Bath Street Marine Table Tennis Club
A Table Tennis England PremierClub
News Release - BSMTTC News 87
Dateline: 17 November 2018
Cup Break!
As in Premier League Football there has been another break in the L&DTTL season this week. No, not for Nations League or International Friendlies, rather for Round 2 of the respective Divisional Cup competitions. The Club had 7 of its teams in action in Round 2, 5 of them having a home draw - in effect 6 because one of the 'away' teams was playing in a derby at Marine!
Here is a brief review of the weeks action.
Readman Cup (Division 1)
The BSM 1st Team obtained a bye in Round 1, but in Round 2 faced Maghull, the runners-up in Division 1 last season. And things were to get even tougher for Captain, Barry Davis. Without his No.1 Matt Wilson, still recovering from an ankle injury, and then finding himself without his other team regular Colin Turner, Barry was forced to make 2 team changes and was forced to field a much weakened side. Although the captain did his best to try and snatch a set, the fact of the matter was that Maghull were just too strong for this BSM line-up and raced through to a 0:5 victory. The match card tells its own story.
Hyde Cup (Division 3)
There were 3 teams in action in Division 3, and for the second time in 2 weeks the B Team faced the D Team in a Marine derby. The week before the B Team had lost 3:7 in the league fixture between the two sides, this time the match was much closer. The real difference between the 2 sides being the D Team captain, Ian McElwee, who finished the evening unbeaten. But the B Team had chances. In set 6 Andy Cheung narrowly lost to Dave McMahon deep in the 5th, and then in set 7 Captain, Brian Crolley, lost 10:12 in the 5th to Dave Stoddern. That was it, another win for the D Team 2:5.
Dave Noden's C Team were all set to play Bootle YMCA in their Round 2 match. A busy week for the C Team having already played a postponed league fixture and recording a fantastic win against QVC to move above them in the league table. However on the cup match day itself, Bootle were forced to pull out of the match due to unexpected player shortage, enabling the C Team to claim a 5:0 walk-over.
The 2 captains, Ian McElwee & Brian Crolley shake hands at the end of the B v D cup derby at Marine. And aside below the two teams. In the light blue strip the B Team of Mal Kent, Andy Cheung and Brian Crolley. And the 'visitors' the D Team of Ian McElwee, Les Dodd (not playing in the cup), Dave Stoddern and Dave McMahon.
Forrest Cup (Division 4)
Andrew Armstrong's BSM E Team were the final team in cup action last week. Andrew found himself unexpectedly without his No.1, Peter Ashley, for the tie with Arriva North West B and was forced to bring in a substitute from division 5, Mark Benson. This was probably the best match of the week with some really competitive and close sets. Mark put in an outstanding performance to win 1 singles, only loosing the other 5:11 in the 5th. Captain Andrew backed himself in the call and duly delivered taking 2 singles. Both keith Dudley and Euan Mason chipped in with a win a-piece to give the home side the edge with a 5:3 victory. A good match.
To the right, the BSM E and Arriva NW B teams, and to the left the match score card for this Div 4 Div Cup match.
Stamp Cup (Division 5)
The Club also had two teams in action in the Division 5 Cup. It was Keith Hardman's G Team who started off the week with a home fixture on Monday, with Sefton Park D as the visitors. One thing is certain that these are two of the most hospitable teams in the whole league. So a good evening was on the cards. And, on paper, it seemed like a match where the improving G Team might make an impact. In the end, the match turned out completely one-sided with the visitors racing home 0:5. Quite a surprise. So great was the disappointment that the home team could not even bring themselves to take a couple of team snaps!
Mark Benson's F Team faced the only true away match, a potentially tricky visit to Maghull. With regular No.4 Steve McCormick absent due to illness, Richard Woodley stepped in at the last minute, and what a substitution this proved to be! Richard taking a clear 'man-of-the-match' award, winning both his singles and putting in a strong performance in the doubles which proved the decisive match of the night to give the BSM team a 3:5 victory.
So, the Club has 4 teams through to the semi-final stage of the respective Divisional Cup competitions. Watch this space for more news of how they get on!
