Week 21 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League saw another action-packed few days for the Club, with four teams in action across the divisions. There were some tense battles, impressive performances, and crucial victories as the league season continued.

Team 2 Edge Past Corstorphine in a Thriller

Fixture: Penicuik 2 v Corstorphine 2 – Tuesday, 18th February
Line-up: James Wighton, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, and Kristian Skotzen (filling in for Gary McDougal)

Despite sitting at opposite ends of the Division 2 table, this match proved to be far from a routine victory for the league leaders. The encounter was finely balanced throughout, with Corstorphine putting up a spirited fight.

After the doubles match went the way of the hosts, Penicuik found themselves trailing 4-3. However, showing their resilience, the visiting side dug deep to win the final three singles matches and secure a hard-fought 6-4 victory. All three players contributed equally, with James, Krzysztof, and Kristian each winning two singles matches. The win keeps Team 2’s title charge on track!

Team 1 Stay Third 

Fixture: Penicuik 1 v Edinburgh International 1 – Thursday, 20th February
Line-up: Colin Green, Peter Aird, and Ryan Docherty

Team 1 faced a tough challenge against Edinburgh International in the Premier Division but produced a strong performance to keep hold of third place in the league standings. The first four matches were shared, leaving the tie finely poised at 2-2. But a dominant spell followed as Penicuik won five matches on the bounce to put the result beyond doubt. A loss in the final match made no difference to the outcome, as Penicuik ran out 7-3 winners.

Peter was in terrific form, winning all three of his singles matches. Colin added two wins, while Ryan contributed with one singles victory. Colin and Ryan also combined well in the doubles to earn another crucial win. A great result for Team 1!

Jay Stars for Team 5

Fixture: Penicuik 5 v Gullane 1 – Thursday, 20th February
Line-up: Jay Jayalath, Roscoe Cairney, and Mat Dyluk

In Division 4, Team 5 faced a daunting challenge against top-of-the-table Gullane. Despite battling hard throughout, they ultimately fell to a 7-3 defeat. The standout performer of the night was Jay, who put in an excellent display to win all three of his singles matches. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough to turn the tide as Roscoe and Mat found the opposition too strong on the night. Nevertheless, Jay’s individual performance was a major positive to take from the match.

Tough Night for Team 4 v Edinburgh University 5

Fixture: Edinburgh University 5 v Penicuik 4 – Friday, 21st February
Line-up: Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks, and Chamika Diyunugalge

Team 4 had a challenging night in Division 3 as they travelled to take on Edinburgh University. Despite their best efforts, they came up against a strong home side and suffered an 8-2 defeat. There were, however, some positives to take away from the match. A fantastic doubles performance saw Rachel and Chamika combine superbly to pick up a well-earned win. Patrick also added a singles victory to the tally, but on the night the students were just too tough for the team.

Player of the Week

Two players were unbeaten in singles play this week – Jay Jayalath for Team 5 and Peter Aird for Team 1, making the selection for this week's top performer a difficult one. Both players displayed excellent form, each winning nine out of ten ends in their three singles matches. Notably, their victories came against opponents who had defeated their teams in the first half of the season. However, Peter’s flawless night helped secure an overall team win for Penicuik 1, tipping the scales in his favour. Congratulations to Peter on earning this week’s Player of the Week award!

Controversy of the Week
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This week's controversy is a follow-up from last week and arose from our refusal to grant a postponement to Murrayfield in the Handicap Cup. Despite Murrayfield being unable to field a team, the League Committee were asked by Murrayfield to deliberate on the matter on Friday night. They decided that efforts should be made to play the match. This decision contradicts the long-standing rule that Handicap Cup matches take place in the designated Handicap Cup week and on the home night of the team drawn to host the fixture. We are bewildered by the view taken, especially given that for league matches, a recent rule change explicitly states that postponements are requests and not obligations. This principle has always been in place, yet the league deemed it necessary to reinforce it in writing. Furthermore, in previous rounds of the Handicap Cup, similar situations resulted in matches being conceded - Penicuik had to forfeit against Murrayfield in Round 1, Murrayfield forfeited against us in an earlier round, and they also conceded to Haddington when unable to field a team.

The key difference in this instance? We see none — other than the fact that Murrayfield is unhappy. The Handicap Cup week has been fixed in the schedule since September 2024, so Murrayfield’s inability to field three players should have been foreseen. Yet now, we are expected to rearrange the match, coordinate the availability of three players from different teams, and even consider playing at a neutral venue if necessary (Murrayfield can’t play when required so we lose home advantage – really??). The entire situation is absurd! But we'll bend over backwards and do the "nice" thing and try and fit in a fixture in an already full schedule! Bizarre!

Looking Ahead

With just a few weeks left in the season, every match is becoming crucial. Teams 2 and 3 are still in contention for promotion in Division 2, with Team 2 having a real shot at winning the title. Meanwhile, for the remainder of our teams, survival in their respective divisions looks to be secured, although not yet mathematically certain. The focus now is on finishing the season strongly and maintaining momentum into the final few weeks. Another week of table tennis to come – bring on Week 22!

Week 19 saw four of our five teams in action, Team 1 having agreed to a request for a postponement from West Lothian 2.
 
Team 2 v WL 3
The match of the week saw the top two in Division 2 go head to head at Ladywood on Thursday 6th February as West Lothian 3 visited Team 2 of James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz. Krzysztof got the hosts off to the perfect start with a 3-0 victory over Keith Mackay, but top of the averages man Andrew Morrison soon levelled the scores with a 3-0 win over Gary. The lead was restored when James defeated Dave Fraser 3-0 and when Gary and Krzysztof then won their next matches, the hosts held a 4-1 advantage. Andrew pulled another back for the visitors before the doubles. James and Krzysztof took on Keith and Andrew in a match that both teams knew would be crucial to the outcome. After an 11-7 first end win, James & Krzysztof lost the next 2 ends but squeezed home in the fourth 11-9 to force a decider. The fifth end proved to be nail-biting for both sides, but it was the hosts who secured a 13-11 win, and that victory gave them a 5-2 advantage with three matches still to play. Gary v Dave and James v Keith were played simultaneously – Krzysztof made it clear that one of his teammates needed to win as he wasn’t hugely confident that his form was good enough to defeat Andrew in Match 10! He needn’t have worried, wins for both Gary and James gave the hosts the victory and Krzysztof wasn’t too bothered that he lost out to the West Lothian Number 1 in the final match of the night – a 7-3 win for the hosts was a terrific result which takes them 3 points clear at the top of the table, although their opponents still have a game in hand.
 
Team 3 v Murrayfield 7
Away from Ladywood on Thursday, Team 3 were looking to stay in the title race after their draw against Team 2 the previous week as they travelled to Ocean Terminal to take on second from bottom, Murrayfield 7. In the first half Team 3 had disposed of the Edinburgh outfit by a comfortable 8-2 margin. The first two matches set the tone for the night. Craig Linton battled to an 11-9 fifth end win in Match 1 before Kristian Skotzen battled hard but fell just short as he lost out 11-9 in the fifth in Match 2. Any thoughts this fixture was going to be as easy as the first half game were well and truly put to bed after Bob then lost his second match of the night. Kristian then had another mammoth 5 ender squeezing home 13-11 in the fifth. 3-3 and like so many close matches the doubles was going to be crucial. Craig and Bob fell in four ends to give the hosts their second lead of the night. When Bob then lost match 8 the best the visitors could do was a draw – that was disappointingly taken off the table after Craig fell in match 9. Kristian was left to pick up his second win of the night, proving to all that he loves spending as much time on the table as possible – all three of his matches went to five ends but on this occasion the fifth end didn’t quite make it to deuce – an 11-8 win made the final score 6-4 to the hosts.   
 
Team 4 v WL 5
Back at Ladywood, Team 4 called up Jay Jayalath to join Rachel Petrie and Chamika Diyunagalge as they hosted West Lothian 5 in Division 3. This looked like another tough match on paper and when Chamika and Rachel lost their openers, Team 4 were immediately under pressure. Jay held his nerve in Match 3 for a good 11-9 in the fifth victory but that was the only win in the first six singles for the hosts as they trailed 5-1 going into the doubles. Chamika and Jay produced an excellent 3-0 win to keep the match alive, but only Chamika managed to pick up an end in the final three singles games as the West Lothian outfit secured an 8-2 victory.
 
Team 5 v WL 7
Team 5 of Roscoe Cairney, John Bald and Jay Jayalath made the trip to Bathgate on Wednesday 5th February to take on West Lothian 7 in Division 4. Jay was undefeated on the night, but this match was overshadowed by other events. The match was tragically abandoned with the doubles left to play and the visitors trailing 5-4. A West Lothian player, in the hall practicing, collapsed and emergency services had to be called. It appears that the team captains have agreed to call the match a draw in the circumstances.
 
Player of the Week
And so, to our Week 19 Player of the Week Award.  Only Team 2 managed a victory this week – and a great victory at that in a battle of the top two in the Division. WL 3 have only lost two matches this season, both to Team 2! All three of our players won two singles so how do we split them – in Week 18, Gary’s confidence hit an all time low after a winless night against Team 3 – fast forward a week to a match he didn’t particularly want to play in, and it was a different Gary who emerged victorious – WL gave him the player of the match award and that’s good enough for us – well done to Gary.
 
Controversy of the Week
​We’re not doing a controversy this week. Table Tennis was put into perspective by the awful events that unfolded at WL on Wednesday night. Who cares about arguments over postponements, battles about dodgy let calls, strange umpiring decisions, bad behaviour etc. Whilst it’s a sport we love, we need to recognise that it’s just a silly game that we play to give us something to do on a cold winters evening. Life is too short to get hung up on trivial and insignificant matters. Above all else this week, our thoughts go out to the player’s family and our friends at West Lothian, after a truly horrific night.

Going into the fourth week of 2025 and the Club had still not suffered any defeats – on paper there were some tricky matches in Week 18 and the unbeaten run looked very much at risk.
 
We have to start, however, with the match of the week - the Division 2 Derby between Teams 2 and 3. Team 2 are in the hunt for promotion whilst Team 3, although not “out of it” started the night 7 points behind the top 2 in the Division. Maybe Team 3 would do the sensible thing (for the Club) and roll over? Not a chance! Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Gary McDougal and James Wighton took to the table for Team 2 with Craig Linton, Charlie Brindley and Kristian Skotzen out to cause havoc for Team 3, The first two matches started simultaneously and when Craig took the first set against Krzysztof, that was matched by Kristian taking the first set against James! Team 2 were already under the cosh. Credit to Krzysztof and James who battled back to both win in four ends and the perfect start was enjoyed by Team 2. The next two matches saw Charlie v Gary and Craig v James, also played simultaneously. Gary had chances in his match but fell to a four end defeat. James meanwhile got blootered 11-3 in the first end of his match but then found some consistency and at 9-5 up in the second he looked back in control – but hold on – suddenly it was 10-10 and with the help of a horrendous net followed by an edge, Craig took a 2-0 lead. James held a 9-5 lead in the third as well – surely history wasn’t going to repeat itself – Craig clawed his way back but on this occasion James just got over the line 11-9 and when he won the fourth 11-8 the momentum was with him. This match was destined to go the distance, and it was James who was left disappointed after an 11-9 fifth end loss. 2-2 and all to play for. Gary v Kristian was pivotal – after four close sets Gary was 7-3 up in the decider and in control – or so it seemed! Fast forward a few points and his lead was gone – another 11-9 win in the fifth for Team 3 as Kristian gave his side their first lead of the night. With spectators calling for the expedite system to come into effect, Krzysztof ground out a 4 end win v Charlie to make it level going into the doubles. James and Krzysztof v Craig and Kristian. James and Krzysztof were in trouble at 2-1 down and 8-5 down in the fourth but it was Team 2 this time that used their get out of jail free card to win the fourth 11-9 and force a decider. This was crucial and both sides knew it. Like many of the matches it went the distance and at 10-10 in the fifth fortune favoured the brave as James hit two winners, one cracking shot, one aided by a very fortunate net/edge combination – they all count though! Advantage Team 2. The topsy turvy contest continued as Craig defeated Gary to make it 4-4. Krzysztof v Kristian and James v Charlie to decide the match. Maybe fitting that no team lost this match – they’d put everything into it and a win for Krzysztof was cancelled out by a win for Charlie as the points were shared – tight, exciting, tense, nervy and at times bad tempered, but all were friends at the end (well almost)!
 
Away from the Derby, first up in Week 18 on Tuesday 28th January had been Team 4 of Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks and Chamika Diyunagalge - they travelled to take on 2nd place ESC in Division 3. This looked like a tough match – and so it proved to be. Chamika lost in straight sets to top of the individual averages, Dan Potter before Rachel was unlucky to lose out in five ends in Match 2. Patrick gave the visitors hope with a win in Match 3, but the next round of singles matches all went the way of the hosts as they stormed into a 5-1 lead entering the doubles. Rachel and Patrick had a go this week, but their straight sets defeat ended the match as a contest. Patrick picked up a good win in Match 9, but the visitors came away from Edinburgh having suffered an 8-2 defeat.
 
Team 1 have had an excellent start to 2025 to ease some of their relegation worries - Colin Green, Greig McDonell and Peter Aird took to the table against Edinburgh University. The first two matches were shared – a win for Colin in 4 ends and a four end loss for Greig. Peter looked in control in his first match but a 16-14 loss and a 12-10 loss in ends 2 and 4 sent the match to a decider. Daniel Titmas showed some terrific attacking play as he won in 5 and the pressure was really on the hosts. Matches 4, 5 and 6 produced 3-0 wins for all three home players as they took a 4-2 advantage into the doubles, and what a terrific doubles it was – the momentum was with the students after they  forced a decider with an 11-3 fourth end win but Colin and Peter, aided by some good fortune, held their nerve for the win which secured a point for the hosts. Peter looked like he was going to secure both points as he won the first two ends of his final match 11-6, 11-6, but the talented Manas Arun turned the match around to win in five. Colin then secured the points with his third win of the night before Greig won the final match to give the hosts an excellent 7-3 victory.
 
Team 5 faced tricky opposition in Week 18 as they faced Dunbar in Division 4. The East Lothian outfit are chasing promotion and look fairly certain to finish in the top 2. Roscoe Cairney, John Bald and Jay Jayalath knew they were in trouble when their number 1, Jay lost the first match in straight sets. That was followed by a 3-0 defeat for Roscoe and a 3-1 loss for John. When Roscoe lost his second match the hosts found themselves 4-0 down – a miracle was needed to turn this match around – Jay won match 5 but that was as close as they got to a miracle recovery – the remaining ties all went the way of the East Lothian outfit who brought team 5 back down to earth after their recent impressive run with a 9-1 victory. The good news for Team 5, however, is that the three teams below them in the Division all lost in Week 18 so they remain 7 points clear of the team below them and 8 points clear of the relegation zone.
 
And so, to our Week 18 Player of the Week Award. Only two players had undefeated nights this week – Colin in Team 1’s 7-3 victory in the Premier Division and Krzysztof in Team 2’s tense 5-5 draw with Team 3. Both also contributed to important doubles wins. There’s no doubt that Krzysztof’s undefeated night was massively important to Team 2 securing a point – but Colin’s wins eased the pressure on Team 1 when it was becoming tight, and they too were hugely important. It seems the fairest way to resolve this one is to get the calculator out. Krzysztof played 16 ends of table tennis including the doubles and won 12 and lost 4. This is close but two 3-0 victories made the difference as Colin played 15 ends, won 12 and lost 3! Well done to Colin.  
 
What about any controversies this week? In Team 1’s match v Edinburgh University, play was a little delayed in starting and unlike most weeks it was decided we would share a second table with the Derby match. As time marched on, it became apparent, as if we need reminded of this, that playing on one table (or on this occasion two tables every so often) simply results in us not being able to get through a night of league table tennis, if matches are anything other than straightforward 3-0 wins! As match 10 was about to get underway, we are grateful to Georges form Edinburgh Uni who proposed, and it was agreed, that the final match would be played best of three. He probably regretted that after losing, but it was clear that had he even won the second end to force a decider we would have been in trouble, 10pm having already come and gone!
 
The same match also saw Colin get irritated by his opponent sarcastically picking him up when he mistakenly thought he’d reached a towel break – Colin pointed out that his opponent had kicked the ball on a couple of occasions which could have resulted in a yellow card. On the subject of yellow cards, the students seemed to be under the impression that if a yellow card is shown that’s a point penalty. They were fairly insistent on that point (no yellow card was shown so nothing to get excited about). They were told to check the rules – our understanding is that a yellow card is a warning to a player and if the player “offends” again then a penalty point can be awarded. Greig also got on his high horse when a University spectator applauded one of the wildest shots he played all night – the ball was closer to hitting the ceiling than the table after Greig’s attempted forehand!! Whilst clearly, spectators can support their player, it does seem very unsportsmanlike to applaud the opponent’s mistakes – that will always be our stance on such matters as our favourite West Lothian player, Noah Fletcher knows so well.
 
Usually, Derby matches through up some controversial moments – a couple of dodgy let calls when it looked like the point was over caused some irritation, but it didn’t come to much. In the last match between James and Charlie, however, there was an interesting incident. In the middle of the second end and away from the match, Krzysztof was getting ready to start his final match of the night – he couldn’t find his bat anywhere. What had happened to it? It must have been put amongst someone else’s equipment by mistake – nope bags checked, tables checked, still no sign of it. Wait a minute what’s that blade that James has been playing with for an end and a half?? Oh dear!! James has tried to argue that the blades look similar – they’re both made of wood, but that’s where the similarity ends! Now no issue – James go get your own bat and give Krzysztof his bat back. His opponent, Charlie, however, pointed out that in terms of the rules you’re not allowed to change bats halfway through a match!!! Now that would have been a belter of a controversy had Charlie insisted on James continuing to play with the wrong bat – but sense prevailed, the change was made and perhaps fortunately, Charlie still won!
 
Mistaken identity seemed to continue after the table tennis was finished on Thursday night between these two teams – Craig nearly had the police called upon him as he was trying to force his way into his car in the car park – why won’t the doors open – what’s the problem – damn technology! Oh, hold on that’s not my car!!!
 
Ah what fun – Week 19 here we come.