THE two Marsh teams have set an early pace at the top of the Huddersfield Table Tennis League Second Division.
So when they met last week there was little but bragging rights to play for.
The D team were defending an unbeaten start to the season and that status remained intact after their narrow 6-4 victory.
Steve Martin, who has had an excellent start again, won two as did Keith Hague – and the pair combined to take the doubles.
David Taylor picked up a vital win over Michael Townend for the victors, while David Blackburn and Neil Dawson both won twice for C.
While the ‘domestic’ affair was going on at Marsh, Kingsmith C were taking full advantage of playing against a depleted Kingsmith PW side, who were able to field only two players.
The C team’s 9-1 victory swept them to the top of the table, where they now hold a two-point advantage over Marsh D – although Marsh have a game in hand.
Golcar Liberal A recorded their first victory of the season with a 6-4 win over Kingsmith D.
Steve Tattersley, the defensive backbone of the side, recorded a maximum as David Arnold, David Barrow and Paul Niven all struggled to cope with his style and tenacity.
In a Division dominated by no fewer than five teams from Kingsmith, it was a little surprising that the E team trio of John Langfield, Chris Williams and Steve Cook had failed to win any of their opening six matches.
True, they drew their first three but had to wait until last week’s trip to Deighton C to notch up their first win. Emphatic it was too, 8-2, with Langfield unbeaten.
Ron Powell moved to Deighton from Kingsmith at the start of this season and so is coming up against former clubmates on a regular basis, which can add a little spice to the evening. On this occasion it was not Ron’s night, losing all three!
Shelley proved that, when they have their best players all available, they are a match for any side.
Their convincing 7-3 win over Kingsmith 200+ was achieved with two wins apiece from Ed Bowen, who is having an excellent season, Phil Cockayne and Ian Jessop. Geoff Haywood won twice for the losers.
Woodfield Park B beat Brooks C by the same 7-3 scoreline, with Derek Moorhouse unbeaten, Steve Knott (2) and Janet West (1) overhauling Nathan Spencer (2) and Stefan Arak (1).
Vance Rickwood is finding it difficult in making a comeback in Division Two and needs more table time. He is a regular at the newly-opened Hudawi Centre sessions where he is able to start to rebuild his confidence.
Highlight of Division Three was the match between Kingsmith E and Scissett B – the result was a 7-3 win for Scissett, with Neil Womersley (3) Sarah Napier (2) and Peter Lindley (1) proving too strong for Howard Birch, Mike Jagger and David Wood.
The remarkable, if not historic fact from the match, was the combined age of the losers – no less than 228 years between them!
It is doubtful if any team fielded in the League’s 80 years has aggregated such a total. If anyone knows differently then please let us know!
