It’s now a two horse race for the title of Reading’s Table Tennis Division 1 and every point counts. Kingfisher A overcame Sonning Common & Peppard A 8-2 with a rare defeat for Dan Moses to Martin Adams, but Kingfisher B were faultless in their 10-0 over Tilehurst RBL A despite Keith Winter going as close as it gets against both Jacek Piechocki and Jordan Huang. Kingfisher A must now achieve 27/30 in their remaining three matches to secure the title with Kingfisher B still to face Kingfisher F in their final fixture.
Elsewhere a Sonning Sports A’s Rob Hansell maximum couldn’t stop a narrow 6-4 win for Kingfisher C and Gordon Cho was the standout player for Kingfisher E as he remained unbeaten in a tight 5-5 draw with Tidmarsh A. Kingfisher D further delivered to Sonning Common & Peppard’s misery with an 8-2, Mike Douglas and Mike Childs remaining unbeaten.
In Division 2 Sonning Common and Peppard C had a comfortable 8-2 win over Tidmarsh C with maximums from Simon Berry and Nigel Maltby. In the set of the night Holly Ranson just edged out Tidmarsh skipper Richard Hudson 13-11 in the fifth. Promotion chasing Tidmarsh B were beaten 6-4 by Kingfisher I, their first defeat for many months. Five sets went to a decider with the pick being Kingfisher’s Akeel Mir coming from two down to beat Francois Durand 11-7 in the fifth
In the relegation battle between the Kingfisher G and H teams the G team came out on top 6-4 helped by a maximum from young reserve Pehej Vig. League leaders Our Lady of Peace A were held to a 5-5 draw by mid table Tilehurst Royal British Legion B with Chris West getting a maximum for the leaders. In the standout set Tilehurst skipper John Willcocks recovered from two games down to beat Dave Godfrey 11-8 in the fifth.
To the thrilling final weeks in Division 3 which featured crucial matches for the title and relegation contest with closely contested results. Kingfisher J and Tidmarsh D battled to a 5-5 draw with Steven Woolnough and Miguel Caballero each winning two matches for Kingfisher J, while Ray Webb and Dave Edwards matched them with two wins apiece for Tidmarsh. Tuesday saw Sonning Common and Peppard D edge out OLOP C 6-4. Jeremy Willis led the charge with a treble. This could be costly for OLOP C if Sonning Sports B can convert their chances. Pangbourne WMC took a 6-4 victory over OLOP D where John Simmonds starred with a treble while Tilehurst Methodists B and Sonning Sports C played out a 5-5 draw with Nigel Rowland securing two wins for Tilehurst, while James Miller stood out for Sonning Sports C.
Finally to division 4 and leaders Springfield B recovered from their only season defeat last week to whitewash Tilehurst RBL C 10-0. There was no stopping their trio of Marcello Caramma, Benson Shiu and Robert Atack. Despite being a player short, Kingfisher K’s Walter Aldridge and Houron Tsun completed a 6-4 win over Sonning Sports D. Springfield C scored an encouraging 7-3 over OLOP F despite the customary maximum we have come to expect from OLOP’s Abishek Saraf.
