Kingfisher A took another step towards the division one title by completing a 10-0 thrashing of Sonning Sports A.
They put up little resistance against Mengyao Shi and Darren Jones, although Nick Sears did well to take Ross Saxby to a deciding fifth set.
Second placed Our Lady of Peace A were equally convincing against Kingfisher B who could only turn out two players. Martin Pugh fought hard to extend Mo Cook and Steve Murgatroyd to deciders as Ian Cole’s recent impressive form continued.
A welcome first victory, a double in fact, for Tony Alleyne helped Reading FC to their second win in as many weeks, this time against Sonning Common & Peppard B 6-4. It was a real family affair as Wayne also contributed a point.
However, neither they nor Mike Childs could stop Ed Lush’s recent unbeaten run. There were some fantastic individual performances by Tilehurst RBL A at home against high-flying Kingfisher D.
Jon Willis brushed aside Julian Telford 11-3 11-6 11-6 and Marc Brent scored a great win over Graham Mendick mirrored by Keith Winter over Ethan Zeng. But that was all they could manage as Kingfisher saw out a 7-3 victory.
In division 2 the Sonning Common & Peppard D v Tilehurst Methodists A match featured the clash between the division’s two top players, Sonning Common’s Danny Dockree and Tilehurst’s Eric Van Looy.
Danny avenged his defeat earlier in the season with a three straight win which helped his team to a 6-4 win. Tidmarsh B also recorded a 6-4 win in their match against Kingfisher F with all of the Tidmarsh players winning twice. The Kingfisher Captain Roger Pritchard recorded an excellent maximum only dropping one game on the night.
Kingfisher E maintained their recent improved form with an 8-2 win over Our Lady of Peace C with skipper Clive Gold recording a maximum for Kingfisher. The highlight set was Kingfisher’s Akeel Mir recovering from two down to beat Binit Bhaskar 11-9 in the fifth.
Kingfisher G improved their chances of finishing in the top four with a 7-3 win over Tilehurst RBL B. All of the Kingfisher team won twice in a match which featured a number of very close long sets the pick of which was Tilehurst’s Nick Lean coming back from two down to beat Abhay Gore 11-9 in the fifth.
It was a thrilling week of action in Division 3 of the table tennis league. Tilehurst Methodists B took on Our Lady of Peace E. Louise Forster powered her team to a strong lead with a treble, but Martin Wetherell also put in a strong performance for Tilehurst Methodists B, winning two games for his team.
Despite their efforts the home team couldn’t quite secure a draw or a win with OLOP running out 7-3 winners. The highlight of the match was a tense fifth set between Mike Williams and Louise Forster, which Louise ultimately won 11-7 11-9 5-11 9-11 11-9.
Our Lady of Peace D secured a commanding 9-1 victory over club mates Our Lady of Peace F in a local OLOP derby. OLOP F are still struggling to win games and their hopes of avoiding relegation are fading fast.
The standout performance of the match came from Simon Brookes, who secured his first treble of the season with a 3-2 victory in the fifth set against James Smith 11-1 11-8 9-11 5-11 11-6.
Kingfisher H faced off against Tidmarsh D in a match between two well-matched teams. Despite a valiant effort, Kingfisher H had a tough day on the court, losing 9-1. Many of the matches went down to the wire, with long rallies making for an exciting but exhausting contest. The win moves Tidmarsh D up the table and well in the hunt for the promotion.
Tilehurst Royal British Legion C moved into second place in division four by beating Springfield B 7-3. Geoff Johnson had a good night by winning all three while Paul Treadgold and Jim Brent for TRBL and Steve O’Connor for Springfield all obtained doubles.
Sonning Common & Peppard E had a good 9-1 away win at Our Lady of Peace G, Ian Davenport and John Evans both gained trebles for Sonning Common with Derek Wavell winning twice.
By Nigel Maltby
