Impressive Princes have an eye on league throne
WEEK One of the new Southport and Formby Table Tennis season got off to a very unfamiliar start.
How else could it begin without the Champions Crosby A there to defend their title?
With that accolade now up for grabs, Princes St A got off on the right foot with a convincing 9-1 win over their B team, whilst Argyle B did a very similar job in their derby against their D team.
Julian Quirk and Mike McCormack did most of the damage both securing full quotas of wins in an 2-8 victory.
Argyle A just about got the better of Crosby D in a close fought 6-4 win. How would Crosby B though react to becoming slight ‘would be’ title favourites?
Holy Trinity A were the visitors at Crosby High to provide their first test, and Paul Hutchings gave them an early lead with some aplomb with a three straight win over Francois Rafferty.
Rhys Davies then returned the compliment beating Matty Cranny, to make it 1-1, only for Holy Trinity captain Ted Cramsie to restore the visitors’ lead by edging out Peter Ashley, 10-12,8-11,13-15.
It was all square again after home captain Mark Davies overcame Janette Hutchins in four games, before Rhys, Francois and then Peter put daylight between the teams with successive victories against Paul and Ted and Janette respectively, Rhys’s win in the 5th,11-5 against Paul, being the highlight of a tremendous evening’s table tennis.
Matty then reduced the arrears to 5-3 to give them some hope after a three straight victory over Mark.
But with Rhys then pairing up with his dad Mark to take on husband and wife duo, Paul and Janette, that hope quickly disappeared.
Three straight again, and Crosby’s win was assured at 6-3.
However the last word went to the visitors, when Matty and Ted made the final score 6-4 with a comfortable win over Francois and Peter, which in the end was a fair outcome to the proceedings.
Crosby C hosted promoted Argyle C on the next table, and with both teams experiencing some changes in personnel, then the ‘coin was in the air’. Throughout, the hosts seemed to be in control, particularly when both Yameen Al Dahiri and Ciaran Lynch remained unbeaten.
Adding to that a win apiece from Nick Wilson and Felix Anderson against the three points gained by Argyle’s Ben Aitken and Paul Lunan, then you arrive at a very good 7-3 win for the home side. In the Second Division, Holy Trinity B sent out a warning ‘salvo’ with an impressive maximum win over Southport B, a near faultless performance confirmed this is the side to beat.
Princes St E, whose squad were mainly promoted from the Third Division, also started with a bang.
A 9-1 home win versus Crosby E could not have gone much better, with young Sam Davies being the pick of the bunch.
An interesting rule change was used here for the first time.
Apart from the four regular players a reserve or reserves can be brought in to play in the doubles.
Even more opportunity for players to turn out, and of course a conundrum for captains to consider.
Waterloo A’s home match against Crosby F was postponed due to a premises issue, but their B team came well out on top with a 3-7 win at Princes St D, where Gary Corran and Euan Mason were the standout performers.
Southport C, will have a very familiar look about them, the reason being they were last season’s Third Division winners Argyle H.
Their promotion stood and they found themselves ironically up against Argyle E in their first match in the second tier.
It finished all square in the end, where neither side were no more than a point ahead.
Into the Third Division and it’s a warm welcome to our two new teams Rainford Synergy and Carlton Tennis Club, who also welcomed each other when they met at Rainford.
Not a happy start though for the visitors in this one, a 9-1 defeat, leaving them with the hope that things must get better.
Argyle F rattled off a maximum win over an understrength North Meols, whilst Crosby H started with a welcome 6-4 home win over Argyle G, newcomer Toby McLoughlin and captain Jacquie Schober Thomson being the difference between the sides.
Relegated Crosby G began their recovery with a good 7-3 home success against Southport E, full quotas from Sunil Sapre and new recruit Josh Tomlinson were pivotal in the win.
Finally, the Para’s contest against Southport D was unfortunately postponed. For further information go to our new website at: southport. ttleagues.com