Milton Keynes Junior Table Tennis Club
Match reports - By Sarah Hudson
On Saturday the 13th December the second day of the National Junior League was held at Cippenham Table Tennis Club. The Milton Keynes players were determined to put last months disappointing results behind them and really pull together as a team to continue playing at the Cippenham venue. The Milton Keynes B team were this month playing in division 3, if they finish in last place of this division then at the next date of competition they would be playing at Chesham high school, a fate none of the players wanted. The A team were competing in Division 2 and were really looking to win the division and be promoted back up to Division one, the division they deserve to compete in.
Milton Keynes A
v Kingfishers
The first team were looking somewhat out of sorts during the first match, and nerves were certainly getting the better of them. With Jon Hall also nursing a nasty chest infection it wasn’t looking good for the team. A 5-4 loss was somewhat disappointing; however it could have been a lot worse with Johan coming back from 2-0 down, and Alan just winning in the firth a game he should have finished in the third. We were aware that these four points could prove vital at a later stage, whether it be for or against us, we were unable to decipher.
v Southampton
The second match of the day was against Southampton, Jon Hall decided to sit this match out due to feeling ill and John Lodge made the step up from the B team. The team started of well with Johan picking up an easy win, John was unable to continue this form, Alan was also able to win his match and the team were making good progress. Both Alan and Johan won all three matches with John picking up one, overall a great comeback from a difficult start for the A team, picking up a valuable 7 points.
v Chesham A
The final match of the day was against Chesham A, if the team were to have any chance of winning the division they would certainly need to win the majority of the matches. Jon Hall returned to the team for this match and made an impressive start by winning his first match of the day, this form continued with both Alan and Johan and by the half way stage they were winning 5-0. It was looking very promising for the team, who were also keeping a close eye on rival team the Kingfishers. Both Johan and Jon had picked up maximums; however Alan was unable to grab the whitewash and lost his final match.
Statistics
Milton Keynes B
Chesham B
Similar to the A team the B team started of on a winning roll with both Neil and John picking up wins, however, after some very tight matches the players were unable to keep this momentum going and soon found themselves 4-2 down. John Lodge was able to add an extra win to the final score which similar to the first team could prove vital at a later stage.
v Bournemouth
The final score-line against Bournemouth does not show how close this game was, with both Josh and Matt loosing two in the fifth this could so easily have been the team’s first win. However the run of the ball had deserted them and only Neil Carruthers was able to pick up the wins.
v Cippenham D
The last and final match of the day was against Cippenham D, they were currently lying 2 points above them in the league table prior to this match so everything was to play for. The team got of to a flying start with both John and Josh picking up impressive wins. Neil unfortunately was unable to continue this fate and at times it looked like the team may loose out again, however after some great play and after showing true passion they came away with a brilliant 8-1 win. The team were put under pressure by various statements that were thrown at them by the opposition however; they held it together and finished a fine day in division 3.
Statistics