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.
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.
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.
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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