DIVISION 3 – 30.3.08.
TEEN & TWENTY C PIP OTFORD B AT THE POST
Division 3 of the Sevenoaks League has followed the pattern of all the other Divisions with both promotion and relegation issues being in doubt until the very last match. Otford B held a three point lead over Teen & 20 C so it was not a foregone conclusion that they could hold on to this as they had to play them in Round 9. The third placed team Coney Hill B couldn't catch either of these teams. With regard to relegation whilst it was mathematically possible that Coney Hill C could stay up, it seemed unlikely but they could still have a say in who else went down as they still had to play Otford C who were just above them in the table. Bromley Common B weren't safe either.
The atmosphere in the top of the table clash between Teen & 20 C (Peter Duke/Alan Woollven) and Otford B (Tyron Stalberg/Tony York) was electric. Four of the five sets went the distance in was an epic battle. Stalberg hadn't lost all season and the pressure upon him to perform well yet again for his team was therefore enormous. Otford needed a good start and it certainly looked as if they had it with Stalberg taking the first game from Duke. Stalberg is, however, far too experienced a campaigner to under-estimate Duke and it went to five games with Duke taking it at the last gasp 12-10. Another lengthy set followed between Woollven and York. Woollven was 2-0 up on York who fought back to level at 2 all before giving best at 8-11. Yet another long set followed in an interesting doubles but it was not until the fifth game that Otford got it all together to take it 11-6. You need a lot of patience to beat Duke and York was going along nicely at one stage but Duke wasn't going to be denied and took it in four. The last set was no less competitive with Woollven defeating Stalberg 11-6 in five for a maximum haul. It was a great result for Teen & 20 but a disastrous one for Otford.
The outcome of the match between Otford C (Mike Sefton/Peter Coles) and Bromley Common B (Malcolm Meadows/Richard Begg) would directly affect relegation and it was an extremely competitive and noisy affair. Sefton got Otford off to a good start defeating fellow defender Meadows in straight games. Begg levelled the match with a five game win over Coles before Otford went back into the lead when they won the doubles. The combination of Meadows defending and Begg attacking doesn't work well for Bromley Common B and Otford kept very steady. Begg got involved with yet another long set when he had to come back from 0-2 down against Sefton, taking the next three 13-11, 12-10, 12-10 to square the match again but Coles played some good stuff to defeat Meadows and secure a 3-2 victory for Otford.
The domestic battle between Coney Hill C (Dave Hanson/Caroline Hanson) and Coney Hill B (Derek Norman/Harry Isaacs) was a very entertaining tussle and produced a surprise when the C pulled off a 3-2 win. Both Dave and Caroline were playing well but a series of interruptions when Dave was on course to take Norman to five didn't help his cause and he went down 9-11 in the fourth. Isaacs made it 2-0 although Caroline didn't make life easy for him. Team Hanson began their recovery in the doubles with a nice 3-1 win followed by Dave doing well to beat Isaacs in four and topped off by Caroline playing some very nice rallies to defeat Norman 12-10 in the fourth for a well deserved win for the C. It is a pity they have had availability problems this season.
Before the start of the last round Otford B and Teen & 20 C were therefore level on 35 points apiece while Otford C were on course for relegation. All the remaining matches were of considerable significance each having a bearing on one or other issue and in the case of the Teen & 20 C and Bromley Common B clash, both!
It was certainly very tense when Woollven tackled Begg and there was plenty of shouting going on. Woollven won it in four and Duke followed suit with a win, again in four, over Meadows. Teen & 20 C were by now on a roll and took the doubles in straight games. Meadows put up a tremendous fight against Woollven, making some superb returns and was disappointed to lose 14-16 in the fourth, a fifth game would have been interesting. Duke was determined to get that important fifth point and worked hard to put the brakes on Begg, finally getting home 11-7 in the deciding game. A 5-0 for Teen & 20 C meant they had done all could they to secure the title but it would probably mean relegation for Bromley B.
In the meantime Otford B (Stalberg/York) were doing battle with Coney Hill B (Norman/Isaacs) and they couldn't afford any slip-ups. They started off well with Stalberg defeating Norman in straight games. York looked comfortable initially against Isaacs but Isaacs is a much-improved player this season and he out manoeuvred York to take the next three. Otford bounced back to win all the remaining sets but their opportunity had gone.
On paper a 5-0 for Otford C (Coles/Sefton) over Coney Hill C (Dave and Caroline Hanson) looks easy but it was far from that. Whilst Dave found Coles a bit too good on this occasion Caroline put up a fine performance against Sefton and could well have taken two games from him. Much the same could be said for Dave against the same player, some excellent stuff but when you're fighting for survival, not a lot of luck goes your way. However, with Bromley Common B having a hard time at the hands of Teen & 20 C, it meant Otford C would survive in Division 3.
Teen & 20 C were therefore champions by a solitary point but how disappointed Otford B must be. Otford C, on the other hand, were rejoicing in their escape from relegation having dropped only two points during the afternoon – a very mixed bag of fortunes for the Otford club.