Top of the table clash
This was our first experience of the new West Watford venue at the Watford Grammar school. The table tennis took place in a very large hall with bright lighting and light walls, although the floor was quite slippery in that occasion. There is also plenty of room for practise and coaching to go on at the same time as League matches. The bright lighting does take some time getting used to, but the conditions are good, even if the non players are a long way away from the play.
It was evident that West Watford were treating this fixture very seriously, as they fielded a very strong squad of Russell Davies, Richard Cottle and Roland Stanbridge. Team captain for the Post Office made the courageous decision to play les Leach to play the three singles for the first time this season.
- Roland Stanbridge played Abdul Rahim and the first two games were very close before Abdul secured a hard fought 3-0 win. (0-1)
- Russell Davies played Les Leach but Les was too steady in his defence and occasional attacks and won in four games. (0-2)
- Richard Cottle was far too strong for David Edwards and won in straight games, although the third game was quite close. The service action of Richard is dubious and gains a significant advantage, but again was only pointed out to him at the end of the match. (1-2).
- The mainly defensive skills of Roland and Les were in evidence, but Les prevailed in three games with some fine attacking shots, when required. (1-3)
- Richard played Abdul next, a repeat of the Division 1 semi-final a few weeks ago, which Richard won. Abdul was in no mood for a repeat and recorded a fine 3-1 win. (1-4).
- Russell against David should have been a banker for the home team and so it looked after two games with Russell leading 2-0. Then it all went wrong for Russell as David had a lucky string of nets and edges and managed to win the next two games. The frequent nets and edges against him also affected the rest of his attacking game, but at 4-4 in the 5th, the match was still there for either play to win. David maintained his concentration and won 11-6, including an audacious backhand smash at 9-5 for his first win against Russell for many years. (1-5)
- Richard played Les next, a classic match of attack versus defence. This also went to the final game. Unfortunately, at 1-0 Les sustained a pull to his calf muscle attempting to retrieve a wide ball. He played on for another point but at 2-1 he decided to concede. (2-5).
- The doubles was played out but didn’t affect the points situation. Russell and Roland won easily in three games against Abdul and David, who have not played doubles together for several years. (3-5).
The match was played in good spirit and Post Office extended their lead at the top of division 1. West Watford is now in a good position to secure the runners up position but maybe a couple of other teams will have something to say about that!
Match Report by : David Edwards.
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