DIVISION 5 – 16.3.08.
DARENTH E SECURE TITLE BUT BROMLEY COMMON PIPPED AT THE POST FOR PROMOTION
The last meeting of Division 5 saw Darenth E needing just two points to be certain of the title while Bromley Common D and E were vying for the runners up spot. Darenth F were still in with a chance but needed a maximum haul if they were to overtake the Bromley Common teams.
The afternoon began with three key matches, Darenth E took on Bromley Common E in the top of the table clash while Otford D did battle with Darenth F and Bromley Common D tackled Darenth G. On paper these are all youth versus experience matches, which might have been the case at the beginning of the season, but given Darenth's policy of putting their juniors into the National Cadet League and out into tournaments at an early stage, this really wasn't the case in any of them.
If Bromley Common E (Joy Grohmann/John Thornton) were to secure promotion they needed to do well against Darenth E (Jamie Dunleavy/Joel Galley). Dunleavy got away off to a good start against Grohmann going 2-0 up but she fought back bravely to take the third. Dunleavy took an early lead in the fourth and made sure at 11-7. Thornton took the first from Galley who rallied to level at one all but his game fell apart over the next two while Thornton kept steady to trot out a comfortable winner in the fourth. Bromley Common are known for their doubles prowess and a right/left hand combination is never easy to combat. The Darenth boys did well to take this in straight games but they were made to work hard for their win as 13-11, 17-15, 11-9 suggests. Thornton took the first two games from Dunleavy but lost his way in the third. He made a fight for the fourth and stood at set point but Dunleavy hung on to take it 16-14 and then the fifth. The Darenth boys could now relax but Grohmann hadn't given up hope of promotion and never gave Galley a chance to get going to keep the scoreline to 3-2.
The Otford D (Jon Corser/Ian Funnell) versus Darenth F (Ollie White/Meg Sullivan) had an unusual twist. Funnell is a master at the school White attends and was responsible for encouraging the young man to join Darenth. In the opening set Corser stormed off to a 9-2 lead in the first game against White who was uncharacteristically flustered. However, he mounted a charge to level at 9 all before Corser managed to snatch it 12-10. Corser then added the second before White got back in control and steamed away with the next three. Sullivan got a flyer against Funnell in the first but he's not an easy man to beat and he led 2-1 before Sullivan recovered to pull off an excellent five game win. White and Sullivan have always worked well together as a pair and they did just that in the doubles to put Darenth 4-0 up. Corser hit some great shots against Sullivan to lead 2-0 but Sullivan pinched the fourth and it was back to the grindstone for Corser who came through in four. The last set was a most absorbing tussle. Funnell, rock like as ever, took the first two before White began to pick his shots better and won in five to give Darenth a most unexpected 4-1 victory.
In the meantime Bromley Common D (Jenny Hunter/Sandra Short) were busy taking on Darenth G's two rookies, Dan Blackburn and Rajan Patel who were keen to throw a spanner in the works on their debuts. It looked good at the start when Hunter won the first set against Blackburn but Patel is developing into a very determined customer and given his great height, Short found it very difficult to put the ball out of his reach. It was a long hard set that a delighted Patel won in five. The ladies combine well as a doubles pair and although they dropped the first game, they regrouped to win in four games. Short didn't give the left handed Blackburn much chance to get going so it was down to Hunter to try to secure that vital fourth point. Hope faded when she went 0-2 down against Patel who was, by now, thoroughly enjoying the competition but it allowed Hunter back to two all. Hunter hit some super shots in the fifth but, just as Short had found, those long arms are very hard to get past. This was a disappointing result for the ladies.
At tea break the situation was quite complex. Although Darenth E had made sure they were champions, who was going to grab the runners-up spot? Bromley Common D on 26 were one point ahead of their own E on 25 while Darenth F had closed up to 24. There was an awful lot riding on two of those last round matches.
What happened between Darenth G (Patel/Blackburn) and Darenth E (Galley/Dunleavy) was, to a certain extent, irrelevant so that the four boys could go off and enjoy the rest of the afternoon's play without any pressure. There was, however, one surprise when Patel managed to beat Galley, coming from 1-2 down to win 13-11 in the fifth. All the remaining sets were won in straight games by the E for a 4-1 victory.
Otford D (Funnell/Corser) had nothing to lose against Bromley Common D (Short/Hunter) who were conversely under extreme pressure, they needed four points to be sure of the runners up spot. It all started off very nicely for the ladies who went 2-0 up, winning both the opening singles but after taking the first game of the doubles 11-1, something went wrong as Funnell and Corser got themselves sorted out and won in four. Hunter out-thought Funnell to take the first of the reverse singles so it was down to Short to try to secure that extra point but she was taking on Corser who has some big shots in his armoury to back up his spinny serves. It wasn't to be and Corser took it in straight games to keep the scoreline to 2-3.
At this point everyone was wondering what was happening between Darenth F (Sullivan/White) and Bromley Common E (Grohmann/Thornton). It seemed unlikely that the youngsters could pull off a 5-0 but they did just that. Bromley Common found themselves 0-2 down after the opening singles and their hope of promotion had evaporated. They obviously still wanted to do well and it wasn't for want of trying that they lost a very long five game affair in the doubles with four games being decided on deuces. Thornton was keen to get his team on the score sheet but Sullivan produced her very best to win in four games. By now the tic-tac man was busy relaying scores from the Otford D match. If White could beat Grohmann, Darenth F would come in as runners-up. He sailed home in straight games despite some very good play from Grohmann, professing afterwards that he was unaware of the points situation.
Darenth F and Bromley Common D both finished with 29 points. In this situation the aggregate points of the matches between the two teams decide the final placings. As Darenth F had won 4-1 and Bromley Common 3-2, Darenth F took second place, Bromley Common D third.
How well Jenny Hunter has done to top the averages on 83.3% from the six matches she played, no doubt she will be disappointed not to get promotion. Jamie Dunleavy, who played in every match for Darenth E, was a very creditable second on 80.0%.