.

In Division Three Andy Harris was on song for Ouston C, winning all of his singles matches and also the doubles partnered by Shirley Robson to give his team a 6 – 4 success when they visited Cramlington Jaguars. Mick Sursham and Abdel Warayet both picked up a couple for the losers.

Leaders Matfen Whitley Chapel lost for the first time at the hands of Saints for whom Steve Dawson won all of his sets and also the doubles with Vince Killen who got two singles. Dawson was also in top form with a hat trick in a 7 -3 win against Cramlington Falcons.

The Tynedale battle in division four between Newton C and Prudhoe B was won by Newton with Raymond Lazareto, Sam Beedle and David Neal all taking two sets as did Tom Firth for Prudhoe.

The Mount kept up their winning ways in the Premier Division of the Northumbria league by beating Saint Chads in a close fought match. Graeme Barella was unbeaten and backed up by two sets from Anthony Ainley and one from Phil Prady.

The  Chinese Association side defeated Old England Jacks 9 – 1 but then had to turn out a weakened side against Mount C team and went down 7 – 3.

Two of Mount’s other teams had matches against teams from Matfen. In Division One  their D team beat the Centurians 6 – 4 thanks to a hat trick by Bailey Pye and then lost out 8 – 2 to the Senators for whom Neil Forsyth won all of his sets.

In Division Two  a couple of sets each by John Rowell and Mike Bradley saw the E team  defeat the Tribunes 6 – 4.

Newton B had mixed fortunes in Division three as they defeated Cramlington Cobras 8 – 2 but lost out to the Falcons 6 – 4 and in Division Four Tyneside B fielded  a strong second division player in Chas Robertson who duly won all of his sets in a 5 – 5 draw with Matfen Consuls.

In the first round of the Handicap Cup  Ouston B came from 4 – 2 down to defeat Mount A 5 – 4 with David Byers and Tom Fowle getting two each and Kevin Richardson one. The Cramlington derby saw the Jaguars beat the Dynamos  by the same score thanks to a hat trick by Gavin Wilson whilst their Spartans lost out to Mount B , also by 5 – 4, with Bailey Pye taking full advantage of having a start against his third division opponents.

Cramlington’s young players Alfie and Archie Stokes, along with Oliver Ho overcame Premier Division St.Chads 5 – 3 with Archie and Oliver getting two each, three sets from Duncan Hindmarsh saw Ouston C knock out North East Chinese Association and  three from young Patrick Nicholson helped Brandon Bravehearts defeat Cramlington Knights 6 – 3.

Northumberland’s leading Veteran Andrew Wilkinson who is ranked at number three by the English Veterans Association won the over 40s singles at the Veterans Midlands Masters tournament beating Ritchie Venner of Sussex in straight games in the final having put out the number two seed, Mark Short of Nottingham in the semis. He was also runner up in the Over 40s doubles.

Another local winner was Geoff Salter who triumphed in both the Over 70s Singles and doubles.

In the Northumbria League Premier Division Wilkinson won all of his sets as NESLC Eagles ran out 9 – 1 winners over Mount B with Steve Penman also unbeaten.

The Cramlington derby  saw  Gareth Pearson, James Bradbury and Iain Wood all win twice as the Casuals beat the Stingers 7 -3. Steve Pearce got a couple for the losers.

The division one leaders Matfen Senators suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Prudhoe and District United Services for whom Mark O’Connor won all of his sets.

The County team ladies Christine Burke and Lynsey Storey were up against each other with Christine coming from 2 – 1 down to win in five games as Saint Columbas B defeated Cramlington Tigers 9 – 1.

Another team to lose for the first time were the second division leaders Tyneside B who went down 7 – 3 to  the Ouston A team of Mike Lyons, Neil Rodgers and Mark Rodgers.

Young Ferg Kilsby played twice  for Matfen in the third division with mixed results, winning twice as Matfen Whitley Chapel beat Cramlington Spartans 8 – 2 but losing out in Matfen Cohorts 6 – 4 victory over the Jaguars.

Stephen Baxter was in form for Cramlington Dragons when they visited Prudhoe B in Division Four, winning all of his singles and the doubles with Paul Athey in a 7 – 3 victory, Pauline Long getting two as did young Tom Firth for the losing side.

Two young players, Peter Smallcombe and Adam Webster are certainly making a name for themselves in the Northumbria League Premier Division. Durham’s Peter Smallcombe, who is now ranked at number five in the England Junior rankings, recently beat the County Senior champion Graeme Barella and was unbeaten again when his team Saint Columbas beat Old England Jacks 9 – 1. His only defeat so far was at the hands of Joe Clark, a University student from Cleveland.

Adam Webster who also features at fiftytwo in the national junior rankings has also made a good start to the season playing once again for the North East Chinese Association and his three sets helped his team to beat Cramlington Stingers 8 – 2.His only defeat to date was at the hands of Andrew Wilkinson.

Andrew Firth and Mark O’Connor both won all of their sets for Prudhoe and District United Services  9 – 1 in Division One. Graeme Bell did likewise for Newton who won 7- 3 away to Cramlington Tigers, Lee Tinkler got three as Saint Columbas B team won 6 – 4 against Mount D and Neil Forsyth was unbeaten in Matfen Senators victory over their Centurians side.

MItford defeated Old England FATTS and Tyneside TTC beat Cramlington Swifts as they both  completed their fourth successive victories in Division Two.

In Division Three Matfen Cohorts gained their first win of the season,  Richard Rayfield winning all of his sets in a 7- 3 win over Cramlington Spartans.

Despite being a player short leaders Whitley Chapel managed to get a draw away to Brandon Bravehearts thanks to a hat trick by Stefan Sobell.

James Moore was once again unbeaten for Tyneside C in a drawn match with Newton C in the fourth division. Paul Conn backed him up with two victories while Julian Manwell got a couple for Newton.

In the same division young Matthew Mastaglio was unbeaten for Cramlington Knights in their 7 – 3 success away to Matfen Consuls.

Andrew Wilkinson and Steve Penman have both moved from Cramlington to N.E.SL.C.Eagles this season in the Northumbria League Premier Division and both of them along with Jim Stamas featured in their home match against the League Champions N.E. Chinese team of Chun Yin Yu, Adam Webster and Harry Saxton.

Despite the fact that Wilkinson won  his first two matches his side trailed 3 – 2 at the half way stage but Stamas then produced the surprise result of the day when he defeated Yu 11- 7 11- 8 11- 9 and this was followed by victory for Penman over Saxton and another defeat for Yu at the hands of Wilkinson. Webster pulled it back to 5 – 4 but Stamas gave the home side victory by beating Saxton.

Mount A had university student Joe Clark from Cleveland in their team and he duly won his three sets as they beat Saint Columbas 6 – 4 who had previously had a 6 – 4 success over Cramlington Casuals with Duncan Wraight turning in an unbeaten performance.

Saint Chads beat Cramlington Stingers 8 – 2 and Mount B won by the same score at Old England Jacks.

Matfen Senators side of Alex Holliday, Neil Forsyth and Steve Oxley are top of Division One but they only just beat Saint Columbas B team 6 – 4 for whom Lee Tinkler was undefeated and their Centurians side moved into second spot by beating Prudhoe and District United Services 6 – 4 thanks mainly to Chris Kilsby who won all of his singles and also the doubles with Phil Rainford.

Mitford won their third successive game in a row with victory over Ouston B in Division Two as did Tyneside TTC B team with a 10 – 0 success over Cramlington Reivers.

In the third division Jamie Milroy of Ouston C was undefeated in an 8 – 2 victory over Brandon Bravehearts as was the Bravehearts Alan Perry when they got a draw against Cramlington Cobras.

A hat trick from James Moore helped Tyneside TTC C to  make it three out of three in the fourth division by beating Cramlington Dragons 8 – 2.