​Here we are in Week 27 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League – Week 27?? Wow!
 
The outcome of Team 3’s season would be decided with two matches against North Merchiston opposition – on Tuesday night they took on North Merchiston 4 and two nights later they were scheduled to play North Merchiston 5. They needed a point from those matches to possibly win promotion (game difference would then come into play) or two points would see promotion guaranteed.
 
Julian Taylor, Ian Hislop and Hannah McDonell faced off against Graham Booth, Slawomir Bess and Julia Domagala. First up was Ian v Slawomir and this was a one sided contest comfortably won by Ian in three straight ends. Hannah then played Graham and although she looked like she’d worked out how to play against Graham’s dodgy rubber, when it came to the big points Graham triumphed and he levelled the scores at 1-1. Julian then restored the advantage with a straight sets victory over Julia. Matches 4 and 5 were to prove crucial. Hannah came back from the loss of the first end v Slawomir to win in four whilst Ian found himself 2-0 down against Julia. Ian found a way and a 12-10 deciding end win was tough on Julia who had played some lovely table tennis. 4-1 up and a point was there for the taking as Julian faced Graham in match 6. Julian showed oodles of patience as he ground out the important win and secured at least a point for the home side. The doubles then saw Julian and Hannah take on Graham and Julia. At 1-0 and 9-5 up in the second, the game looked comfortably to be going the way of the Penicuik pair. But the visitors then reeled off 7 of the next 8 points for a 12-10 win. The third end was equally as tight – this time it was Julian and Hannah who held their nerve for a 12-10 victory and when the home pairing won the next 11-5, the overall victory was secured and with it promotion gained to Division 1 for next season. All three players won their final singles comfortably, only Ian dropping an end against Graham – a 9-1 win for a delighted Team 3.
 
No pressure then for their last match of the season on Thursday with Hannah suggesting that they could get Team 4 or 5 players to play up for them allowing Team 3 to “party”!!! She’s spent too much time with Abby we think! As it was, the last match was anti-climactic as North Merchiston conceded on the day, unable to field a team. A great season for James, Ian, Julian and Hannah. 22 matches played and only two defeats – both to the deserved League winners, Murrayfield. Team 3 will probably rue their second loss to the champions at Ladywood in early March – at 3-1 and 4-3 up they had a real chance to pull off a win and that would have made the title chase very interesting. As it was they finished four points behind the winners and three points clear of third placed Edinburgh Uni. Well done to them.
 
Finally in Week 27 we had our handicap cup semi final against the same trio from Murrayfield that won the division 2 title. The selection committee stuck with the same players that had won the Quarter final against Murrayfield Opposition, Colin Green, Jim Jack and Aidan Craig. First up was Colin v Rory Thomson – Colin was giving the youngster a 7 point start in a race to 18. This was a classic handicap cup match – Rory won the first two ends 18-14, 18-11 and looked in complete control. But back came Colin with an 18-16 win followed by an 18-14 fourth end victory. The final end proved how good the handicaps were – it went the distance, deuce at 17-17. Colin took the next point and won the match courtesy of an edge! Jim then took on William Wang. This match was always probably going to come down to how consistent the Murrayfield youngsters could be against our highest handicapper – Jim had an 8-0 advantage in a race to 14. When Jim won the first end things were looking good.  William, however, is another young player who has significantly improved this season. He fought hard as he recovered to win the next two games 14-12. The fourth end could have gone either way but a 17-15 win for William levelled the tie. Aidan then took on Nichole Lee in Match 3. Aidan’s improvement this season has seen his handicap drop to just +2 - that’s low for a division 4 player but credit to his excellent season. Nichole, playing two divisions above Aidan gave him a 7 point start in a race to 16. Another classic ensued. Nichole won the first two ends 16-11, 17-15 and looked in control. As with match 1 on the night, however, the Penicuik player then reacted to win the next two ends 16-12, 17-15. Another fifth end marathon, but this time, unlike match 1, it was the Murrayfield player who got over the line. Match 4 saw Colin take on William – the magic number needed to win an end here will bring back memories of the good old days – 10-0 to William in a race to 21. Colin squeezed over the line in the first 21-19 but then lost the next 21-16. That was followed by a 22-20 win for Colin and the Midlothian side looked like they might level the match. Ends 4 and 5 changed that positivity. William played some great stuff, and the handicap cup is such that if you get off to a bad start against a player with a big lead against you, recovery can be impossible – 21-6 in the fourth seemed to dent Colin’s confidence and William ran away with the decider 21-13. 3-1 down and Penicuik were in trouble. Match 5 pitted Aidan against Rory. An 8-0 advantage in a race to 17. The first two ends were shared but Aidan then showed his quality to win the final two ends 17-13, 17-10. Penicuik back in it at 3-2 down. Match 6 saw Jim back to the table against Nichole – by this time it was already after 10pm – handicap games can take a while!! This was the only match that didn’t go beyond three ends – Nichole has great consistency and is strong on both wings – Jim got close but couldn’t quite get far enough ahead to pile the pressure on his opponent – his 10-0 start was clawed back efficiently by Nichole in each end as she triumphed 18-16, 16-14, 16-14. The pressure was now really on as Penicuik fell 4-2 behind. Aidan v William was the match with the closest starting scores – only a 5-0 lead for Aidan in a race to 13. His opponent, like his teammates, plays two divisions higher than Aidan and this was always going to be tough – it was close. William won the first 14-12 and he repeated the score in the second to put the Murrayfield side on the brink of victory. Back came Aidan with an excellent 14-7 third end win – could he repeat it? The fourth end went to deuce, but it was William who came out on top 15-13. A great effort by the Penicuik trio who gave their opponents a good run for their money. It’s about time someone else won the handicap cup isn’t it? Have we mentioned our excellent record in this event? Winners in the 2018/19 season, semi-finalists 2019/20, no event 2020/21, winners 2021/22 and semi finalists 2022/23 – we’ll give ourselves a pat on the back for that record.
 
And so, to our final player of the week award. Undefeated nights for Julian and Ian and good performances in the handicap cup by all three players. Julian and Ian both finished the Division 2 season comfortably in the top 10 of the Individual averages. Ian’s come back from 2-0 down to win in Match 5 of the night really took the pressure off the side as they fought for promotion. But this week the award is going to someone who didn’t actually play – the Team has been captained terrifically throughout the season by this man. He’s always on hand, whether playing or not, to give advice and guidance and he’s kept everyone happy (well excluding opponents obviously – they seem to dislike him with a passion)! Well done to Team Captain James. Even though he dropped out, we’re confident he would have contributed just as much to the side’s victory this week and overall in the season he’s played the most games of all four players.
 
And finally, our controversy of the week section. Our appeal against Murrayfield’s ridiculous claimed walkover win was considered by the committee. Well, we say considered – given that Team 1 had secured their status in the Premier with their win against ESC, our appeal was thought to be unnecessary!! Wow! That’s one way to deal with appeals – ignore the issue completely. Ah well, we suppose it avoids the need for any conflict, or does it???
 
Graham Booth from NM 4 has apparently been trying all season to get in our controversy of the week section! He pulled up Julian this week for UMPIRING in a white T-shirt. Ok that’s not quite how it happened but Julian was just about to umpire when Graham pointed out that he hoped he had another top to wear other than his very clean and bright white one! When he did play he had to keep his hoodie on!
 
And finally, we can’t finish off without another go at umpiring – our handicap cup team reported that they were most unhappy with one of the youngsters from Murrayfield who whilst umpiring, in their words, looked completely bored out of their mind and disinterested. We know that they’re young and they have to learn but if they can’t do it properly yet, don’t let them do it at all. All it did was cause one of our players to lose focus – our player’s problem obviously as a player should be able to ignore other matters and concentrate on the game – but it can be difficult.
 
Ah well – our summary of the season and our end of season awards Report will follow at some point over the next couple of weeks. Another season over for PTTC.  More fun and games enjoyed, more upset and distress caused, more friends made (and some lost) – we can’t wait for next season for more of the same!!!

Week 26 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League was always going to answer a few relegation and promotion questions as teams caught up on outstanding fixtures.
 
The week started with Team 1’s visit to relegation rivals, ESC, on Monday 3rd April. This was it for Team 1 – a loss for them here and they would become favourites for the drop - a point and they might still be safe but it could come down to game difference – a win and they were safe. The Team’s search for a third player to play up for Team 1 resulted in Hannah McDonell travelling with dad, Greig and Colin Green. ESC have also had problems lately and an injury to Scott MacKenzie had ruled him out for a number of games – Martin McKay and Graeme Sutherland were joined by Alan Nisbet from Division 1. Greig took on Martin in Match 1 – normally you can expect this to be a five end marathon, but this time Greig won in 3 to give the visitors the perfect start. Graeme’s experience was then too much for Hannah as the scores were levelled before Colin defeated Alan in 3 to restore the lead. Graeme had no problem in putting Greig away and happily pointed out that Dad had only won 1 more point in 3 ends than daughter Hannah had! Colin had trouble with Martin in the next – 1-0 down and game point down in the second he turned it around to win the last three ends 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 – 3-2 to the visitors. Hannah then played some good stuff against Alan and when she took the first end, you could see the pressure building on her opponent. Had Hannah been able to deal with Alan’s serves this could have been a real shock – as it was she lost in four ends and the scores were again tied 3-3 going into the crucial doubles. Greig and Colin took on Graeme and Martin and this pivotal match was to go the distance – the fifth end saw the visitors sneak over the line in a match which was decided by the narrowest of margins – 9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9! A huge victory which made the Penicuik side favourites to at least win a point. Match 8 saw Colin take on Graeme and what a match this was – some terrific play from both with amazing counter looping rallies and both players scrambling brilliantly to stay in the match – this also went the distance – down in the fifth, Colin produced some brilliant points at the end of the fifth to secure an 11-9 victory – a point secured. Match 9 saw Greig take on Alan – had this been for the draw there would probably have been more pressure on Greig, but Colin’s win had eased the tension and Greig put the match away in straight sets to give Team 1 the win. Martin played Hannah in the final match of the night, and he also fell to a first end defeat before coming to terms a bit more with Hannah’s all out attacking play – a good night for Hannah all round and she only just fell at the last hurdle in each of the ends she lost – 9-11, 11-13, 9-11 – a great effort. A terrific win for Team 1 which secured their stay in the Premier for another year and at the same time resulted in relegation for ESC.
 
Thursday night then saw Team 1 host North Merchiston 1 at Ladywood. Given her performance playing up from Division 2 on the Monday night Hannah again joined Greig and Colin. Hannah took on Willie Mabon in Match 1 and her best end of the week was surely when she won the first end against a player in the top 10 of the Premier’s Individual Averages. She fell in four. Colin defeated Geoff Hunter before Greig went the distance in his win against Quentin Renau. Two wins followed for the visitors. Willie defeated Colin in five ends – at 10-4 up in the fifth, he won 11-9 – never in doubt he said as the players shook hands! Quentin was too strong for Hannah – his lobbing causing the 4ft 1 inch Hannah real problems! Greig then defeated Geoff to bring the scores level again at 3-3 and it was déjà vu from Monday night. This time however the doubles went the way of the visitors and when Wille defeated Greig in straight sets the home side trailed 5-3 – Colin had a great match against Quentin which he won in four ends before Hannah faced Geoff in the last match of the night. Geoff’s style caused problems in the first but after some coaching at the change of ends she was a different player, narrowly losing the second 11-9 before winning the third 11-7. This was a terrific match, Geoff as tenacious as ever and his consistency eventually wore Hannah down after long rally after long rally as the visitors secured a 6-4 win.
 
 
So, one outstanding issue resolved, another issue, this time promotion, was on the line as Team 3 hosted Herriot Watt in Division 2. Team 3 couldn’t win promotion this week unless University slipped up, but they could certainly take a big stride towards their goal with a win against the students. With Hannah playing up, Julian Taylor, Ian Hislop and James Wighton took to the table for this crucial match. Ian looked in trouble a couple of times in Match 1 but although tight, he played the big points well as he won 11-9, 12-10, 12-10.  James then triumphed in four ends in match 2 before Julian won in 3 straight sets to give the Midlothian trio the perfect start. James was then in real trouble in match 4. At 2-0 down he played some terrific stuff to pull out a five end victory. When Ian and Julian both then won their second matches the contest was over – 6-0 and coasting. The doubles was close but James and Ian came through in four ends before the final 3 singles matches. Julian was the only loser on the night in Match 9 as Team 3 recorded an excellent 9-1 victory. University didn’t slip up in their final match of the season so Team 3 realistically need 1 more point from their last two matches to “probably” gain promotion on game difference – two points and it will be beyond doubt.
 
Team 5 concluded their season with a visit to East Lothian. Aidan Craig, Roscoe Cairney and Chamika Diyunugalge made the trip to face Haddington 7 in Division 4. Chamika got the team off to a great start with a straight sets win in Match 1 before Aidan secured a four end win in Match 2. At 2-1 up in ends, Roscoe probably should have made it 3-0 but his opponent fought back to win in five ends. Two further good wins for Aidan and Chamika meant that going into the doubles they led 4-2. They combined well to secure at least a point for the team with a 3-0 victory. A good night was concluded in the same way it had started with two wins out of three as Team 5 recorded an excellent 7-3 victory. For virtually all of Team 5, this season has been their first taste of league action and whilst they were probably never going to compete for promotion, they may rue a couple of matches where a loss could have become a draw and a draw probably could have been a win. In the end they finished comfortably in a mid-table bunch separated by just 3 points. A good first season for Team 5 who will benefit from the experience next season.
 
And so, to our player of the week award. There were some terrific performances this week across the board – 5 out of 6 for Colin and 4 out of 6 for Greig was enough to maintain their Premier League status. There were undefeated nights for Ian and James in Division 2 and perfect nights for Aidan and Chamika in Division 4. Although she didn’t win any this was also a good week for Hannah – we can’t ignore that although the two stalwarts won 9 singles between them guess who won the player of the match awards on both nights – yip you guessed it – Hannah! In fairness stepping up two divisions she showed real promise and competed well in all of her matches and her performances showed how much she’s improved in the past 12 months or so. In terms of best performances, however, the four players mentioned above with undefeated weeks have to be favourites for the award. James and Aidan both dropped ends in their matches (1 for Aidan and 3 for James). Both Ian and Chamika won 9 ends out of 9 played – they both won the doubles as well – although Ian blames James for the end they lost, that’s the difference – what a night for Chamika – 12 ends of table tennis played and 12 won – a well deserved POTW Award for him.
 
And finally, our controversy of the week section. We don’t have to look far for this one. Our Second Team has struggled for most of the season to get out of the relegation dogfight in Division 1. But with 1 match left to go they needed a point to give them a chance of survival. They sat third bottom of the Division but the problem for them was that the two teams below them had one match left to play and it was against each other. That meant bizarrely that any result in that match, would result in one of the teams below Team 2 leapfrogging them – UNLESS Team 2 could pick up at least a draw in their last match v Murrayfield 5 (a win would have secured safety). No more important match this season then for Team 2. Imagine the disbelief therefore when the news came through of a concession by Team 2 to their opponents – that must be a mistake – surely? Nope – Team 2 who had already rearranged this final match of the season to last week couldn’t field a team! In fairness Team 3 were playing the same night but surely it would have been better to try and call on players from Div 3 or 4 for assistance than just concede! Never mind – maybe both Murrayfield 7 and Merchiston 3 want to get relegated from Division 1 and they will just declare their final match as void resulting in Team 2 surviving. Or maybe Team 2 fancy a go in Division 2 next season? A poor end to a poor season for our second team – come on Murrayfield and North Merchiston – do the decent thing and don’t play your final match…….
 
Handicap Cup Semi-final this week together with Team 3’s last two matches in Division 2 to decide their fate. Week 27 here we come.