St Gabriel’s give themselves a chance in relegation battle

St Gabriel’s B team kept alive their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Sunderland Table Tennis League Division 1 with a narrow 6-4 victory over Durham CA.

Jake Helm, Joe Muldowney, and Graham Murden all notched two sets, but were denied an even greater haul by a stubborn display from Durham’s Christian Neumann, who pipped all three opponents in five-end battles.

Trebles from Max Duf- fin and Chris Blake helped Thompson A maintain their stranglehold at the summit as they won 8-2 at Mount CA.

St Chad’s consolidated second position after their own 8-2 success at Unionist Club A.

Paul Baines hit three, and Dave Bissett did likewise after his five-end victory over Mick Grimes. Dave Cutler and Grimes salvaged two consolation points.

St Gabriel’s A were trailing 3-1 away to Sacriston Aces, but rallied to reel off a string of unanswered sets.

The comeback was started when George Gibson and Lee Eadington recovered from 2-0 down to take the doubles.

Although the final three games went to deciders, it was the Gabriel’s players who came through.

Duncan Wraight defeated Duncan Fraser 11-6, Gibson edged Dean Eadington 11-9, and Lee Eadington completed the 7-3 score after accounting for Jonathan Mawson 11-5.

In Division 2, Brandon Air appear to have the championship in their grasp, and the contest for the second promotion slot looks set to be a straight shootout between Brandon Bullets and Unionist Club B.

St Gabriel’s C overcame West CA B 6-4 with wins from David Revell (3), Stephen Young (2), and Mark Burton. A double from West’s Mike Lyons kept the score-line close.

In the Redby CA derby, a Malcolm Deneven triple proved crucial in the A team’s 6-4 triumph.

Ken Tweedy (2) inflicted a morale-sapping blow on the B team when he beat their danger-man David Craddock 11-9 in a fifth-end decider.

Deneven followed his team-mate’s lead as he scraped past Howard Forster 13-11. A good double from Firdaus Nazeri kept things tight.

Brandon Crusaders are within touching distance of clinching promotion from Division 3, after their 8-2 win at second-placed West CA.

East Boldon Bandits and Backspin B turned up the pressure for that second promotion place when both teams recorded 8-2 victories.

Backspin proved too strong for Sacriston Eagles.

Trebles from Jordan Dove and Adam Allsopp contributed to East Boldon’s triumph at Brandon Devils, and Michael Stafford chipped in with a set.

Finally, Brandon Energy held Lanchester CC to a draw.