SEVENOAKS TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE
DIVISION 6 – 18.04.10
DARENTH G HOLD ON TO TAKE TITLE
At the start of the final Division 6 meeting Darenth G had a comfortable five point cushion at the top of the table in front of Halstead C. Bromley Common D were not without a shot at the runners-up spot as they were only five points further back.
The Icelandic volcano eruption took its toll with players stranded overseas and one such was Scott Gabriel so Jenny Hunter and Sandra Short carried on for Darenth G against Bromley Common D (Joy Grohmann/Izzy Reeks). Hunter was clearly nervous against Grohmann in the opening set and trailed 5-9 in the fifth before coming with a run of six points to sneak home 11-9. This was a disappointing outcome for Grohmann who had done nothing much wrong in those last few points. Bromley Common took the next two sets to lead 2-1 before Hunter put the brakes on by beating Reeks in straight games. Grohmann had another long set with Short coming back from 1-2 this time to win and secure victory for Bromley Common D.
Darenth G, however, had unexpected help as Darenth H were busy putting the skids under Halstead C. Ashley Bissett, despite suffering with a bad back, turned out and was joined by Rory Ward on sub duty for Anthony Bissett. Ward was one of two youngsters playing up from the new Junior Development Division, the other being Patrick Smith in the I team. This is the first time that players from the Development Division have been called up to help out and they were to give a good account of themselves. Bissett's mobility restricted him to playing up to the table which worked well for him against Patterson as it cut down the angles he likes to play. The set between Sinclair and Ward was a splendid battle. The youngster took the first two games but Sinclair, a left hander who can defend, began to counter attack some of Ward's topspin shots and levelled at two games all. The last point of game four typified the quality of play. It was an extended rally of over 20 shots, Ward attacking and Sinclair defending, which got a well deserved round of applause. Ward continued to attack in the fifth but changed the placement and quickly built up a lead which saw him safely through. The right and left hand pairing worked nicely for Halstead in the doubles and they stopped the runaway train in four. Patterson had to pull out all the stops against Ward but held on under pressure in the third for a straight games victory. It was therefore down to Sinclair and Bissett to decide the outcome. Bissett still wasn't budging from the end of the table and as Sinclair prefers to play further back, it opened up the angles for Bissett to exploit which he did and secured victory for Darenth 3-2.
Darenth I were struggling to find a partner for Matthew Riches and Patrick Smith stepped in at the eleventh hour to support him against Bromley Common C (Michael Elliott/John Thornton). This was another good match. The youngsters were eager to attack but were presented with two very contrasting styles of play. Elliott has an excellent backhand attack which he uses well while Thornton's solid game is based more on backspin. The opening set was a tussle between Riches and Elliott. Elliott looked a bit out of touch initially but still took a 2-1 lead. Riches fought back to level and then got a flyer in the fifth and stormed home 11-2. Thornton seemed to be carrying forward his good form from the last meeting and while Smith had the technique to deal with his opponent's heavy backspin, he needed to adapt. He managed to take a game but Thornton kept steady to win in four. A right and left pairing in the doubles is always an asset but it didn't quite work for Bromley Common this time as Riches and Smith combined surprisingly well and took it 13-11 in the fourth. Riches gave Thornton a run for his money but wasn't consistent enough and Thornton won that in four. Smith took a while to figure out how to stop Elliott using his backhand but found the answers late in the first and then ran away with the next two to secure a 3-2 victory for Darenth I.
Before the final round Darenth G still had their five point lead and therefore needed only one point for the title, assuming Halstead C could get all five from their match. Bromley Common D had closed the gap behind Halstead C to four points.
Darenth G (Short/Hunter) had no easy task for they had the I team boys, Riches and Smith to play. It began with an absolute marathon between Riches and Short. Short was 1-2 down but skated the fourth only to lose the fifth 19-21. This wasn't doing the G team's nervous systems much good. Hunter, however, coped with Smith's spins reasonably well and won in straight games. The ladies relaxed a bit in the doubles which they won in straight games. The Riches/Hunter match was played at a furious pace with Riches hanging on to take the fourth 12-10. Short made it a 3-2 win by defeating Smith in straight games.
Halstead C got off on the right foot in their quest for a full house with Sinclair beating Elliott in straight games. Patterson had a spot of bother with the in form Thornton and trailed 0-2 before managing to level at two all. He won the fifth comfortably as Thornton began to tire. The doubles presented the unusual sight of two right and left pairs and it was another marathon which Halstead took only at 17-15 in the fifth. Thornton, who was a bit weary after the two previous extended sets he had played, lost in straight games to Sinclair so Halstead were 4-0 up. Elliott picked up his game in the last set and defeated Patterson in straight games to avoid the whitewash.
Darenth H (Ward/Bissett) were buoyant after their earlier success and Bromley Common D (Grohmann/Reeks) knew they were going to have their work cut out. The opening singles were shared with Ward defeating Grohmann in four while Reeks got the better of Bissett. Darenth won a good doubles in straight games which put them 2-1 up. Ward and Reeks played an excellent set with Reeks hitting strings of good shots to come from 2-6 down to win one game and then take a 5-0 lead in the next. Ward then began to scramble, got his nose in front in the fourth and held on to win 11-7. He had turned in a very fine performance for his team. Grohmann was going well for the first two games against Bissett who didn't get much of a look in. He managed to get back on level terms, slipped behind in the fifth and then recovered to pip Grohmann on the post 12-10 to give Darenth H a 4-1 victory.
Darenth G thus took the title by four points with Halstead C coming in as runners-up on 31. No one team has been tailed off and the standard of many sets would have graced a much higher division.