Bay sides’ title finale lives up to top billing

A top-of-the-table Canterbury & District Table Tennis Association League Division 2 match saw Herne Bay J beat Herne Bay H to the title by the slenderest of margins.

As the top two faced off, a 5-4 win for Herne Bay H - or even a 5-4 loss - would secure them the title but a 6-3 victory or more for Bay J would see the latter steal the glory.

Ryan Hobbs got Herne Bay J off to a good start with a 3-0 win against Michael Micklethwaite.

Russell Perry took a 2-1 lead over James Diddams but he couldn’t capitalise, losing out 3-2.

Tony Morgan challenged hard against Keane Li, despite a 3-1 defeat, while Perry weathered an opening-set loss against Micklethwaite to win 3-1.

Hobbs had a key match against Li which saw both players share the first two sets but Hobbs pulled away in the next two sets to score a significant 31 victory.

Morgan then went down 3-1 to Diddams, bringing the match score to 3-3, before Perry put in a stupendous performance against Li. He roared to a 3-0 win.

Morgan had to win against Micklethwaite to keep Herne

Bay J’s title hopes alive - and did. He claimed the opening two sets, but lost the third set on deuce.

In a tense fourth set, Morgan just edged past Micklethwaite, 12-10, to score a 3-1 win and take the score to 5-3 to Herne Bay J.

Now the result of the title depended on the outcome of one winner-takes-all match. Hobbs struck first against Diddams but Diddams responded with a victory in set two.

In a close set three, Hobbs scraped a deuce victory, although Diddams wasn’t finished yet as he powered back to take the tie down to the very last set.

In an intensely-fought battle, which went right down to the wire, Hobbs got the decisive 119 success to give Herne Bay J a 6-3 victory to win the Division 2 title from Herne Bay H by a single point.