PREMIER & DIV 1 ROUND UP WEEK 17
Published 05/03/2022 at 15:22:55 by David Wackrill.
PREMIER
PUMAS OFF THE BOTTOM AT LAST
A massive week for the sides at both ends of the table with MK teams Spinners and Pumas coming out on top over their closest rivals.
A welcome return to form by Jecu Aurelian after an indifferent February (just 6 wins from 12) enabled Spinners to overcome their perennial rivals in the title chase (in this millennium anyway) Greenleys Monarchs 6-4 in a classic match on Wednesday. Monarchs have dropped fewer points than Spinners against the other teams in the Division, but all 3 defeats now against Spinners have surely cost them the title, with only 4 weeks of the season remaining. Jecu successfully saw off Tomek Nowakowski and Magda Kosubek but found Roumen Stefanov, the Northants star on Monarchs debut, a win too far in his last outing of the night. As usual in these tight matches, the doubles set proved vital with Jecu partnering Alan Cherry to a victory over Tomek/Magda. Alan, newly crowned League Singles champion from the weekend, was impregnable as usual for his hat-trick and relishes these important contests which always bring out his best form. Gary Jones made up the Spinners trio and played well without success.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, MK Pumas pulled off a vital 8-2 win over relegation rivals Leighton Buzzard Van Hire. It was a great night for Andy Smith and Hakan Karaagac, both with maximums and a share in the doubles to earn Pumas’ first victory since the opening week of the season, way back in the Autumn. Julie Snowdon picked up their other set with a win over David Broome to avenge her defeat last time they met. Paul Haigh and Fabrice Spelta were the other Van men and no set went to a deciding game . A 5 point margin with a match in hand should be enough to ensure Pumas finish clear of bottom place now.
The remaining match was a late night marathon with Greenleys Kings beating club-mates Warriors 7-3. Jordan Moss had to shoot off early and was allowed to play her sets first off first She started by losing to Ricky Taiwo but went on to good wins over Adebola Odetayo and Darren Ward. Warriors other successes came courtesy of Ricky and Darren at the expense of Guy Sparrow, which left Kings’ skipper Nick Howard unbeaten after surviving match points against Darren. The clash between Nick and Ricky brought together two of the in-form players in the League with Nick ending Ricky’s impressive recent run of wins in straight games.
Player of the week : Alan Cherry
DIVISION 1
BIG WIN FOR BIG JOHN
Greenleys Glory put in a sensational performance against League leaders MK Phoenix this week, losing 6-4 without the services of their main man Jacob Midson for the first time this season. John Stamp, tallest player in the Division, stepped up to the plate with a terrific shift to beat both Terry Lau and Mervyn Phillips and then team up with Scott Dixon to take out the Mervyn/Alan Bolding combination. Scott added a 4th after beating Terry and narrowly missed out on forcing the draw when going down 11-9 in the decider against Mervyn. There was no stopping Alan though, in singles combat anyway, as he extended his winning streak to 28. Christine Scaysbrook was the other Glory player. Glory have the best doubles record in the Division and the John/Scott duo are heading the doubles averages to boot.
Open University Primes crashed to their biggest defeat of the season against MK Topspin, who gained more ground on Phoenix after a 9-1 success. Ning He prevented the whitewash in the final set by beating Russell Penn in straight games, while Russell’s team-mates Mervyn Kelly and Tanmay Tijare walked away with maximums. Half the sets went the distance though. James Zeng and Andy Tan also played for Primes.
A convincing 8-2 win for MK Powers over MK Hit ‘n’ Hope has put them in the mix for 3rd spot as only a single point now separate them from both the Glory and Primes sides. Hat-tricks here for Sarah Hudson and Minesh Pitamber and a single win for Keith Carrington. Hope’s Mike Ainsworth and Paul Tompkins both triumphed over Keith and while Andy Frearson remined winless, he did at least take Sarah to a 5th game, the only one on the night.
Finally, Leighton Buzzard Avengers beat bottom side Chackmore Hasbeens 7-3 to strengthen their hold on 6th position. Bernie Raffe was man of the match with a maximum with wins against Bub Burman and the Whiteheads, Chris and Andy. Bernie also took the doubles partnered by Richard Hardy, with Christinel Hulpan taking a brace for the first time, and Richard one. Hasbeens’ sets came from Bub (2) and Andy. That’s 6 doubles defeats in a row now for a team that previously punched well above it’s weight in that department.
Player of the week : John Stamp