Division 2 Roundup - Week 15 + Cup Qualifying R2
Princes Increase Lead / Good Cup Progression
Greenleys Princes took yet another step towards the beckoning Division 2 title, defeating second placed Leighton Buzzard Van Hire 7-3, to extend their lead at the top of the table to 20 points, with just five further rounds of League matches to go. It was an all round team effort, as there were two wins each for Ricky Jackson, Anand Keshav and reserve, Marshall Domingo, plus a doubles win for Ricky and Anand, to counter two wins for Van Hire by Nathan Fry, plus one for Donnie McDonald. Anand was involved in both of the night's five-gamers, narrowly losing to Nathan Fry, but just beating Richard Hardy.
Elsewhere, the third and fourth-placed teams played each other, with Woburn Sands Mosquitoes taking a close encounter 6-4 against Little Horwood Wooden Tops, to edge back a point ahead of their opponents, and move to within three points of Van Hire. Rob McPheat went the night unbeaten, winning all three of his singles sets, plus the doubles set with Andy Jenkins, without losing a game. Andy and Glenn Barcham each picked up one singles set to complete the Mosquitoes' scoring, whilst for Wooden Tops, Bill Higgins and Paul Reynolds each won twice, however there was no joy on the night for reserve John Cripps.
The final match of Week 15, saw a first win of the season for seventh-placed Milton Keynes Cavaliers, in emphatic style, as they recorded a big 8-2 win against fifth-placed Mursley Hawks, with maximums for both Chris Welch and new recruit, Oliver Young, backed up by one win for John Bradley. Despite the slightly one-sided scoreline, there were four sets which went the distance, plus a fourth game deuce win, with them all going the way of Cavaliers in the second half of the match, as they took the last five sets of the night. An impressive debut for Oliver, and an excellent fighting effort for Chris, who came out on the right end of three of those close sets. For Hawks, David Bartlett and Martin Johnson each won once, whilst Ian Spanswick lost a close five-gamer against John.
Meanwhile, the second qualifying round of the Challenge Cup took place last week, and in the five matches involving Division 2 teams, four teams won, whilst one had a very rarely seen tie ! Biggest winners were Hawks, who overcame Padbury Night Owls from D3 by 51 points, to probably ensure qualification from their Group. Princes were also winners, defeating D3's Woburn Sands Wolves by 30 points, as too were Cavaliers, who beat D3's Mursley Strikers by 28 points. Van Hire were the fourth winning D2 team in the Cup, last week, in yet another D2 v D3 encounter, beating Greenleys Moghuls by 20 points. However, the closest result possible was achieved in a fifth D2 v D3 battle, as Open University Shockwave tied with Great Brickhill Foxes.
Alongside other results in their respective Groups, it means that Princes, Wooden Tops (even though they did not play, last week) and Cavaliers are already through to the knockout stages, as all will finish in the top two of their respective three team Groups, plus they will likely be joined by Hawks, who top their four team Group. It's still all to play for, for Van Hire and Shockwave, but they would each qualify with a win in their remaining Cup Group match, next week.
This week it's back to League action, as fourth-placed Wooden Tops host leaders, Princes, seventh-placed Cavaliers entertain third-place Mosquitoes and sixth-placed Shockwave visit second placed Van Hire.
Team of the Period : Milton Keynes Cavaliers.
Players of the Period : Rob McPheat and Chris Welch.