DIVISION 2 ROUND-UP : WEEK 15
Published 17/01/2020 at 14:35:49 by Martin Johnson.
Division 2 Round-Up – Week 15 (Week 13 in Division 2)In the first League week of the New Year, all five matches resulted in close scores, with one 5-5 draw and four 6-4 results.
Leaders, Milton Keynes Tornadoes, were given a tough match by third placed Milton Keynes Classics, but managed to come away with a 6-4 win, which leaves them six points clear at the top of the table. Tanmay Tijare picked up wins in all his singles sets, including a win from 2-1 down in games against Masoud Nassor, in the evening’s only five game set. For Tornadoes, Nicolas Wong won twice, but he was handed a rare defeat by Dylan Cox, who won in straight games. Matthew Curley won the final point for the leaders by beating Masoud, but lost out to both Dylan and to Nick Markham. Dylan / Masoud also took the doubles against Nicolas / Tanmay, to keep Classics in third spot.
Milton Keynes Shambles produced the surprise result of the week, defeating second placed Milton Keynes Hit ‘n’ Hope 6-4. Steve Jordan was the chief architect in the win, with three singles wins, although he was taken to five games by both Ivor Howard and Paul Tompkins. Steve was backed up by Dave Burrill, who collect wins versus Mike Ainsworth and in the final set of the night, to clinch the win, against Ivor. Paddy Patel provided the final win for Shambles, although they were defeated in the doubles as Ivor / Paul beat Steve / Paddy. The result leaves Hit ‘n’ Hope six points behind Tornadoes, but still six points clear of the chasers, whilst Shambles stay eighth, but have extended the gap above the relegation zone to seven points.
Fourth placed Mursley Hawks suffered a 6-4 reverse away at seventh placed St. Christopher Spitfires, for whom Bernie Raffe was on fine form, collecting a maximum that included the doubles with Jock Wallace, whilst Graham Silversides grabbed the other two wins. Spitfires gained the early advantage as Graham took a tight five game set against Martin Johnson, followed by Bernie doing likewise versus Frank Beck, and although reserve Peter Sear pulled one back with a win over Jock, the home team built up a 5-1 lead. Hawks battled back to narrow the advantage, as Frank won his other two sets and Martin one, but fittingly it was Bernie who clinched the win at 6-3 with his final singles win.
Fifth placed Newport Pagnell Lagondas have closed the gap on fourth spot to just one point, after securing a 6-4 win over Milton Keynes Cavaliers. Two wins apiece for Glen Davison and Chris Horn, supplemented by one for Roy Read, plus Glen / Chris taking the doubles, was enough to grab the spoils. For Cavaliers, who remain in ninth spot, Chris Welch picked up two wins, with one win each by Chris Paddon and John Bradley.
The final match saw bottom team Milton Keynes Blades a player short, but they managed to pick up an unlikely looking 5-5 draw with seventh placed Woburn Sands Mosquitoes. The Blades pairing of Mark Thomas and Brian Evans each won twice, both losing out to Paul Hamer in four games, but beating both Glenn Barcham and Mosquitoes’ reserve, Paul Sargent, although Glenn lost out in five games both times. Mark / Brian also teamed up to beat Paul / Glenn in a five game doubles.
Players of the Week : Tanmay Tijare and Bernie Raffe.