If there were an award in the Clacton League for the most improved player in recent years, Brotherhood G’s John Gallagher would certainly be one of the leading candidates.
Having developed from an average Third Division player a few seasons ago, the Brotherhood G captain is now one of the most consistent and reliable players in Division Two, as evidenced by a standout performance this week in his side’s 8-2 success against Windsor Penguins. Gallagher (pictured above, photo by Roger Hance) remained undefeated that night, handing Kelvin Olano-Harper his first loss of the season.
There were a pair each for his teammates Mark Boyland and Mark Beckham, with Beckham involved in the closest play of the match, getting past Paul Woolnough 17-15 in the fifth. Olano-Haprper’s two points for the Penguins included a win in five over Boyland.
Brotherhood G’s win puts them level on points alongside Brotherhood F, 6-4 winners this week over Brotherhood D. Neil Chegwidden and Mark Salter took a pair each, and Paul Alden one, but the D team’s Adi Kamma, making his League debut, remained unbeaten.
Lawford took the lead at the fourth attempt and did it in style with a 9-1 win against Nomads Jaguars, with only four games going to a fourth set. Charlie Denholm and John Colvin took the trebles for Lawford, Andy Hart’s victory over Richard Spence was Jaguars’ only success.
A weakened Windsor Kestrels went down 7-3 to Windsor Harriers, Barry Allen getting his three for the Harriers and Ferdy Rodriguez two. For the Kestrels there was a pair for Graham Bunce and one for Peter Aumord.
In Division Threepre-season title favorites Brotherhood H had to fight hard before beating Holland Vulcans 8-2, Dan Grindrod and Gary Simpson both taking hat-tricks. Grindrod defeated Bob Keefe 11-9 in the decider, while Simpson defeated both Keefe and Derek Foxley by the same 11-5 in the fifth score. Danny Still grabbed a pair for Brotherhood, but was narrowly beaten 11-9 by Keefe in the decider.
Nomads Leopards and Holland Hurricanes are both aiming for a top two finish and when they met this week the match ended on all counts. Gary Stallwood made his maximum for the Hurricanes, while there were two apiece for Doug Green and Dominic Joannouu of the Leopards. Green and Joannou defeated Stallwood and Ian Gwillim in a crucial doubles match.
A hat-trick for Peter Evans and two for Dave Wright, plus a shared doubles victory, saw Holland Lancasters come home 6-4 in a hard-fought match against Windsor Falcons. Matt Thomas’ pairing for the Falcons included a 3-2 (6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-7) win over Wright.
Jack Hillier scored a fine hat-trick in Brotherhood E’s 6-4 success against Walton E. The two teams shared the four games that went the distance, with Walton’s Maggie Earle involved in all four. She defeated both Tony Edmonds and Joe Hillier 11-9 in the fifth, lost 11-7 in the fifth to Jack Hillier and then, with Adrian Sexton in doubles, went down 12-10 in the fifth to the two Hilliers. Sexton also won a pair for Walton.
Nomads Ocelots were once again forced to field a guest player and, despite a treble from Mike Wellum, again ended in defeat, this time 6-4 at the hands of Windsor Magpies. Wellum’s closest win was against Dave Sweetland, 11-4 in the decider.
For the first time in many seasons, the battle is taking place at the top Division One It looks like it’s developing into a three-horse race between Nomads Panthers, Nomads Lions and Brotherhood A.
Kevin James remained unbeaten in his first appearance as a player for the Nomads Panthers and helped his side to a 10-0 victory over Windsor Buzzards. Denes Somodi and Greg Green also remained unbeaten, with 11-5 from Somodi in the decisive victory over Andy Foster, the only match was extended to a fifth set.
It was also 10-0 for Brotherhood A against Walton A, Gary Young, Gracie Edwards and Kevin Gowlett, the winning trio. Edwards had a close 3-2 (11-7, 7-11, 14-16, 11-7, 11-4) battle with Mark Gale, but the doubles was the best match, Edwards and Gowlett beating Gale and Mark Ratcliffe 3-2 (11-6, 10-12, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6).
Despite dropping their first point of the season, Nomads Lions will be pleased with their 9-1 win over Windsor Hawks. Both Adam Cuthbert and Charlie Fulcher, making their first appearance this season, took trebles, but their shared doubles victory was too close for consolation, 17-15 in the fifth against Felipe Rodriguez and Andy Vincent. Adam Wilkin took two wins for the Lions but went to Andy Vincent, with Wilkin receiving praise from his opponent for his sportsmanship after giving an advantage against himself at a crucial point in the match when neither his opponent nor the referee had seen it.
Windsor Eagles defeated a Brotherhood B side with two reserves 9-1, but the score doesn’t tell the whole story, with the Eagles winning all five matches going to a final set. Gary Cattermole and Gavin Price with trebles, and John Pattrick with two, were the Eagles’ point scorers. Simon Smith-Daye achieved Brotherhood’s only success in the first match of the evening against Patrick.
In the end three for Graham Playle, two for John Cleasby and one for Dave Miller saw Brotherhood C come home 7-3 to Walton B. Pete Burrows got two points ahead of Walton and Paul Newbould, with an 11-6 in the fifth win over Miller, their third.
* The closing date for the first tournament of the season, the Drawn Doubles, is Friday, November 7. The tournament will take place on Saturday, November 22 at Windsor’s St James’ Hall.
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Hawks 1 Nomads Lions 9
Windsor Buzzards 0 Nomads Panthers 10
Fraternity A 10 Walton A 0
Fraternity B 1 Windsor Eagles 9
Walton B 3 Fraternity C 7
Division 2
Windsor Harriers 7 Windsor Kestrels 3
Fraternity G 8 Windsor Penguins 2
Lawford 9 Nomad Jaguars 1
Brotherhood F 6 Brotherhood D 4
Division 3
Windsor Falcons 4 Holland Lancasters 6
Nomads Ocelots 4 Windsor Magpies 6
Walton C 4 Fraternity E 6
Holland Vulcans 2 Brotherhood H 8
Nomads Leopards 5 Holland Hurricanes 5
#Clacton #Dist #Gallgher #strong #Table #Tennis #England