Bath Street Marine Table Tennis Club
A Table Tennis England PremierClub
News Release - BSMTTC News 181
9 November 2024
Divisional Cups - Round 2
The second round of the respective Divisional Cup competitions took place this week and the club had six teams in action.
The Action
The week began and ended with action in the Div 4 Cup, the Forrest Cup. The junior H Team, who have performed above expectations so far in the League, were the first in action with their guests at Anfield the highly experienced Cadwa B team. The match started with the youngest member of the H team, Ronan Tierney, being called on to face the unorthodox and experienced Richie Winkle. What an opener this proved to be with Ronan clawing his way back from 1:2 down to take the set 3:2. On the adjacent table Kai Morgan dispensed with Alan Lui 3:0 to give the juniors an excellent start. And after the next pair of sets the juniors were 3:1 up. The next 2 sets were also shared leaving the juniors needing just 1 set for victory. Both of sets 7 & 8 went the full distance, but this time it was the seniors of the Cadwa team who came out on top leaving the match tied at 4:4. And so to the final doubles decider. The two Richie's combined for the visitors to face Ronan & Danny. From the start it was clear that the visiting pair had far more experience of playing together and knew exactly how to maximise their partners skills, something Ronan & Danny are still learning. They used this experience to race through the set with a decisive 0:3 win. Game, set and match to Cadwa B. An excellent match.
The week ended with the seniors of the F Team in action visiting Crosby High to face the juniors of their F team. The match started well for the BSM visitors with Brian Crolley taking a good win in the opening set. But then the juniors took the next three to lead 3:1. Captain Peter Crichton then pulled one back to make it 3:2. The next set was the key one with 10 year old Oliver Glowacki facing the BSM No.1 Amir Norouzzi. Amir fought his way into a 1:2 lead but Ollie fought back levelling the set, and with confidence high going on to take the fifth end. 4:2 to the home side. Joe Dixon finished the match off for the home side giving them a deserved 5:2 win.
Above, the participants in the BSM H v Cadwa B match, from the left, Richie Pucula, Alan Lui, Richie Winkle & Ken Roberts (Captain) - Cadwa B; Shamal Harave, Ronan Tierney, Kai Morgan & Danny Every (Captain|) - BSM H.
The Action
In the Rumjahn Cup (Div 2) The B Team faced Sefton Park and this proved to be another titanic match! Barry Davis and Colin Mitchell took early honours with two singles wins each to give the home team a hard won 4:2 lead. But when Barry lost to his opposing No.1 Michael McAlister it seemed to take the wind out of the home team's sails. Mal Kent had to face the last 2 sets. And what sets these were, with the match finally being decided in the fifth end of the last set which Chris Greaves for Sefton Park snatched at 10:12 to give his team an amazing 4:5 win.
To the left the BSM F Team of Brian Crolley, Amir Norouzzi, Peter Crichton (Captain) and Keith Dudley. They put up a good fight against Crosby High F, to the right, Nyasha Roberts, Roger Neal (Captain), Oliver Glowacki & Joe Dixon.
Courtesy of Ray Hibbs Photography, the players of the BSM B team - Mal Kent, Barry Davis & Colin Mitchell; the players of the Sefton Park team - Michael McAlister, Chris Greaves, & Martin Roberts; and the match scorecard BSM B v Sefton Park.
The Action
Andrew Armstrong's D Team also faced a junior outfit in the form of Maghull D. This was another thrilling match in which five of the sets played went the full distance and none of the sets were three straight. It was the senior adult player, Lewis Hible, who made the difference for the Maghull side, winning all three of his singles. this allowed the home side to complete a very close 5:3 win over the BSM visitors. An excellent match and very close.
The Action
Midweek saw both 1st division teams in action in the Readman Cup. The A team had to face the reigning champions of the League, Crosby High, and were also forced to bring in a sub from a lower division to help. Despite some close games they just didn't have the fire power to stop the reigning champions who raced through for a decisive 0:5 win. The 1st team also had to face a Crosby High side, this time the rising stars of the Crosby High B junior team. This was another match of high quality table tennis, with the key set being set eight, when Clare Peers faced Charlie Williams. Charlie had already beaten both Keith Williams and Steve Green and a third win would have given the Crosby team the match. Somehow Clare pulled everything out of the bag in this one with some amazing shots. It went all the way to the fifth end decider and it was Clare who kept her nerve the best and went for everything, and they cam off! The scores were even. Keith then finished off the match with an excellent win over the home No.1 Fraser Massey to give the BSM team an excellent 4:5 win.
On the left, The BSM A Team - Julian Quirk & Colin Turner, and their opponents, Crosby High - Lawrence Kenwright, James Bartolo, Dave Graham (non-playing), & Matthew Laird. In the centre the players of the BSM 1st Team, Clare Peers, Steve Green & Keith Williams; and on the right the match card for Crosby High B Jnr v BSM 1st.
And in conclusion.......
Just one team through to the Cup semi-finals the BSM 1st Team in the Div 1 Cup. Follow their progress here!