Crawley, Horsham and District Table Tennis League

Division 1 Results and Tables

Final League Tables For 2011 – 2012 Season

Card not received, therefore match declared void

06-02-12 Crawley Sports A vs Trinity A

Latest Reports

Trinity B 6 – 4 Crawley Sports A

Trinity B sealed the Division 1 title with their 18th win of the season over Crawley Sports B. Joe Comper kicked off proceedings with a 3-2 win over Si Man Yau. Ben Dewsbury followed up with a 3-0 win over Geoff Brown to put Trinity 2 points away. Rohan Venner beat Dave McCulloch to make it 2-1 and the scores were level after Si Man beat Ben with some huge topspins. Crawley Sports then took the lead as Rohan avenged his 3-2 defeat to Joe earlier in the season to win 3-2. McCulloch made it 3-3 by beating Geoff but in the process saw Geoff have to conceed is final game to a knee injury. Ben managed a good win against Venner but Dave couldn’t overcome the powerful Si Man. At 5-4 and the title wrapped up, Comper and Dewsbury sealed the win with a 3-1 win over Si Man and Rohan and left to celebrate with Champagne at Goffs Manner. A superbly competitive season which up until a few weeks ago could have see the title go either way. Copthorne B almost grabbed enough points and you feel if they had of shown their late form early in the season, they would have walked it. Trinity b just did enough to stumble over the line but regardless of who won the title, this season has proved their is some superb players, matches and teams outside of the Premier Division.

Foresters D 3 – 7 Trinity B

This match saw two former Foresters players, and teammates of Alison, return to the hut with their new club Trinity. Joe Comper and Ben Dewsbury were the returnng duo and both took maximums on their old stomping ground. John Major completed the Trinity line-up. Alision East, Nina Williams and Alan Terry featured for Foresters in what looked a strong team. The two skippers were up first and Comper beat East 3-0 in no time. The next match was an intrguing encounter between Ben Dewsbury and Alan Terry. Ben upped his game from recent weeks and took a good 3-0 win. The third game saw a slower tempo and a change in fortunes. Nina Williams triumphed 3-0 over John Major. In match 4, Comper beat Williams 3- but the sets were closely contested. Major then lost out to Terry and Dewsbury had another good win over East. with the score at 4-2, Trinity pushed on. Dewsbury beat nina and Joe beat Alan 3-1 in a match that could have gone either way. The match of the night was between John and Alison. Alison won the match 3-1 but there were some outstanding rallies. In the doubles, the brother-sister due of East and Terry took a 1-0 lead over Comper and Dewsbury. It was downhill from there though as the Trinity pair won the match 3-1 to see home a 7-3 win. On a sidenote, the iced buns at “half time” went down a treat. Foresters D definately in with a shout for the Fair play award!

Foresters F 3 – 7 Trinity B

A second match in 2 nights for Trinity B take on Foresters F at the huts. After defeat the night before to Copthorne, they were looking to bounce back and get the title hunt back on track. Up against them for Foresters was the tricky looking trio of Barry Cheers, Don Thomas and Paul (insert surname!!!). Trinity’s usual trio of Joe Comper, Ben Dewsbury and Sam Egan (this time wearing a sensible pair of shorts) featured for the away side. Comper got the proceedings under way with a good 3-0 ovr Barry who struggled to get to grips with the bat more than anything. the second game saw Paul take on Sam. Sam picked up where he left of the previous night….losing in 3!!! Good footwork and big loops from Paul saw him through. With th late arrival of Dewsbury, Comper stepped in to beat Don Thomas in 3 tight sets 9-9-8. When Ben did finally arrive, he maybe wished he hadn’t bothered as he lost out to Barry Cheer to make the scoreline 2-2. Sam Egan then took on Don and managed a good win (finally) and Ben beat Paul to ensure the whole Trinity outfit contributed. This made for a nice change and gave Comper’s back a rest from carrying the team all season. Comper overcame Paul in a tight match with differing styles. Ben Beat Don for his 2nd point of the night to make the score 6-3 going into the doubles. Comper/Dewsbury vs Thomas/Cheer. Trinity took the first set but Foresters levelled it 1-1. Trinity had enough to see the game u and took the next 2 sets and polished off a good 7-3 win. An enjoyable night with much mickey taking from all sides, many laughs and a small amount of decent ping pong thrown in!

Cop/Maid B 6 Trinity B 4

Comper trio not enough as the Coppers dent Trinity’s 100% record.

With the season drawing to a close, this top of th table clash took on extra significance in the race to the “promised land” of the Premier Division. Both teams were at full strength with the home side fielding Skipper Derek Flanagan, Stuart Brooks and Gay Bristowe whilst Trinity Had Joe Comper, Ben Dewsbury and Sam Egan. The first match of the evening saw the captains face each other. Comper took a 2-0 lead but Derek rallied well to pull a game back with some superb blocking and a better grip on the Comper serves. It wasn’t enough though as the damage was already sone and Joe had enough to squeeze the fourth in a tight set. The second game of the night was between Gary Bristowe and Ben Dewsbury. In the teams previous match, Gary (by his own admition) didn’t perform as well as he could do….this was not a problem this time round though. He swept past Ben 3-0 and Dewsbury ha no answer to Bristowe’s big loops. With the match tied at 1-1 Stuart Brooks took on Sam Egan. Sam was sporting an illigal pair of white shorts that was kindly overlooked by the opponents! Sadly for Sam, the shorts provided no magic and Stuart took a comfortable 3-0 win to but the “Coppers” ahead. With the early pressure on Trinity, Captain Comper returned to the table to face the inform Gary. in set one and two, Gary had too much and pushed Joe aside without breaking a sweat. No matter what Comper did, there was always an answer from the other end of the table. In the third set, the momentum swung as a few huge retrevals from a defensive Comper saw Bristowe begin to make a few errors. The pattern continued in the 4 sending the match to a 5th set. In the 5th, Gary counldn’t recapture the form that made Comper look a novice in the first 2 sets and Trintiy levelled the match. The match poised at 2-2, it was again Copthorne that took the initiative. Derek posted as point on the board with a solid 3-1 win over Sam in an interesting variation of styles. Stuart then heaped more misery on Trinity with a good win over an out of sorts Dewsbury. With both players producing some bracking topspin rallies, Stuart’s big backhand smash and quick feet was too much for Ben. At 4-2, Trinity were on the verge of losing their 100% record for the season. Sam Egan needed a big performance to overcome Gary Bristowe and save their impressive statistic. Egan took the lead 1-0 and seemed to have Gary under control. Sadly for him though, Gary upped his game and began to produce some top Table Tennis. After some fast attacking rallies, Gary ran out the 3-1 victor to ensure at least a draw for Copthorne…but they wanted more than that. In game 8 of the night, Stuart Brooks took on Joe Comper. In the first 2 sets, Comper managed to force a few mistakes from Stuart with some more decent defending and took a 2-0 lead. In games 3 and 4, Stuart showed why he is one of the divisions top players and wised up to the Comper tactics. He gained a bit of consistency and levelled the match 2-2 with some oustanding topspin play. Into the 5th it went and Stuart was on top of a tired (Unfit!) Comper. Luckily for Trinity, The Table Tennis gods were shining on them and with aa combination of nets and edges Comper came through for the win. The amount of luck ruined what was a superb game of Table Tennis which was a shame…but Trinity were desperate so they took it! At 5-3 Ben Dewsbury and Derek Flanagan took to the table. Ben was in no mood to mess about and upped his game from the previous matches. He took the lead over Derek but it was not all plain sailing as Derek again mustered up some great backhand blocks to out fox Ben. The game finished 3-0 meaning the whole night rested on the doubles. The unbeaten duo on Comper and Dewsbury took on the inform duo of Brooks and Bristowe. Trinity took the lead with a comfortable win in the first set and seemed to be on their way to another win to seal a crucial draw. It was not to be though as the Copthorne pair raised their game to outclass their opponents and put the game to bed in a professional manor 3-1 to complete a good win. Another great night of Table Tennis is what has turned out to be a superb divison and going into the the final weeks of the season, Its all to play for!!

Trinity B 7 – 3 Crawley Sports A

Trinity B took this re-arranged game 7 – 3 with Ben Dewsbury and Joe Comper on fire for the Title Hopefuls. Dewsbury took his wins in straight forward fashions winning 3-0 3-0 3-0 whilst Comper took his 3-0, 3-1, 3-0. Hilary Bostock taking a set. John Lee, Hilary and Howard Bostock notched one a piece to aid their releation battle all their wins coming against Dave McCulloch. Comper and Dewsbury’s formidable doubles partnership maintained their 100% record with a close fought match winning 3-2 against the Bostock Duo.

Trinity B 9 – 1 Foresters F

An important victory for the Trinity outfit against a tricky Foresters line-up. Joe Comper came flying out the blocks against Dave Edwards and took the first match of the evening 3-0. Ben Dewsbury followed suit with a 3-0 win over Lynne Trussel and Sam Egan beat the tricky pimple play of Martin Skitt. Dewsbury didn’t have it all his own way against Dave Edwards who regrouped after his first match defeat to take the first set. That was as good as it got for Edwards though as, despite a spirited performace, Dewsbury pulled it together to squeeze through the next 3 games. Comper came out on top to take the pimple vs pimple affair against Skitt taking it 3-0 but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Foresters point was put on the board by Lynne Trussell who produced a good win over Sam Egan. From then on it was Trinity who racked up the points. Ben overcame Skitt after a shacky start and Egan beat Edwards. Comper managed a 3-0 win over Trussell but as the scoresheet suggested it wasn’t staright forward. 19-17, 11-9, 11-7. Martin Skitt partnered Lynne in the doubles and they took on Comper and Dewsbury. After losing the first, the Forester duo rallied and took the second. Sadly for them, Trinity had enough to see them out 3-1.

Copthorne/Maidenbower A 3 – 7 Trinity B

Bob Sumpter, Maggie Smith and Mike Hughes featured for the home side whilst Joe Comper, Ben Dewsbury and a partly kitted out Sam Egan played For Trinity. Dewsbury opened the match with a good win over Mike Hughes and Comper followed the lead by beating Maggie in a good contest. Bob opened the C and M account with a win over Sam in the third match of the night. Dewsbury managed to beat Maggie and an all out attack match-up while Sam got a good win over one of the divisions top players, Mike. Sady for Trinity, he couldn’t repeat the feat and lost out to Maggie. Comper beat Sumpter 3-0 after squeezing past Hughes 11-8 in the 5th but performance of the night wen to Bob Sumpter who managed a superb victory over Dewsbury. Comper and Dewsbury again partnered up to beat the SAS (Sumpter and Smith) in a tight doubles.

Trinity D 7 – 3 Foresters G

With Gemma Williams out injured, Connor White most likely off with yet another girlfriend and three games in three days for Trinity D, they shuffled the pack which presented a team of Captain Jacob White, the E team’s Tim Hayden and new signing, youngster Darius Josiaeh. Foresters fielded the experienced duo of Fred Batten and Juliette Chase alonside exciting prospect Laura Szczegoski. The procedings were kicked off by Tim Hayden and Fred Batten. Tim took they tie 3-0 with a good performance against Fred, proving that on his day, he is a force to be rekoned with. Jacob White followed up with a good with over Juliette. The third game of the night saw the youngsters take to the table. Laura overcame Darius, but in his first game, he battled well and definately has a bright future. Laura showed no mercy and her class was clear for all to see. Jacob managed to get Trinity back on track with a win over Fred and Tim continued where he left off by beating Juliette, again 3-0. Darius hit some big shots againt Juliette but it wasn’t enough for a point. Jacob completed an impressive hat-trick by beating Laura. Fred’s final game saw him up against Darius. In no other sport could you have such an age gap as 75 years!!! Experience was the key in this one and fred added to the Foresters tally. The game of the night was the final singles between Tim and Laura. Laura stormed into a 2-0 lead and Tim couldn’t handle the heat. Sadly for Laura, he refused to leave the kitchen and rallied to level the tie. Laura produced some incredible topspin shots and Tim clung on in each rally trying to mix it up with some….interesting….techinques. The final set saw Hayden complete the comback and with it a treble to seal the win for the home side. The doubles went the way of Trinity to complete and impressive 7-3 after recent struggles which saw them gravitate to the lower end of the table.

Week 11

Trinity B 10 – 0 Horsham J

This was always going to be a tough outing for Horsham J, but 10 – 0 was very harsh on the home side. Hosham fielded Piers Van-Mol, Liam Cuffe and youngster Matt Van Yperen. Trinity travelled to Horsham with a strong looking line-up of Skipper Joe Comper, Ben Dewsbury and Sam Egan.

Comper opened the trinity account by beating Van Yperen in 3. This looked easier on paper than it actually was. The next game saw Sam Egan take on an awkward Liam Cuffe. Sam did well to overcome Cuffe and put Trinity 2 to the good. The third match saw Piers Van-Mol take on Ben Dewsbury. Piers stormed into a 2-0 lead overpowering Ben with some outstanding counter hitting. Ben rallied well to win the next 2 sets, both close ones, to even things out. By this stage Dewsbury had taken cotrol and saw Piers off in the 5th. Comper made it 4 – 0 with a good tactical win over Cuffe and Dewsbury followed up with a win over Van-Yperen. The sixth match-up saw Egan take on Van-Mol. Once again Piers took a 2-0 advantage…but once again he let it slip. For 2 games, Sam couldn’t handle piers’ aggression but he came to terms with it and battled back to win 3-2. At 6 – 0 things were looking bleak for Horsham and Trinity were eyeing up the top spot for Christmas. Things continued in a similar way with Dewsbury beating Cuffe, Comper beating Van-Mol and Egan overcoming Van-Yperen in 4. All that was left was for the formidable Comper/Dewsbury partnership to take on Van-Mol/Cuffe. The Trinity Duo took the match 3-0 to record their first 10 – 0 win of the season.

Things are looking bleak for Horsham at the foot of the table and they are yet to win a match. If they continue to play as they did in this match though, things are sure to pick up. As for Trinity, they sit top of the league at Christmas and their next match is against second team Trinity A.

Foresters E 2 – 8 Trinity A

The final match before the Christmas break saw Foresters E play host to Trinity A in the huts. Foresters E fielded an eclectic mix of styles in Pat Smith, Barry Cheer and Don Thomas. Trinity A fielded the normal set up of Mo Amin, John Domingo and Steve Simpson. The first match of the night saw Barry Cheer in good form seeing off John Domingo in 4 games. Next up was Pat Smith v Steve Simpson, another 4 setter, this time with Steve managing to pip Pat after some great rallies. Mo Amin powered through Don to take the next. The only 5 setter of the night was Pat Smith v John Domingo, Pat digging in deep utilising all his experience to edge to victory 12-10 in the 5th. The good form of Barry Cheer continued in his excellent game against Mo, the topspin of Mo was too much on this occasion, Mo winning in 4. John Domingo powered his way through Don Thomas and Steve managed to beat Barry in 3. Steve managed to get a win against a much improved Don Thomas and Mo a win against a very determined Pat Smith. The last match of the night was the doubles with Don Thomas/Pat Smith v Steve Simpson/Mo Amin, Steve and Mo winning in 3 to secure the 8-2 win. An excellent night of table tennis, some great displays of sportsmanship, experience, blocking, attacking, right handed play and left handed play (John and Don) —- a great sign-off to 2011.

Week 10

Trinity B 9 – 1 Foresters F

Trinity B remained the divisions only unbeaten team by sending Foresters packing with just a single point from 10. Ben Dewsbury continued his recent good form winning his 3. At 2-0 down to Barry Cheer, he looked to be struggling, but once he got to grips with Barry’s serve he came into the game. Ben dodged 2 or 3 match points before taking it in 5. Joe Comper hasn’t lost since the first match of the season and he didn’t let that run slip here. He was in trouble when Barry clawed back a 2-0 deficit to take it t a decided but Comper kept his cool to see him off. Sam Egan added another 2 points for Trinity beating Don Thomas and Pat Smith. Pat Provided the comedy all night, but sadly that was all that he provided! Barry Cheer did provide one point beating Egan. No luck for Don Thomas on this occassion. All that was left was the doubles. The unbeaten duo of Dewsbury and Comper saw of Smith and Thomas to complete the rout and continue Trinity B’s charge to the business end of the table where they join their club mates at the summit.

Week 7

Copthorne/Maidenbower A 1 – 9 Trinity a

This encounter saw current table toppers Cop/Maid A facing off against Trinity A. The current division leaders came out with a strong team of Colin Hodges, Maggie Smith and Bob Sumpter, Trinity A fielded Steve Simpson, John Domingo and Mo Amin. Colin faced John “5 setter” Domingo in the first game, it typically went to 5, this time with John prevailing. Steve then saw out Maggie Smith. The ‘upset’ of the evening was Bob Sumpter taking a win over Mo Amin, Bob playing some excellent table tennis. John had another tight 5 setter with Maggie, John came out on top. Mo Amin found his form and dispatched Colin in 3. John had another epic 5 setter, this time against Bob, one match even went to 18-16, John managed to remain unbeaten for the night. Steve and Mo won their remaining matches. The doubles was down to Bob/Maggie v Steve/John with Steve and John winning in 3. The final score of 9-1 in no way reflected the quality of the losing team, a net here or an edge there and the score could have been markedly different.

Week 6

Trinity A 6 – 4 Copthorne/Maidenbower B

(Report 1)

This week saw a very strong Copthorne/Maidenbower B trading blows with Trinity A. Trinity A knew their hands would be full with an opposition of Derek Hannagan, Stuart Brooks and Gary Bristow. The first game of the night saw Mo Amin take a comfortable win against Derek. Next up was Steve Simpson v Stuart Brooks, their one previous encounter could have gone eitherway so this was set up to be a tough battle. Stuart took a commanding lead in the first game which proved enough to clinch it, Steve Simpson drew it level and then managed to win the 3rd game 12-10 before getting some nice breaks to close the match out. John Domingo lost out to Gary but was woefully unlucky not to bring it to a 5th game. Mo Amin with some inspired play beat Gary. Steve Simpson managed to close out Derek. What came next was an incredible scoreline which none of us had seen before. The match was John Domingo v Stuart Brooks. Stuart managed to win the game with a scoreline of 10-12, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10, 10-12. Steve Simpson then had another fast paced game with Gary Bristow, this match saw some great rallies with Steve edging out Gary 3-1. Derek managed to beat Domingo in the 5th with a final game score of 11-13 before Stuart overcame Mo Amin. The scoreline was now 5-4 to Trinity A, so it was down to the doubles to secure the win or the draw. Another tough match saw Simpson/Amin beat Brooks/Bristow 3-2. A great competitive night with flashes of brilliance and a few sparks of luck. .

(Report 2)

This was a hard fought contest eventually won 6 – 4 by Trinity A, thanks to Stephen Simpson’s unbeatable form winning all 3 matches.Stuart Brooks had a marathon 5 set match against John Domingo with all 5 games resulting in 12-10 scores but Stuart was the eventual winner. Derek Flanagan also had a tough 5 set match beating John Domingo who had 5 match points against Derek but couldn’t get the final point as Derek clinched the 5th set 13-11 . Gary Bristowe was unlucky to lose to Mo Amin in a thrilling match losing 13 – 15 in the fourth set. The doubles was also a 5 set thriller with Stephen and Mo winning 11–8, 11–13, 7 –11, 11-9,11-8

Foresters E 7 – 3 Foresters F

Mid table placed Foresters E and F teams match, started with Don Thomas in impressive form, his flat hits all finding the target to carve his way through Dave Edwards and Lynne Trussell. Dave had Paul looking at his bat before going down in 4 tight ends, giving Paul a double, but on this night Lynne failed to sparkle. On paper the game of the evening looked set to be between Paul Szczegloski and the F,s Matt Craig, alas it did not match its billing, Matt coming out with an easy 3 set win. Having lost out to Matt who finished unbeaten, Barry Cheer finished off with two wins to match his team mates, but gets a special mention for best coffee of the season. The doubles proved a close encounter, Paul and Don edging out Dave and Matt 12-10 in the fifth to give the E,s a 7-3 win.

Trinity B 7 – 3 Copthorne/Maidenbower A

Two of the divisions top team went head to head, both hoping to protect 100% starts to the season. Joe Comper led for Trinity beating Maggie Smith in 3 and also had enough to beat Colin Hodges and Bob Sumpter. Ben Dewsbury beat Maggie and Bob but didn’t have enough to overcome the impressive Hodges and he took the game in 5. Dave McCulloch made up the Trinity team and picked up a win on his first Home and Away appearance of the season beating Maggie to leave her empty handed. Bob and Colin both picked up wins against Dave. With the scoreline at 6-3, the doubles could prove to be an imortant point for the winning side come the end of the season. Dewsbury and Comper, on a roll with 4 double victories from 4 made it 5 from 5 to make the scores 7-3. Some competitive Table Tennis was played against two sides who will likel be there or thereabouts in April.

Week 5

Holbrook A 2 – 8 Trinity A

Holbrook A played host to Trinity A in what turned out to be a very entertaining night. It kicked off with Steve Simpson taking a win against Marie Campbell to put Trinity A ahead. Next up was John Domingo v John De Cruz in what turned out to be very a tightly fought battle with De Cruz coming out on top with the help of some exceptional counter attack shots, Holbrook A were now level. Mo Amin’s topspin was too much for Kevin Froude, Mo taking the match in 3. Next up was John against Marie, John turned on his attacking style of play and won the game 3-1. Simpson and Amin won their next two games. Arguably the game of the night was John v Kevin, a match that kept everybody on the edge of their seats with the advantage passing from one player to the next. Kevin managed to pip John 11-9 in the 5th. Simpson and Amin closed the night out with a 3-1 win in the doubles. A great night with excellent shots, rallies, games and some very tight angles!

Week 4

Crawley Sports B 4 Foresters F 6

After two big defeats in their first matches, Foresters F were able to even up their result column with this narrow 6-4 win over Crawley Sports B. On the night Mathew Craig finished as star man, recording a maximum. A recent addition to the F team, Horley based Matt came out on top against Dave Webb who was supporting the Sports usual pairing of Howard and Hilary Bostock. Crawley Sports have a new recruit this year in the former Langley Green Boys Club junior Dave Webb. After this performance it seems that Dave is now starting to make his return to the ping tables count, notching a double, defeating Lynne Trussell and Colin Hollamby.
With the singles finished, the match score stood at 5-4 with all players on the night having registered at least one point for their respective teams. The doubles decider was a close affair, but Matt and Lynne combined well to outlast Howard and Dave in the fifth 11-7, to register Foresters F second win of the season.

Trinity A 8 – 2 Crawley Sports A

Crawley Sports A unfortunately due to a Phil Tash injury could only field 2 players for this match so they already started 3-0 down. Rowan Venner and Geoff Brown were the sole representatives for Crawley Sports A with Mo Amin, Steve Simpson and John Domingo representing Trinity A. The first of the night saw Mo pitted against Rowan, lots of excellent rallies but Mo’s topspin winning outright. Mo took the match 3-0. Next up was Steve v Geoff – another match with some great shots by both players. Steve took the match 3-0. John then faced Rowan who was looking for blood, Rowan was in outstanding form with unstoppable backhands that managed to see John off. Mo and Steve won their next two matches. John v Geoff was probably the most tightly fought match of the night with John narrowly losing out 3-1 (credit to Geoff for sportsmanship, calling a let from a point he had won). The final match of the night saw Steve/John v Rowan/Geoff in the doubles. Rowan and Geoff stormed to a 2-0 lead, the third was literally point for point with Trinity A just snatching it from the jaws of defeat, the same was the case for the fourth. The final game saw Trinity A just pip Crawley Sports A 11-8 in the 5th. A great night had by all.

Trinity B 7 – 3 Holbrook A

Trinity B fielded a new signing in Ali Randall. After a 5 year lay-off, Ali came into the side to accompany Joe Comper and Ben Dewsbury in the absence of Sam Egan and Dave McCulloch. They came up againts a tricky Holbrook side who, despite being at the wrong end of the table, would certainly prove difficult opponents. Joe Comper managed to win 3 a did Dewsbury. Ali struggled in his return and lost out to Marie Campbell, John De Cruz and Kevin Froud. Comper and Dewsbury combined to ensure their impressive 100% doubles record and confirm the teams 100% start to the season.

Week 3

Foresters D 5 – 5 Trinity A

This match against last years Div 1 champions was always going to be a close affair and the result matched the prediction. It was all about David East who was the in-form player of the night. The night started with Mo Amin taking a 3-1 win over Nina Williams. The next match was a very tight 5 setter between David East and Steve Simpson with David East in superb form. David was in the zone smashing through everything and taking the 5th set 12-10 to level the scores up. Next up was Alan Terry who after a tough first set managed to beat John Domingo. Then came David East who smashed his way past Mo Amin in a 4 setter. The hardest fought battle of the night was Nina Williams v John Domingo, both players giving absolutely everything that they had with John the victor 13-11 in the 5th. Steve Simpson earned two further points with wins over Alan Terry and Nina. It all came down to the doubles with Steve and John v Alan and Dave. Another tightly fought match with Steve and John finishing first past the post to secure the doubles win and the draw for the match overall. A tightly fought match with both teams sharing the spoils.

Crawley Sports A 4 – 6 Trinity B

A tight contest between 2 good sides. Joe Comper won 3 after a crucial 15-13 win in the 5th set over Rohan Venner. Rohan was too good for Ben Dewsbury though beating him in the 5th. Ben did clain 2 points though beating Geoff Brown and Phil Tash. Sadly for Trinity, with Sam Egan and Dave McCulloch unavailable, they had to call up Dan Marston from Div 2. Dan played well with some hueg backhands but it wasn’t enough to trouble the scoreline. Joe and Ben teamed up and continued their superb doubles record beating Rohan and Phil in the 5th.

Week 2

Horsham J 0 – 10 Trinity A

After last weeks narrow loss Trinity A were back with a vengeance and meant business, the team to face their wrath were Horsham J.
This weeks affair started with what was looking like another upset for week 2, Liam Cuffe stormed to a 2-0 lead against Steve Simpson. Steve had to play tactically to get himself back in the match and managed to take the next three games with a scoreline that didnt reflect the first two. Next up was John Domingo who was looking for his first win of the season. John was facing Nick Cuanter who has recently got back into the game but you couldnt tell as he went straight for the jugular with John and took a substantial lead in their first game. John with some inspired play managed to beat the odds to claw the scoreline back and win the first. John was then firing on all cylinders and took the next two comfortably. Mohammed Amin was back to his lethal form and stormed through his first against Bob Rhodes with relative ease. Steve, John and Mohammad all won their next two encounters to set up a score of 9-0. Steve and John played the doubles and clinched the win to close the night out at 10-0. A great night had by both teams.

Trinity B 8 – 2 Foresters D

This match up saw two title chasers going at it at Holy Trinity. Joe Comper opened the proceedings for Trinity Beating David East to go 1-0. Sam Egan provided the shock of the evening, beating Last years top performer Alan Terry in 5. Ben Dewsbury beat Alison East in the 1st of 3 5 setters he had. Ben Also beat David East and then, after being 2-0 down and 6-2 down, turned the game on its head to win again in 5. The East’s did recover to beat Sam Egan to register their team 2 points but Alan couldn’t overcome Comper and he took it lost out 3-1. In the doubles, the formidable Comper/Dewsbury partnership faced the strong duo of Terry and D.East. In yet another 5 setter, the Trinity pair took the game and with it sealed an impressive 8-2 win over last years champions.

Holbrook A 5 v 5 Crawley Sports B

Holbrook A and Crawley Sports B shared the points in the opening game of the season. Under very sultry conditions, more reminiscent of sauna than a table tennis venue, Kevin Froude battled tremendously hard to three wins with Marie Campbell picking up Holbrook’s other two points. John Lee earned 2 points for Crawley Sports with Hilary and Howard Bostock taking a point each and Hilary and John winning the doubles in 4 against Marie and John de Cruz. A very sociable evening enjoyed by all.

Copthorne/Maidenbower A 9 v 1 Horsham J

Horsham Returned to the Home and Away format with a tough fixture away to Copthorne/Maidenbower A. The settled trio of Colin Hodges, Bob Sumpter and Maggie Smith proved too much for their opponents running out with a 9-1 win. There was resistance in the form of Liam Cuffe who produced a superb win against Maggie in the 5th to ensure a point was on the board after week 1. Sadly for Liam, Teammates Bob Rodes and Piers Van Mol found the going tough and didn’t trouble the scorer. Colin and Bob were solid throughout recording all three in impressive fashion. Maggie picked up a respectable duo of wins and the Maidenbower outfit took the doubles in 4.

Copthorne/Maidenbower B 9 v 1 Foresters F

Copthorne B matched their A team club mates with an equally impressive 9-1 win at home to Foresters F. Things looked bright for the Foresters team of Dave Edwards, Alan Hitchings and Phil Green when Edwards recorded the upset of week one. He stormed into a 2-0 against one of last year’s top performers Stuart Brooks. Stuart showed his class to pull himself back into the game and took it into a decider. The experienced Edwards kept his nerve to record a surprise win 11-9 and put the team 1-0 up. From then on however, it was one way traffic as the strong Copthorne/Maidenbower team stepped it up a gear. Derek Flanaghan impressively took 3 wins and Gary Bristowe matched him. Stuart managed to dust himself down to take is remaining 2 matches to add to their tally. Phil Green and Dave Edwards were not strong enough to double the tally and lost in 3 to end a disappointing night for them.

Trinity A 4 v 6 Trinity B

Both teams agreed that whoever drew up the fixtures were not on their Christmas card list as the club mates were pitched against one another on week 1. Club mates they may be, but on the table it was a competitive affair from the off. Joe Comper managed to take a tight 5 setter v Mo Amin to get the B’s off to a flyer and Sam Egan doubled the lead in another game that went the distance against John Domingo. Steve Simpson was in no mood for friendly gestures on the table as he battled hard to overcome Ben Dewsbury leaving the score line at 2-1. Joe then doubled his tally with a win over John but Sam Egan couldn’t repeat the trick losing out to Steve. Ben went on to pick up impressive 3 set wins over John and Mo to register 2 points for his team. After the disappointment of 2 loses, Mo picked himself up to beat Egan in the 5th and Simpson outclassed Comper to remain undefeated. With the score at 5-4 the doubles took on big significance. The A team took a 2-0 lead with Simpson and Amin teaming up for the first time. Dewsbury and Comper rallied well and pulled it level an take it yet again to the 5th. In a cagey decider, the B tea duo held their nerve to take the point and with it the win. A superb Table Tennis match and all agreed a superb evening.

Foresters D 8 v 2 Foresters E

Title chasers Foresters D kicked off this campaign with an impressive win over club mates Foresters E. Foresters veteran Alison East carried on her form from last year with 2 good wins over Don Thomas and Pat Smith who returned to the game after a lengthy absence. Despite his return from the Ping Pong wilderness, Pat took Alison close and at 10-6 up in the fifth was on the brink of an outstanding win. Alison showed her experience though to claw it back winning 6 points in a row to win 12-10. Nina Williams matched Alison’s performance with 2 wins of her own, again over Pat and Don. Foresters new signing, Paul Szczegolski, took to league Table Tennis like a duck to water winning 2 on his debut beating Alison and Nina. It was, however, Alan Terry who did what he so often did last year taking 3 wins in impressive fashion. The D’s topped of a good night’s work with a win in the doubles to keep up with the division’s early pace setters with an 8-2 win.