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Week 6 Report

29/10/2016

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Week 6 of the League saw all seven of the Club’s Teams in action.
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In the Premier Division, Greig McDonell and Stuart Gow were without regular Colin Green as they faced two matches in 3 days against Edinburgh International 2 and University 1. At home on Wednesday they called up Iain Johnstone who acquitted himself well winning an important singles match on the night in the resultant 7-3 victory. Greig won all three of his singles whilst Stuart won 2 and combined with Greig for a win in the doubles fixture.

On Friday night with Colin still in his sick bed, Abby Wighton deputised. This match provides the controversy of the week this week (discussed below) but the table tennis was of good quality and the match seemed to turn on four consecutive five end tussles from matches 3 to 6 with the scores going into those matches tied at 1-1. Stuart came back from 2-0 down in match 3 against University's number 2 to win 11-7 in the fifth. At the same time as that was going on, Abby showed what she is capable of as she came back from 2 ends to 1 down to win 11-9 in the fifth. The next two matches played simultaneously saw Greig squeeze home deuce in the fifth before Stuart once again turned a 2-0 deficit into a deuce in the fifth win - suddenly the visitors were 5-1 up and a draw was secured. Abby and Greig lost their final matches before Stuart won the final singles of the night to secure a terrific win for Team 1. 

In Division 1, Team 2 tasted their first win of the season last week and were looking to build on that as they entertained West Lothian 4 at Ladywood. Their task was made much easier when their opponents were only able to field a two man team. From 3-0 up before a ball was hit, the home side were never in trouble as they recorded an 8-2 win. Iain Johnstone and Clive Liddiard were undefeated on the night and combined for a win in the doubles. Brian Bailey is claiming 1 against that guy called "Walkover" to get him off and running in the division.

Following a draw in Week 5, Team 3 of James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton travelled to take on Fife 2 in Division 2. With both Abby and Gary winning two singles and James winning 1, the match was finely poised and the doubles fixtures as is so often the case, took on extra significance. James and Abby won the first end 11-9 but then lost ends 2 and 3 by the narrowest of margins (13-11, 16-14). They levelled the match with a comfortable win in end 4 before agonisingly falling just short with an 11-9 defeat in the decider. On such small margins points are won and lost and the doubles loss effectively caused a point to be dropped as the Penicuik side recorded their 3rd draw in their first six matches of the season. The good news for Team 3 is that they still remain unbeaten - the only side from the Club to have that honour - but might they come to rue not being able to convert those draws into wins later in the season. The point keeps them second in the Division but now two points behind league leaders Haddington 1.

Penicuik 4 were looking to do Team 3 a favour as they hosted the aforementioned league leaders Haddington in their Division 2 encounter. The team were at full strength for only the second time this season as Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Tony Brentnall and Chris Markey looked to close the gap on the top 2. A win would have seen Team 4 move within a point of both Haddngton and Team 3 but alas it was not to be as they fell to a disappointing 8-2 defeat. Both Chris and Krzysztof won 1 of their 3 singles matches. Their was more bad news for the Team as an injury to Tony may result in him being sidelined for a number of weeks.
 
In Division 3 Team 5 have had a difficult start to their campaign. As with many fixtures this season for the Club as a whole, Team Captain John Bald had the difficulty of having to call on replacements from teams below as they faced Corstorphine 4. With neither Louis Myatt nor Phil Daly available, Marcin Mroz and Millie Bennett stepped up from Division 4. On a bad night for the Team, none of the trio troubled the scorers as they fell to a 10-0 defeat. Team 5 know that they need to turn their season around soon as after 5 matches they sit second bottom of the Division and are already 3 points adrift from safety. 

The surprise package of the season so far has been the form of Team 6 in Division 4. They entertained West Lothian 7 at Ladywood looking to maintain top spot in the Division. They too were unable to field their regular side but at least were able to field a replacement from the same division in Marcin Mroz. It looked like plain sailing for the home side as Craig Johnson, Stuart Bennet and Marcin all comfortably won their opening singles matches. When Craig and Stuart then both won their next matches in fifth end deciders, Team 6 held an unassailable 5-0 lead and were surely on course for a straightforward win. Marcin then lost game 6 before Craig and Stuart lost the doubles - no need to panic though as they still held a comfortable 5-2 lead going into the last 3 singles of the night. However, when Stuart then lost match 8 of the night the nerves started to set in and an unlikely comeback for the West Lothian side was on the cards. It was left to Marcin to get the home side over the line as he won his final match of the night before Craig lost in Match 10 as Penicuik squeezed home 6-4. The win puts the side 2 points clear at the top of the Division.

After two consecutive heavy defeats in Division 4 things have not been looking quite so bright for Team 7. They fielded their youngest possible side as Louis McLeod, Lewis Baldock and Mark Mackay, with a combined age of 40, travelled to take on Haddington. When El Presidente saw them at the beginning of the night, they certainly seemed to be enjoying the experience of their first match together but unfortunately they weren't quite able to get the better of their opponents as they fell to a 7-3 defeat. Lewis won 2 and Louis won 1.

And so to our player of the Week for Week 6 - The award this week has to go to one of the players who turned out for Team 1 - Iain won 2 out of 2 in his Division 1 match and added an important win playing up in the Premier Division - but he's won the award before and is likely to win it again so we'll overlook him. Abby played terrifically well for Team 1 to secure the all important 6th win of the night against University and had she won her 3 in her Division 2 match there's no doubt she would have won the award this week. Greig and Stuart both won 5 out of 6 for Team 1 in their two wins without the Aussie but for his fighting spirit and top quality TT the award this week has to go to Stuart - it's only taken about a year and a half but it was worth waiting for!!!

Stat of the week - back to Team 6 - top of the Division 4 table and they continued their run of fielding a different team for every match played so far - 6 matches played and a different trio every week - surely they can't keep that going can they? No doubt some mathematician could tell us when it will end!

And finally our controversy of the week section - there are some weeks when there's just too much to talk about and this is one of those weeks - Team 1's match against Edinburgh University provides us with enough talking points so we'll keep many of the other issues which arose for next week!

So picture the scene - 7pm start at the Pleasance and unbeknown to us at the start of the night a 9.30pm finish time - surely the earliest finishing time in the League?? Two tables used throughout - even with that time is tight and we've mentioned before in this piece about how the two table setup is damaging the game as a "team event" in our view.

Greig and Abby arrive at 7pm whilst Stuart arrives about 10 minutes later. A knock up is had and matches begin - Game 1 and Greig loses the first end 11-2 - no problem with his serves being criticised in that end until ends two and three go his way when the opponent suddenly pulls him up for not moving his free arm out the way during the ball toss. Match 4 and Greig goes to umpire Abby's game to be told by the University player that he would like his "friend" to umpire - not sure why? No verbal encouragement given by "umpire Greig" but probably, in fairness, an occasional foot tapping when Abby played a terrific rally. Nothing said when the University player lost to Abby (the same player who had already lost to Greig) other than how he was suddenly not feeling very well and hadn't been feeling well for a while - no acknowledgement of an opponent's good play - could that be an indication of bad sportsmanship? Abby, on the other hand, was rightfully over the moon with a win against a player playing 2 divisions higher than she is.

Roll the clock on and Stuart is umpiring Greig's last match rather than playing his own in the belief that we had until 10pm to finish - no one from University suggested we switch umpires to let the final singles get underway. It was a good job Greig decided to lose in straight ends as Stuart then went on for his final match at about 9.20pm (5-3 up by that point). First indication we had of an issue was overhearing the University players saying that it would be ok if the match wasn't finished as the two outstanding games would be claimed by them as Stuart was late turning up - Really??!!! He couldn't have started his match any earlier than he did given he was on 3rd. 2 ends to nil up and 9-5 up when one of the University team appears in the hall at 9.30pm with someone else who calls time on the match - the Centre seemingly closes at 9.50pm. We suggest that we're only a couple of points away from finishing. Fortunately for us, Stuart wins 3 straight and with it secures victory. For the first time in the night the University players then tell us that because "we" (by which they mean Stuart) were late they were claiming the doubles. Might it have struck them to mention earlrier in the night their position - there was certainly no haste on their part to get the matches played - we tell them to claim the doubles given it doesn't effect the result - a completely unnecessary and unsavoury end to the night. But wait - it's not over there - the University then send to the Match secretary a ridiculous note commenting upon the "unsportsmanlike behaviour of Penicuik 1" referring to Greig not removing his free arm while serving and Stuart seemingly "throwing the ball below the required 6 inches and into the bat to generate additional side-spin"!! Oh and Greig clapping while umpiring Abby's match! In their comment (and using their words) they went further to indicate that we "were willing to undignify ourselves just for the sake of winning". 

Really?? Bad losers?? Surely not. Their comments merit no more response than to say their recollection of events seem to be somewhat at variance from ours. But hey, I for one, am going to thank the University for providing us in 2 and half hours with the same old controversial topics which come up year after year all bundled together in one match. Start and finishing times, two table set up, umpiring issues, unsportsmanlike conduct - all there on a Friday night after a hard week at work (well unless you're a University student of course) when what you should be doing is relaxing at home with a nice glass of red - but we wouldn't have it any other way would we??!!!

Handicap Cup next week - that normally doesn't lead to many controversies........



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Week 5 Report

23/10/2016

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Week 5 of the League saw all seven of the Club’s Teams in action.
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In the Premier Division, the 1st Team of Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Stuart Gow faced a tough match against Edinburgh Sports Club 1 at Ladywood. The first match of the night saw Colin just lose out in five ends to Graeme Sutherland. Playing on two tables (more on that later) when games 2, 3 & 4 were all lost the home side were in real trouble but wins from Greig and Colin brought the match score to 4-2 before the doubles. From 2 ends to nil down, Greig & Colin played well to come back and win in 5 ends and with it there was suddenly hope that at least a draw remained on the cards. Simultaneously, however, Colin lost to Martin McKay while Stuart lost to Scott McKenzie and with that the match was gone. Stuart lost out in the last match as the home side tasted defeat for the first time this season going down 7-3. 
 

In Division 1, Team 2 were looking for their first points after a dreadful start to the season as they faced Murrayfield 5. Iain Johnstone who has been in terrific form got the home side off to a good start with a straightforward win in game 1 of the night. Clive Liddiard, has a bad five end record, having lost all three that he has played this season but perhaps this match was the turning point for him as two of his three singles went the distance and he won both of them. Both he and Iain were undefeated on the night and combined for a doubles win as the home side triumphed 7-3. Brian Bailey had been encouraged to get on the scoresheet with the promise of him being selected for the handicap cup if he could win his first match of the season - alas it was not to be although according to Brian his terrible start to the season has been tactical to get his handicap up for the 1st Round of the Cup!!  

In Division 2, Team 3 were involved in a top of the table clash with league leaders Haddington. James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton knew that a win would result in the Penicuik trio leapfrogging their East Lothian opponents into top spot in the Division and they stormed into an unassailable 5-1 lead going into the doubles fixture. Father and daughter duo, James and Abby lost out in that doubles and that started a most unlikely comeback for the league leaders. With Gary and James both losing their last matches Abby probably had the best chance to win the match for the visitors as she faced Gordon Aien who had lost already to both Gary and James - it's a funny old game though all about styles of play - Abby lost in five ends as Haddington came back to secure a point. Whilst Team 3 may have taken a draw at the beginning of the night they will feel that this was a huge missed opportunity and a point lost rather than a point gained. On a positive note, however, they remain undefeated in the Division and only a point behind the League leaders.

Team 4 were also in action in Division 2 as they hosted Edinburgh University 3. After a disappointing loss in Week 4, Team Captain Krzysztof Laszkiewicz was worried by the absence of two of the team's regular players as he called on the services of John Bald and Louis Myatt from Division 3. Krzysztof's worries were misplaced as he won all 3 of his singles played whilst John won 2 and Louis won 1. Krzysztof and John combined for a win in the doubles as the students were dispatched 7-3. The victory sees Team 4 jump up to 3rd in the Division, two points behind Penicuik 2 but with a game in hand. 

In Division 3 the Club's fifth team were also understrength as John Bald and Louis Myatt called on the services of Stuart Bennett from Division 4 as they travelled to face Edinburgh University 4. In a difficult night for the visitors, John was the only winner securing victory in two of his three singles matches as the University ran out 8-2 winners.

Our 6th Team were looking to build on their decent start to the season as they faced a home tie against Fife 4 in Division 4. They kept their amazing record of fielding a different team in each match going as Marcin Mroz played up from Team 7 to join Stuart and Millie Bennett. Going into the doubles fixture the scores were tied at 3-3 - Marcin and Millie were unlucky to lose out in 4 ends before Marcin defeated his opposite number to draw the scores level again at 4-4. Young Millie Bennett then faced Fife’s top player in Match 9 and fought back from 2 ends to nil down before losing in a fifth end decider. It was then left to dad Stuart to salvage a point which he duly did by winning the last match of the night. Marcin and Millie both won 2 singles whilst Stuart added the important fifth win. The point for the Penicuik side was enough to keep them top of the Division on game difference.

Finally in a busy week for the Club, Team 7 travelled to Bathgate to take on West Lothian 7. Louis McLeod, Lewis Baldock and Marcin Mroz will want to put their evenings work quickly behind them after the hosts cantered to a 10-0 victory.

Player of the week this week?? For breaking his duck and contributing a full house in his team's match against Murrayfield, Clive is this week's deserved winner - it's about time that someone other than Iain won a game for Team 2 so well done Clive - now we just need to get Brian on the board!!

And so to our controversy of the week. We don't just have a go at other Clubs or the League in this piece - we can equally be critical of our own internal difficulties. We had, this season, hoped to hire out the whole hall at Ladywood for league matches, leaving a Wednesday to be our Club night - strong views were expressed about the difficulty of having a Club night when there are league matches on as well - our problem is that Ladywood is a Community Leisure Centre and whilst we are an important member sport/activity, so are many others such as boxing, badminton and yes even the dreaded dog obedience classes!! So with the whole hall unavailable one team had to still play on "Club night" - that pleasure fell to Team 1. 

Like many other clubs we now seem to start playing on two tables from the outset to try and finish on time. In the writer's view (not shared by all at the Club) this utterly destroys the "team nature" of league matches and effects team spirit - not only that but as with last Wednesday's match it impacts on the ability of others to participate fully in our Club session - Team 1 were aware of discontent being expressed by their fellow Club members, rumblings about the fact that they were taking up far too much space, moaning about how others felt inhibited from playing "normally", even more disquiet at some of the language / bad behaviour being exhibited when there were juniors at the Club (I hasten to add that relates to our opponent's conduct not Team 1's). And add to that the impact on the Team's ability to support each other and feel part of what, after all, is meant to be a team game and Wednesday turned out to be a thoroughly unenjoyable night for most involved! Did any of that have anything to do with the 7-3 defeat? Who knows? All we do know is that by the end of the night there was a pretty negative atmosphere at the Club and certain words were exchanged which required El Presidente's well known collaborative and mediation skills to come to the fore! Thinking about it now, although we said this wasn't a criticism or a controversy about the League, it is actually their fault - there just isn't enough time to get matches completed in the space of 3 hours - maybe we should have voted at the AGM for the proposal to play best of 3 matches! What can we do about it?? Not a lot it would seem - if only Craig could get on with securing that million pound sponsorship deal from his Japanese employers. To end on a positive note, Team 1 has a rearranged home match this coming Wednesday where we can do it all over again..................


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Week 4 Report

16/10/2016

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Week 4 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League was a quiet one for the Club with only 4 of our 7 Teams in action.

With both the 1st and 2nd Teams not playing, attention turned to Division 2 which saw both Teams 3 and 4 looking to maintain their undefeated starts to the season. Both Teams struggled to field their regular trios with Team 3 calling on the services of Krzysztof Laszkiewicz to join regulars James Wighton and Gary McDougal as they faced Murrayfield 6 at Ladywood. There was a bit of added spice to the match with the return of young Luke Hennessey to the Club after his move to Murrayfield in the off season. We are reliably informed that it is simply a malicious rumour that Abby wasn't available for the match to avoid playing Luke!

Match 1 saw Krzysztof take on Luke in an entertaining game which went the distance to a deciding 5th end. Krys just about held his nerve as he triumphed 13-11 in the fifth. Another 5 end match followed as Gary defeated Richard Lo before James surprisingly lost out 3-0 to Hong Shan Wang. An even bigger surprise followed when Luke then won yet another mammoth five end encounter defeating Gary 11-8 in the fifth to level the match score at 2-2. There was a sense around Ladywood that an upset was on the cards but two straight 3-0 wins for Krys and then James seemed to steady the ship for the home side. When Gary and James won the doubles in five ends Murrayfield's hopes of a win were gone and with confidence growing all three players then won their final singles matches to run out comfortable (on paper at least) 8-2 winners.  Krzysztof was undefeated on the night whilst Gary and James both won two of their three singles. 

The previous night also saw Krzysztof in action as his Team 4 side faced an away match against West Lothian 5. The visitors required to call on the services of Phil Daly from Division 3 to join Krzysztof and Tony Brentnall. Team 4 certainly missed their regular third player, Chris Markey as unfortunately Phil was unable to contribute on the night. With both Krzysztof and Tony losing to Sam Stanton they knew that a doubles victory would at least secure a draw - it wasn't to be, however, as they lost out in 4 ends and with that went their undefeated start to the season. 

In Division 4, Team 6 seem to have picked up from Premier League football clubs the use of the rotation system - they have now played four matches and have had a different combination of players in each of those matches! This week saw Stuart Bennett, Craig Johnson and Sean Lennon face an away fixture against Edinburgh University 5. The match was tied at 4-4 going into the last two games of the night. Game 9 saw Stuart lose out in five ends which put the pressure on Sean playing the last match of the night. Craig by that point had won 2 singles whilst Sean and Stuart had won 1. What followed was a mammoth five end encounter and at 10-10 in the deciding end the match could have gone either way. Both players then saved numerous match points before eventually after a 38 point game, Sean triumphed 20 points to 18 to secure a point for the Penicuik trio.

Finally in Week 4, Penicuik 7 faced only their second match of the season with three new players to the league representing the Club - Mark McKay (Snr), Marcin Mroz and Mark McKay (Jnr) found it tough going against an experienced Edinburgh International side. Marcin was the only winner on the night for the home side in their 9-1 defeat, however, all three players seemed to enjoy the experience and it was recognised that nerves probably played a big part in their first league outing. We're sure that as the season progresses and with more match experience under their belt performances will improve. 

And so to our player of the week award for Week 4 - Sean was clearly in the running for that mammoth 20-18 final end victory to save a point for Team 6 but for his performances in Division 2 and in particular for winning all his singles in his appearance playing up for Team 3, this week's winner is Mr Scrabble Man himself - Well done Krys.

Stat of the Week? - in our Week 2 Report we pointed out that the Club had only won 2 out of 13 five enders, a stat which clearly needed improving - well in Week 4 the Club had ten five end matches and won seven of them - our success rate has therefore improved from 15% to 70% - now that's a stat worth celebrating!!

And finally to our controversy of the week - this is one which is more of an issue rather than a controversy and was raised by our Team 4 members who found themselves in the position of having to draft in a player from a lower division to fill in for the absent Chris Markey. With two teams in Division 2, any Team 4 player would have been able to play up for Team 3 - Indeed this week, Krzysztof did just that and acquitted himself very well. The League seem to be placing a great deal of weight on the ratings central system and all clubs have had communications about which players are not able to play up for other teams based on these ratings - Krzysztof's point, which is a fairly valid one if we are placing weight solely on these stats is that all three players registered for Team 3 should have actually been able to play for Team 4's Chris on the basis that he has a higher rating than all of them! A player playing down for the team below?? Radical proposition but if the teams are in the same division and if the player missing has a higher rating then why not?? Of course one of the problems is the rating system itself and how accurate a representation it is of a player's standard - we just have to look at the top of the list for Penicuik to find that Colin Green is supposedly our number 1 rated player - we all know that can't be right!!!


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Week 3 Report

9/10/2016

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Week 3 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League saw 5 of the Club's 7 Teams in action.

In Division 1, Team 2 of Clive Liddiard, Iain Johnstone and Brian Bailey were hoping to secure their first win of the season as they faced West Lothian 3 at Ladywood. Although the Team had lost their first two matches of the season Iain has been in good form and that continued as he won all three of his singles matches and combined with Clive for a win in the doubles fixture. Clive and Brian have struggled so far this season and the pressure was on them knowing that a singles victory for either of them would have earned the side their first point of the season. Alas neither of them could achieve that win as the Bathgate side ran out 6-4 winners. A worrying loss for Team 2 and a disappointing start to the season. On a positive note, however, Iain is proving again his value to Team 2 and after an excellent season last year which assisted the Team in finishing mid-table, it's surely only a matter of time before the old-timers get their act together and the team start winning! 

In Division 2, after a confidence boosting win in Week 2 Team 3 of James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton faced an away trip to Edinburgh Sports Club 3. All three players contributed on the night, each winning two of their 3 singles matches. Abby joined with dad James to also win the doubles fixture as the visitors recorded a good 7-3 win. After a dreadful 2015/16 campaign which resulted in relegation, at this early stage in the season Penicuik 3 sit in 2nd place in Division 2. 

Hot on their heels in Division 2, however, are Penicuik 4 who required to call on the services of John Bald from Division 3 to join regulars Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Tony Brentnall in their home tie against West Lothian 6. John acquitted himself well as the home trio comfortably saw off their opponents in a 9-1 victory. Both Krzysztof and Tony were undefeated in singles and combined for a win in the doubles whilst John added two singles victories. Two wins from two matches played and whilst we are sure that there will be far tougher tests to come, Team 4, like last season, look like contenders again.

Penicuik's 5th Team of John Bald, Phil Daly and Louis Myatt faced an away tie against Murrayfield 7 in Division 3 hoping to improve on their poor start to the season. Unfortunately, whilst all three players won one singles match, Murrayfield's top two players were undefeated as the visitors fell to a 7-3 defeat. Played 3 lost 3 is not the start which had been hoped for but Captain John can be consoled somewhat by the fact that he managed to pick up another player of the night award. At least he won a match this week which can perhaps provide some justification for that accolade!

Finally in Week 3 Team 6 put out their 3rd different combination of players in as many weeks as Stuart Bennett, Craig Johnson and Millie Bennett faced a home fixture against Murrayfield 8. Craig was undefeated on the night whilst Stuart and Millie both won 2 singles matches in the Team's 7-3 victory. The terrific news for Team 6 at this early stage of the season (we'll celebrate any good news we can) is that the win sees Team 6 leap to the top of the Division 4 Table - we will ignore the fact that every other Team in the Division has at least one game in hand!! 

And so to our Player of the Week Award for Week 3 - Four players undefeated this week - Iain, Krzysztof, Tony and Craig - We'll knock out Craig because he contributed to a loss in the doubles for Team 6 - Krys and Tony won their doubles but that means it's too difficult to differentiate between them so by default this week's award goes to Iain - he couldn't have done any more in Team 2's effort to win their first point of the season - well done Iain.

Our stat of the week also involves Iain this week - it's a good one for him but not for his Team! 3 matches played - a total of 30 games - 9 games for and 21 against is the team record and of those 9 wins Iain has won 8 of them - the ninth win was half his as well with this week's doubles victory! What does that stat prove? A one man team isn't enough to win matches!!

And finally to our controversy of the week slot! Believe it or not everything was quiet on the Ladywood front in Week 3 - no postponements refused, no arguments on or off the table with opponents, no intra club difficulties to report - indeed to show how sporting the League should be we have to mention the fact that both Edinburgh International 1 & 2, despite severe restrictions in terms of "availability of premises" for both them and us, agreed without hesitation to Team 1's request for postponements of their matches against them in Weeks 3 and 4. Well done EI for showing how easy it is to be sporting and accommodating.

But we couldn't end without some controversy so looking further afield we see that one of our other favourite topics of "start and finishing times" reared it's ugly head again this week in Corstorphine's match against LBPTT in Division 2. The match result is still pending approval on the online system but we can picture the scene as the last match of the night is getting played just as the caretaker calls time. The scores at the time - 5-4 in favour of the visitors - who knows how the final match would have ended (LBPTT 2-1 up when it was called off) but this again proves how unsatisfactory a system we have - we can't think of another sport where matches can be lost because Clubs just don't have enough time available to fulfill a fixture. We know only too well from our own experience how tight it can be to get matches finished - if only we all had our own premises!!

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Week 2 Round-Up

1/10/2016

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Week 2 of the League saw 5 of the Club's 7 Teams in action.

In the Premier Division, following the 1st Team's 5-5 draw with West Lothian 1 in Week 1 Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Stuart Gow were looking to build on that positive start as they faced West Lothian’s 2nd Team at Ladywood. The Bathgate side were always up against it as they were only able to field a two man team in Barrie Hills and Dave Fletcher and when Colin and Greig won the first two games of the night effectively the match was over. Barrie pushed Stuart to five ends but other than that it was a straightforward 10-0 win for the home side which even included a win for a Greig / Stuart doubles combination (there's a first time for everything!!)

In Division 1, Team 2 welcomed back to the fold Clive Liddiard to join regulars Iain Johnstone and Brian Bailey but his return wasn't enough to change the team’s fortunes as they fell to their second defeat of the season. In fairness the 8-2 defeat at the hands of Murrayfield 4 does not do justice to how close the match was and in particular doesn't tell the story of Clive's night. Match 1 v Lynn Somerville a deuce in the fifth loss. His second match against young Jake sees him fight back from 2-0 down to level the game only to lose in the fifth. Final match v Gary McIntyre sees him lose a 2-0 lead to fall to his third 5th end loss of the night. Had those matches gone differently..... In the end of the day Iain Johnstone was the only winner for Team 2 with 2 singles wins against Jake and Lynn.

In Division 2, after a draw in Week 1, Team 3 played their first home match of the season against North Merchiston 3. There was a family feel about the match as Abby Wighton and dad James called up Tony Brentnall from Team 4. They faced husband and wife duo Simon and Stella Hughes who combined with Mike Letchford for the visitors. (Surely North Merchiston 3's team this year must be a first for the league - a 4 player team made up of two couples, Mike's partner Anna being the fourth member). The match in the end was decided by the family doubles as father and daughter beat husband and wife on the way to a narrow 6-4 victory. Tony and Abby both won 2 singles whilst James won 1.

Team 5 of John Bald, Phil Daly and Louis Myatt also faced North Merchiston opposition in Division 3 as they faced North Merchiston 5 at home. This was another match which could have swung either way as three of the first four matches of the night went to five ends - all of them went the way of the visitors and that made it virtually impossible for the home side to come back. Louis won his first singles match at this level and was unlucky to lose both his others in the the fifth end. Phil added a victory and Louis combined with John for a win in the doubles in Team 5's 7-3 defeat. We think North Merchiston must have read our controversy of the week piece last week and to prove a point having won player of the night award last week with no wins, young Louis this week won 1, won the doubles and lost two 5 enders - so the award goes to winless on the night John!! Who knows why?? 

Finally in Week 2, Team 6 rang the changes as another father and daughter duo of Stuart and Millie Bennett had their first outing of the season joining Sean Lennon as they travelled to North Merchiston 6 in Division 4. After a good 8-2 win in Week 1 it was back down to earth for the Penicuik side this week. Once again the five end games proved the difference - 3 of the first 6 matches all went the distance and each one of them was won by North Merchiston. Sean continued his good form but he was the only winner as the Penicuik trio lost by an 8-2 scoreline. 

Here's a new section for our weekly reports - maybe a regular addition for this season - "Stat of the Week" - well probably for one week only actually. In our matches this week there were 13 games that went to five ends. ELEVEN of those deciders were won by our opponents - what does that stat mean? More fitness training needed on Club night I think!!

And now to our Player of the Week Award - only Team 1 were undefeated in singles play this week but given they played against a team of 2 we're going to overlook them. The most important two wins out of three came from Team 3 and both Abby and Tony managed that - but for the importance of his second win, taking out the up to that point unbeaten Stella in match 9 of the night, and with it securing the win, the award this week goes to Tony Brentnall - well done Tony.

Who thought it would take this long for a major controversy to rear it's head - jings about 7 days into the season before the great old "postponement" issue burst into life!! Team 4 last week were due to play LBPTT (surely they need to change their name now that L&B Police no longer exists). Anyway, with Mr Scrabble man away on holiday (another one who seems to think holidays are more important than TT) Team 4 were going to call up someone from team 5 until Chris had a fall resulting in a trip to A&E (we're told drink wasn't involved but the jury's still out on that). Postponement duly sought. LBPTT agree to postponement - there's no controversy there is there?? Ah hold on - what they would like is that the rearranged fixture should not include any player not available to Team 4 last week. Eh??? What?? Don't they understand that the concept of postponements is to enable players unavailable for the original fixture to play in the rearranged one!! I feel we've not heard the end of this one.......

That's more like it. Something meaty and potentially long running to keep our weekly reports going! Roll on Week 3.


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    Penicuik TTC

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