Division 2 Roundup - Week 10
Published 24/11/2023 at 11:48:00 by Martin Johnson.
Spitfires and Hawks Flying HighWeek 10 of the season saw the top two teams in Division 2, Spitfires and Hawks, extend their lead over the rest of the Division, with both gaining big score wins, whilst third placed Mosquitoes slipped to their third defeat of the season. The close fought battle at the other end of the table saw a third win for Powers move them out of the relegation zone.
Leaders Leighton Buzzard Spitfires remain clear at the top, dispatching equal fifth placed Greenleys Sultans of Spin 8-2, to maintain their six point gap at the head of the table. Maximums here for both Andy King and Barry Hammond, who also combined to beat Robert Anderson and Ricky Jackson in the doubles. Barry’s wins take him back to just top of the individual averages. Syed Ali added the extra win for Spitfires, to complete their scoring. For Sultans of Spin, Robert and Ricky each took one win, but their third player, Tony Edwardson, was unable to complete his games, retiring from two game down against Andy, and then after just a point in his other two sets, so hoping he recovers for next week. The result leaves Sultans of Spin down in equal seventh place, whilst Spitfires are still unbeaten.
Equal biggest winners this week were second placed Mursley Hawks, who also triumphed 8-2, over fourth placed Newport Pagnell Lagondas, to maintain their own unbeaten record. This match has a history of being very close, with the teams having drawn seven times in their last eleven meetings, and the others all having been 6-4, one way or the other. Despite the scoreline, it was yet another close match, with the final score rather flattering Hawks, as they won five of their sets in deciding games - several of them going right down to the wire. Mick O’Mahony continued his good run of wins, grabbing another maximum, although he was pushed extremely close by both Glen Davison (11-9 in the fifth) and reserve Paddy Patel (11-8 in the fifth). He won the doubles with Martin Johnson, against Glen and Michael Howard, to maintain the 100% doubles record for Hawks – now the only one left in the League. Martin also won all his singles, although was lucky to beat Michael 11-9 in the fifth, in the last set of the night, courtesy of an edge at 11-10 in game one and a net in the last game at 10-9! The third Hawks player, David Bartlett, won one singles to complete their scoring, featuring a storming comeback from 2-0 down to Michael. Glen and Paddy each won once for Lagondas, with ‘super-sub’ Paddy putting on a great show playing a Division up, beating David, going a leg and 7-0 up against Martin, and finally taking 2nd in the averages, Mick, to 11-8 in the fifth game!
Third placed Woburn Sands Mosquitoes lost for the third time in four weeks, going down 4-6 to seventh placed Milton Keynes Powers, who thus jump up a place, to sixth. Peter Tillotson was the star of the show here, winning all his singles, although he was pushed very close by Glenn Barcham, who just lost out 11-8 in the fifth. Andy Pearson, making his first appearance picked up two wins for Powers, with Glenn again going close (11-8 in the fifth) without success, whilst Paul Tompkins collected their final win in another 11-8 in the fifth victory over Andy Jenkins. Paul and Peter were unable to add the doubles for Powers, losing out to Glenn and James Molloy. For Mosquitoes, James took two singles wins and Glenn won one, to add to their shared doubles success.
Fifth placed Greenleys Valiants closed to with three points of fourth position, as they won 6-4 against eighth placed Milton Keynes Pioneers, who remain in the relegation zone. Both teams were fielding a reserve from Division 4, with David Fletcher playing for Valiants and Geoffrey Turner for Pioneers, and it was David who won the battle between them. Neither of them was able to grab any further wins, but Geoffrey got very close in the doubles with Kareem Omar, just losing out 11-9 in the decider against James Carter and Slava Volokha. Each of the regular Division 2 players won two singles, in a match where no-one was able to win all their singles, with James and Slava taking two wins each for Valiants, whilst Terry Lau and Kareem did likewise for Pioneers, with Terry going the closest as he lost out in five in the opening set to Slava. Despite the loss, Pioneers are now level with Sultans of Spin in equal seventh place.
Next week the top two teams both visit Greenleys, with Spitfires taking on Valiants, whilst Hawks face Sultans of Spin. It’s fourth versus third as Lagondas play Mosquitoes, whilst the final fixture is Pioneers versus Powers.
Player of the Week : Peter Tillotson.