NECA Mount a strong bid for Premier honours

NORTH East Chinese Association have opened up a gap at the top of the Northumbria Winter League’s Premier Division.

They triumphed 8-2 at Mount B, Adam Webster and Chun Yin Yu winning all of their matches.

NECA are now eight points ahead of Mount A and nine ahead of Cramlington Casuals, although the latter have a game in hand.

Saint Chads bounced back to form with an emphatic 9-1 victory over NESLC Eagles with father and son Keith and Josh Weatherby winning all of their singles and combining to take the doubles. The bottom-ofthe-table clash between Cramlington Tigers and Newton A eded with the Tigers winning 7-3.

The Chinese club greatly strengthened their B team with the inclusion of highly-rated student Harry Saxton.

He won all of his matches as they inflicted a first defeat of the season on Cramlington Reivers, prevaling 8-2 in Division One.

In Division Two, John Donnelly, Jim Robertson and Don Catley gave Tyneside B a three-set start over leaders Mount E before Alan Livingstone pulled one back.

The Tyneside team then went 4-1 up after a very tight doubles set when Robertson and Donnelly won the first end 17-1 before needing a 12-10 success in the fifth against Livingstone and Dave Bannon.

However, two-victories for Mick Hope and one each by Livingstone and Bannon put Mount 5-4 ahead before the match ended all square when Donnelly overcame Bannon in the final set.