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ELTTL Week 21 Report

22/2/2015

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Week 21 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League saw four of Penicuik’s five teams in action as the league moved into the final quarter of the season.

In the Premier Division, Penicuik's 1st team of Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone had been in good form having taken 5 points from 6 in their previous three fixtures. The home side knew they would have to be on top form, however, to keep their good run going as they hosted North Merchiston 1 and the home side were boosted by a last minute replacement for the visitors as Geoff Hunter stepped up from the 2nd Team in place of Cameron Hussain. Unfortunately for the home team Geoff won 2 out of his 3 singles  and with both Greig and Colin showing some inconsistency by beating different opponents (Greig defeating Colin Weir and Colin defeating Geoff), the match got away from the home side as they went down to a 7-3 defeat. Greig and Colin won a singles match each and combined for a win in the doubles.

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In Division 2 the battle for top spot between Penicuik's 2nd and 3rd Teams had swung in favour of Penicuik 2 over the last few weeks. Week 21 saw the 3rd Team in action first as they faced a home tie against Police Scotland. James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton were looking to bounce back after their undefeated recored was lost in their previous fixture and they wasted no time in getting back to winning ways with an emphatic 9-1 win. James and Gary both won 3 and combined for a doubles win whilst Abby won 2. 

The attention then turned to Penicuik 2's match the next night against Murrayfield 7. Clive Liddiard, Brian Bailey and Tony Brentnall knew they were in for a tough encounter against an ever improving side who in their previous two fixtures had defeated third placed Edinburgh International and had brought Penicuik 3’s undefeated run to an end. The Murrayfield side had in their ranks James Forest who going into the match led the way in the division’s individual averages with 35 wins from 39 matches played. It was no surprise when he won his first two singles matches but more of a surprise was Tony and Brian losing to their opposite numbers resulting in the visitors trailing 4-2 going into the crucial doubles match. Clive and Brian combined well to win that in 4 ends but young James then finished his night the way he had started it with a comfortable win against Tony. The visitors knew that they then needed to win the last two matches of the night for a draw. Fortunately Clive and then Brian did just that as the 2nd Team salvaged a point with a 5-5 draw. Clive won 2 singles matches whilst Brian and Tony both won 1.

The result sees yet another twist at the top of the division as the 2nd Team are now only a point clear of their Clubmates but the 3rd Team have a match in hand. With 5 matches left for the 3rd Team they know that the title is now back within their own control although the very last match of the season when the two Penicuik Teams meet looks more and more likely to be the deciding fixture in what has been a great season so far for both teams.


Finally, in Division 4, Penicuik 5 travelled to face one of the new Clubs to enter the league this year, Haddington. Rachel Petrie, Louis Myatt and Luke Hennessey turned out for the visitors hoping to avenge a 10-0 whitewash defeat from the first half of the season. When the first two matches of the night went the way of the home team another heavy defeat looked on the cards but a win for Luke in match 3 got the visitors on the scoresheet. Louis then won match 6 of the night before the home side won the doubles to give Haddington an unassailable 5-2 lead. A great win for Luke in match 8 and a comfortable win for Rachel in match 9 kept the game alive and left Louis to play the final match of the night knowing that a win would salvage a point for the Penicuik side. A draw very much looked on the cards when Louis won the first end of his final match but he couldn’t sustain his form as he unluckily lost out in a deciding end to Haddington’s best player on the night. The resulting 6-4 defeat certainly shows improvement from the result in the reverse fixture. 
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ELTTL Week 20 Report

14/2/2015

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Week 20 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League saw a break from League Action as the Handicap Cup Competition reached the quarter final stage. With two teams still in the hunt from Penicuik, including defending champions, Greig, Iain and Abby, there was still hope of an all Penicuik final. 


First up were Brian Bailey (Division 2), Krzysztof Laszkiewicz (Division 3) and Luke Hennessey (Division 4) as they faced an away fixture against a strong Edinburgh Sports Club side. Luke had been the match winner in the last 16 Round and as a result of some good performances since that time his handicap had been cut by two points to +5. Kris played off +2 and Brian -2. Their opponents were Alan Nisbet (-10), and two unknown quantities in Alberto Visconti (+4) and Euan Rae (+6). According to Team Captain Brian those latter handicaps were very generous. When Luke failed to register a win the writing was on the wall for the visitors and with both Kris and Brian only able to win one of their singles matches it was Edinburgh Sports Club who ran out 5-2 winners and proceeded to the semi-finals of this years event.

The attention therefore turned to Penicuik’s 1st Team who played the following night against the 2013 runners-up Murrayfield 3. With Murrayfield fielding their normal Premier League outfit of Ian Moran (-11), Colin Clark (-8) and Derek Croll (-9), Team Captain Greig McDonell caused a number of raised eyebrows in the Club when he suggested breaking up the team which had gone undefeated for a season and a half and had reached the semi finals in 2013. The only thing more surprising than the selection of 10 year old Louis Myatt from Division 4 was his decision to put Louis into the team at his expense!! Was this a stroke of genius from El Presidente or a crazy decision that the club would live to regret?

When Iain (-8) lost the first match of the night things didn't look good. Louis then played Ian Moran, Murrayfield’s number 1 ranked player. 18-0 to 22 looked like an advantage that was surely too much for Ian to overcome but with his tricky serves Louis found it hard going to win points. When Ian won the first end 24-22, Louis looked in trouble but back he came to win the next end 22-14 before losing the 3rd 22-19 causing Greig to question his selection. Credit to Louis, however, as he kept the head to win the final two ends 22-17 and 22-14 to pull the match level. Abby then played some great attacking table tennis against Derek Croll and although Derek in each end seemed to virtually catch Abby from a 9-0 deficit, this just seemed to spur Abby on as she won in 3 straight ends. 

The 4th match of the night would turn out to be crucial as Iain came back from 2 ends down to defeat Ian Moran in 5 tight ends. Abby was unable to hold on to her 8 point lead against Colin as she lost in 3 straight ends before Louis came back to the table to face Derek with a 16 point start to 20. Although a slight blip in end two, Louis capitalised on Derek's errors as he won in four ends to give the visitors a 4-2 lead. Abby's form of the first match of the night seemed to desert her as Ian Moran proved too strong for her which left Iain to finish the match of as he
 faced Derek with just a 1 point start which really meant nothing to either player. Iain won in 4 ends to secure a semi final place for the defending champions. Team Captain Greig returned home a relieved man with his selection vindicated as Louis was the only player on the night to be undefeated. The semi final line up sees Penicuik take on the team currently sitting top of the Premier Division, Murrayfield 1 and no doubt more selection headaches will follow! 
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ELTTL Week 19 Report

8/2/2015

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Week 19 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League saw all five of Penicuik's teams in action.

After three points out of four in their last two matches in the Premier Division, Penicuik's 1st team of Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone faced a tricky away fixture against North Merchiston 2. When the home side raced into a 3-1 lead it looked like being a disappointing night for the visitors but tight 5 end wins for Greig and Colin in games 5 and 6 drew the match level. The same pair then combined for what proved to be a crucial doubles win to give the visitors the lead for the first time. Colin then won his final match of the night against Geoff Hunter to put the visitors 5-3 up but a defeat for Iain at the hands of ex-Penicuik player David Melrose, who also took the scalp of Colin earlier in the night left the result in Greig's hands as he faced Matthias Maasch in the final game of the night. Greig held his nerve winning in three straight ends thus securing a vital two points for the visitors.  Greig won his three singles matches on the night and combined with Colin, who won two singles, for the doubles win, in an excellent 6-4 victory. 

The battle at the top of Division 2 between Penicuik's 2nd and 3rd Teams continued with both teams in action last week. On paper the 2nd Team of Clive Liddiard, Brian Bailey and Tony Brentnall faced what appeared to be the more difficult task as they travelled to third placed Edinburgh International. When the first four games of the night were shared it looked as if the match was going to be an extremely tight affair but from that point on the Penicuik trio hit top form as they won the final six games of the night for an excellent 8-2 victory. Clive and Tony did most of the damage winning all three of their singles matches whilst Brian won 1 singles and combined for a doubles win with Clive. 

The attention then turned to Penicuik 3's match against Murrayfield 7. James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton were looking to bounce back after their dropped point the previous week. The Penicuik trio got off to a poor start and were 4-2 down going into the vital doubles match which saw James and Gary team up for the home side. When the home side lost that match in 4 ends, they knew that the final three games of the night had to go their way for a draw. The youngsters of Murrayfield had other ideas winning two of those last three games for a resounding 7-3 win, a defeat for the 3rd Team which brought to an end their undefeated record. The major winners on the night were Penicuik 2 who for the first time this season now sit top of Division 2, on the same points total as their Clubmates but with a slightly better game difference. With six matches left for both teams the race is well and truly on for the title.  








In Division 3 Penicuik 4 hosted Edinburgh Sports Club and Gavin Hunter, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and John Bald were never troubled as they ran out comfortable 9-1 winners. Gavin and Krzysztof both won their  3 singles and combined for a win in the doubles whilst John won 2. The win puts the 4th Team two points behind 2nd placed West Lothian and still in with a real chance of finishing second in the Division with 5 matches remaining.   

Finally, in Division 4, Penicuik 5 travelled to face top of the league North Merchiston 4. Penicuik's youngsters of Lewis Baldock and Louis McLeod were joined by the more experienced Gregory Leplatre in what always looked like being a difficult match. Gregory was the only winner for the visitors as the league leaders recorded an 8-2 win but special mention is due to Lewis who was extremely unlucky on the night losing two of his three singles matches in very close deciding ends.


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Penicuik 5 v North Merchiston 4
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