Brotherhood C are looking good for a last 16 place in the Clacton League’s Knock-Out Cup after defeating fellow-Division Two side Windsor Kestrels in their Group B match. No-one stayed unbeaten but a solid team performance from Mark Boyland, Mark Beckham and Paul Metcalf saw them to a 5-2 victory.

The Brotherhood trio took the first four matches and a whitewash looked on the cards. But the Kestrels battled back, Debra Found and Jackie Bunce (+1) winning the middle doubles 11-9 in the fifth against Boyland and Metcalf (-6), and Found (+1) edging past Beckham (-1) 13-11, 11-13, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8 in match six, before Boyland settled the tie for Brotherhood.

In the second match in this Group, an all-Division One clash between Walton A and Nomads Lions ended 5-1 in favour of the Walton side, Kevin James the only unbeaten player on the night.

In Group A Brotherhood G defeated their Second Division opponents Nomads Jaguars 5-2. Gary Simpson was unbeaten in his two singles and one doubles, the closest match of the tie seeing Dan Grindrod (+1) edge out Chris Petrou (-8) 8-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.

Brotherhood D defeated Windsor Penguins 5-2 in Group C to virtually ensure a place in the Knock-Out stages. They crucially won both doubles, the opening doubles being the closest contest of the tie, Kevin Pryor and James Smith-Daye (-3) beating Neil Chegwidden and Sharon Gowlett (+1) 11-7 in the decider. Simon Smith-Daye remained undefeated for Brotherhood.

Windsor Hawks beat Brotherhood B 5-2 in the second match in this Group, Daniel Young leading the way with an unbeaten performance after Brotherhood had taken the opening doubles.

Walton D made it two wins out of two in Group D with victory over Windsor Buzzards, the score-line again 5-2. Andy Foster won his two singles and one doubles, although it was a tense 11-7 in the fifth against Dave Martin in a match played off scratch.

It was a good week also for a second Walton side in Group E where the ‘C’ team lost just one individual match against Nomads Tigers to win 5-1. The Tigers avoided the whitewash by the narrowest of margins, Dave Miller (-1) beating Paul Meikle (+1) 13-11 in the fifth.

Windsor Eagles could only field two players in their Group F match against Nomads Panthers, who took the one match they needed to win 5-0, the Panthers’ second whitewash Cup win after beating Windsor Magpies by the same score in their opening match.

And the Magpies were on the wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline for a second time, this time against fellow-Division Three side Brotherhood F. However, like their first tie, three of the individual matches went the distance, the closest this time Dave Sweetland’s (-6) narrow defeat by Ruby Gallagher (+1) 11-9 in the decider.

Group G saw a battle of two top-flight teams, with the honours going to Walton B who beat Brotherhood A 5-2. John Marshall (+1) sealed the victory in match seven with a 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5 win against John Cleasby (-6), a result which ensured Marshall stayed unbeaten on the night.

Finally, an all-Third Division encounter ended in a straightforward 5-0 win for Nomads Leopards against Windsor Harriers, none of the matches extended to a fifth set. The result leaves the Leopards almost certain of a last-16 place and an opportunity to go one better than last season when they finished as Cup runners-up.

* The League was sorry to learn this week of the death of Walton player John Rankin at the age of 86.

John started playing League table tennis in 2005. With his Red Triangle B team-mates Mark Gale, John Morley and Paul Meikle, he achieved immediate success, finishing as Division Two runners-up, losing out to champions Windsor Kestrels by just a single point. Thereafter, John played all his table tennis in Division One, initially for Red Triangle and latterly for Walton.

John would never claim to have been a top player, but he always gave a good account of himself in the First Division, a dependable and competitive team player who could be relied on to pick up at least one vital point every match.

Over the last three seasons, he had become an occasional for his Walton side, stepping in when a regular player was unavailable. But when he did play, he was proud to be able to say that, by several years, he was the oldest registered League player in Division One, and one who could still hold his own at the top level.

John did have a brief moment in the sun when he was a member of Walton B, alongside Paul Newbould and Gavin Price, in the 2014 Knock-Out Cup final. Alas, he finished with a runners-up medal but, whilst winning obviously mattered to John, the playing of a competitive game of table tennis and being in the company of like-minded friends was just as important.

Above everything else, when we remember John, we will remember a caring, decent and friendly man who enjoyed his table tennis. We offer our sincere condolences to his family.

RESULTS
Knock-Out Cup: Group stage
Group A
Nomads Jaguars 2 Brotherhood G 5
Group B
Nomads Lions 1 Walton A 5
Brotherhood C 5 Windsor Kestrels 2
Group C
Brotherhood D 5 Windsor Penguins 2
Windsor Hawks 5 Brotherhood B 2
Group D
Walton D 5 Windsor Buzzards 2
Group E
Walton C 5 Nomads Tigers 1
Group F
Windsor Eagles 0 Nomads Panthers 5
Windsor Magpies 0 Brotherhood F 5
Group G
Brotherhood A 2 Walton B 5
Nomads Leopards 5 Windsor Harriers 0