DIVISION 4 – 17.2.08.
BROMLEY COMMON SECURE TITLE
At the start of the final meeting of Division 4, Bromley Common C were in a commanding position at the top of the table, ten points clear of Teen & 20 D. Minks Hall and Cray Valley were not without a shout but neither were Cray Valley entirely clear of the relegation zone.
Bromley Common C (Dave Gabriel/Martin Saddler) disposed of Minks Hall (Doug Carr/John Blackwell) 4-1 which might appear they had easy pickings. This certainly wasn't the case as Saddler was stretched to the limit by Blackwell, knocking over barriers on several occasions in his efforts to make returns. Both the doubles and one other set went to four but all credit to Minks Hall for battling on. Blackwell's defeat of Gabriel ensured his team didn't go away empty handed.
Coney Hill's girls, Annette Howard and Sally Brown, have both had outings at higher level helping their club out this season and it is beginning to pay off. Brown was the star for Coney Hill against Cray Valley (Mike Ferguson /Dave Norcott) with two excellent singles wins. She and Howard combine well as a doubles pair and they came up trumps with another success here to get a 3-2 victory.
Without a doubt the closest match was between Teen & 20 D (Rebecca Pang/Malcolm Cole) and Darenth D where Jamie Dunleavy deputised for Sean O'Mahony, partnering Sue Sullivan. All five sets went the distance and the 4-1 victory for Teen & 20 could so easily have been a 5-0 for Darenth, it was that kind of match. It began well with Dunleavy making a charge from 1-2 down to beat Pang 11-7 in the fifth. Cole and Sullivan had a cracking set with no quarter asked or given. Sullivan had her chances but Cole wouldn't give her an inch and hung on to win 11-9 in the fifth. The doubles was a cliffhanger. Teen & 20 winning 15-13 in the fifth. The reverse singles were no less exciting, both going Teen & 20's way.
While there was no change at the top at teatime, there was a lot to play for at the other end, nobody wanted the wooden spoon and Darenth D were one point ahead of Coney Hill D.
The top of the table clash saw a change in line up for Teen & 20 D with Carol Day replacing Cole whilst Bromley Common C were unchanged with Gabriel and Saddler in harness. Pang got Teen & 20 off to a good start by beating Gabriel in straight games but it all went pear shaped after that with Bromley Common taking all the remaining sets for a 4-1 victory.
Cray Valley's poor run continued with a 1-4 loss to Minks Hall (Blackwell/Carr). Cray Valley's only success came when Norcott blocked off the big hitting Carr. It wasn't for lack of effort that Ferguson lost to Carr. He was 2-1 up at one stage but Carr doesn't give up and he stormed back to win 11-9 in the fifth.
The bottom of the table tie brought some superb rallies and more very arduous sets for Darenth D (Dunleavy/Sullivan) and Coney Hill D (Howard/Brown). Four sets went the distance and the fifth was a high scoring four game affair. Coney Hill battled hard for their 2-0 lead before losing the doubles 13-11 in the fifth. The reverse singles were shared so a 3-2 to Coney Hill meant the teams tied on 17 point apiece.
It's been a hard season for everyone. Bromley Common C were runaway winners in the end, 13 points clear of Teen & 20 D. Coney Hill D and Darenth D will renew their rivalry down in Division 5 next season but it's on the cards another Darenth team will come up from Division 5.