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ELTTL 2018/19 - Week 11 Report

26/11/2018

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Week 11 of the Edinburgh and Lothians League saw five of our seven teams in action. 
 
In Division 1, Team 2 started the week off for the Club as they travelled to Bathgate to face West Lothian 3. Although not panicking yet, Team 2 need to start picking up points and their best chances of doing so should come against teams in the lower half of the table. This match was identified as one of those matches. Gary McDougal and Charlie Brindley were joined by Ian Hislop playing up from Team 3 in place of Team Captain, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, who appears to have been holidaying during the season again! When Ian squeezed home 11-9 in the fifth against young Jamie Arnott, the mood of Team 2 was very positive. The next two matches, however, were to prove crucial on the night. Charlie battled back from 2-0 down to force a fifth end against Stuart Gibson only to lose out in the decider. That was then followed by Gary losing a 2-1 advantage to lose out 11-9 in the 5th against Andy Wyles. Had the tide turned? Ian proved he can hold his own in this Division with a victory against Stuart to tie the scores at 2-2, but from there the home side only lost one more end in singles play and they added the doubles in 5 to run away with the victory by an 8-2 scoreline. Team 2's next two matches will surely prove pivotal to their season - both are against teams who also appear to also be in relegation trouble, Fife and Corstorphine 2. 
 
Team 4 also faced a trip to Bathgate as they took on West Lothian 6 in Division 3. Their strongest team was out on this occasion with the return of Team Captain Julian Taylor to join Tony Brentnall and Sonny Taylor. This was a fairly straightforward night for Team 4 - only 4 ends were lost in the nine matches won by the visitors. Sonny was the only one to lose out on the night as Team 4 secured a good 9-1 victory.
 
In what appears to have been a week full of Penicuik v West Lothian matches, West Lothian 9 visited Ladywood on Wednesday night to face Division 4 table toppers, Team 5. This match had a family ring to it with father and daughter duo Stuart and Millie Bennett v father and son pairing of Tommy and Jamie Toner. They were joined by Craig Johnson for the home side and Neil Webb for the visitors. When young Jamie defeated Craig in Match 1, Team 5 knew they were in for a tough night. Millie levelled the scores before Neil then gave the visitors the advantage again. In the battle of the youngsters, Millie secured an excellent victory against Jamie and when Craig and Stuart both then won their encounters, the home side led 4-2 going into the doubles.  As is often the case, the doubles was crucial – Craig and Millie looked in control at 2-1 up but Jamie and Neil fought back to force a deciding fifth end. That game went all the way, a 12-10 victory for Millie and Craig. The pressure was then off a little but as Millie became embroiled in another tense five setter, dad Stuart lost to Jamie and it looked like the match was going to go the distance. Millie held her nerve, and with El Presidente watching on, she played the shot of the night at 9-9 in the fifth – an outrageous forehand winner against what looked like some decent backspin from her opponent – she secured the next point as well to give the home side a 6-3 advantage. Craig was then able to relax in his last match which he won comfortably to give a final score of Penicuik 7 West Lothian 3. An entertaining match which could quite easily have ended up as a draw.
 
Elsewhere in Division 4, Team 6 travelled to East Lothian as they took on Haddington 4. Craig Linton, Louis McLeod and Rachel Petrie were looking to improve on their 6-4 loss to Haddington 5 from the previous week. On that occasion, Louis had been the star player for the Midlothian side and he once again led the team well and won both of his opening matches. A win from Craig resulted in the match being tied at 3-3 going into the doubles. Unlike Team 5's doubles performance, Craig and Louis couldn’t quite get over the line as they lost out 11-9 in the fifth. A crucial win for the home side which seemed to relieve some of the pressure for them. The last 3 matches on the night followed the exact same pattern – Haddington won the first end only for the visiting trio to all win the second end – the third and fourth ends, however, all went the way of the home side as Team 6 suffered a 7-3 defeat. 
 
And finally in Week 11, Team 7 lined up with George Wilson, Phil Daly and Hannah McDonell as they hosted Edinburgh International 5. Had it not been for two 6-4 defeats at the beginning of the season Team 7 would have been right in the mix for promotion from Division 4. They again showed their variety of playing skills on Wednesday night – George bamboozled his opponents with his good serves, controlled attacks and very steady pushing when required, Hannah showed her all out attack game (she doesn’t seem to know how to push – bizarre given who her father is!) and Phil played his normal eh…. how does Phil win games actually? He strolled through the night with the loss of only one set and with George undefeated on the night and Hannah winning two (a 12-10 in the fifth loss to Danny Ward spoiled a perfect night) the hosts won the singles matches by an 8-1 scoreline. George and Hannah also combined for a rare 3-0 win in the doubles to give Team 7 their 3rd win in a row, a win which lifts them to their best position in the League table since this Team was founded last season, 5th place. If Team 7 can come through their next two matches unscathed against West Lothian opposition that really will put the cat amongst the pigeons!  
 
And so to our Player of the Week Award for Week 11. Julian and Tony were undefeated for Team 4 as was Millie for Team 5 and George and Phil for Team 7. Tony didn’t play in the doubles and for Team Captain Julian failing to pick him, they’re both out of the running! Millie played a blinder this week and without doubt wins the “shot of the week award” but she’s won this award twice already this season. So, it’s between George and Phil – both only dropped a single set this week, both to the same player. George also won the doubles – but hang on a minute, we’re told that George was pulled through that match by his partner who also in the past 7 days has had great success away from the Club – sorry Phil and George! 2 and a ½ wins in the league were surpassed by winning the Glasgow Open Minor Girls Title at Drumchapel last weekend and then securing a Scotland Cap with a runners-up finish in the Schools Competition at Bathgate on Saturday – there can really only be one winner – well done Hannah for a terrific couple of weeks. 
 
And finally, our controversy of the week section. 
 
Club Secretaries received an email last week from the League regarding recent disputes about services. We covered a “friendly” exchange between our Team 3 and NM 4 in last week’s report and we are glad to be able to confirm that this email is not directed at that match. What we are told by the league is that it is up to the umpire’s judgement as to whether or not a serve is legal. We are also told that everyone who plays in the League MUST know the service rule and that we seem to be guilty of too lax an interpretation of the rule. 
 
So, this week all our teams have been briefed on the rule and told to be bold and strong in their decision making when looking out for a 16cm throw up of the ball, having first made sure that the ball has been resting freely on the open stationary palm of the server’s free hand! Oh, and also make sure to look out for those players who hide the ball whilst it’s in the air. Oh, and also make sure the ball is behind the server’s end line when it’s struck! Oh, and when you’re checking that the ball is thrown up at least 16cm remember to check that it is thrown up “near vertical” and that no one is trying to put spin on the ball. Oh, and once it’s struck, make sure the server’s free arm and hand are removed from the space between the ball and the net. Eh? What? Really? Good luck to us all in taking a less lax attitude towards that rule – and when some young kid is umpiring make sure you give them a hard time if they don’t pick up on any of the above – not during the match obviously but as a lesson to them after the match – and clearly do it in a nice way, unlike what seems to have happened in whatever match the League are talking about in their email when they mention the following:
 
“It is not acceptable for one player to accuse another of cheating; if there is any “fault” it’s the umpire’s for not exercising control and being decisive; Players should exercise restraint and good manners throughout. At the earliest opportunity after any dispute a cooling off period should be followed by a resolve not to pursue any form of retaliation or vendetta; It is most definitely not acceptable for a player to threaten (or worse) another player, and the umpire has the authority (and responsibility) to use yellow or red cards and to report the behaviour to the League Referee.”
  
Jings, this must have been a real humdinger of a match!! In our view, any player who has threatened another (or worse), whatever that means, should be reported to the League and should be suspended. Talk of retaliation and vendettas! If anyone wants to share with us what went on in this match feel free! We’re not sure, however, of the helpfulness of the League’s guidance on this matter:
 
“Umpires should take their responsibilities more seriously, not just in matters of legal service, but in exercising control of matches, including player behaviour”
 
That is obviously much easier said than done – not everyone is like our own Nastiest Team Captain, James Wighton – always looking for a fight, always argumentative, difficult to get along with etc. etc. etc. Most of us play TT for fun – whilst rules absolutely need to be enforced, in an amateur sport where a youngster might be umpiring a match between two grumpy OAPs can we really expect the umpires to control the players’ behaviour? Who knows what the answer is – meantime, we’ve borrowed a couple of Yellow and red cards from the local football team and 12-year-old Hannah has them packed with her bat for her match v West Lothian on Thursday!
 
Until all teams have to actually field a qualified umpire, these types of issues are always going to arise. We’re just thankful that we’ve got a group of level headed, fun loving and easy-going Club members, other than James obviously!
 
TT was never like this in the good old days, was it?? Hmmm – maybe it was….. 
 
Roll on Week 12. 



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ELTTL 2018/19 - Week 10 Report

18/11/2018

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We’re into double figures in the Edinburgh and Lothians League – Week 10 already and it was our busiest week of the season so far! 
 
Team 1 faced another top of the table Division 1 clash, fresh from their 9-1 victory over title contenders Murrayfield 4 in Week 9, Greig McDonell, Colin Green and David Melrose teamed up for the second consecutive week as they travelled to face Edinburgh International 2. After the first round of singles matches, the visitors held a 2-1 advantage with wins for Greig and Colin. The pattern was repeated after the second round of matches as Greig and Colin won again for a 4-2 advantage. The doubles was crucial and for the first time in a couple of years Greig and Colin took to the table to face Toby Waterhouse and Andrew Mannion – 4 tight sets later and Penicuik had secured at least a point as they took a 5-2 lead. Colin seems to have forgotten what it’s like to play with Greig in the doubles – at various points he was heard to complain about an apparent lack of movement from his partner – Greig on the other hand was heard to comment on how easier the match would be if Colin could keep the ball on the table! Good job they won in four! Cruising at 5-2, Greig and Colin then played their last matches simultaneously – at 1-1 in Greig’s match with time running out David was summoned to get the final match of the night underway – all 3 matches on the go – Greig lost ends 3 and 4 to Toby and was finished in time to see Colin do exactly the same against Babu! Suddenly 5-4 and David, winless on the night, was 1-0 down to Andrew. Some reassuring words were needed at the change of ends – Did you win David asked Greig – eh no! Oh – did Colin win? Yes, came Greig’s response – we’ve won the match just relax and enjoy it! And enjoy it he did as he came back to win the final match of the night, blissfully ignorant that his win secured both points for the visitors and maintained their unbeaten record!
 
Meanwhile at Ladywood, Team 2 faced Haddington in their Division 1 encounter. Gary McDougal, Charlie Brindley and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz were seeking their first win of the season and after Krzysztof lost the opener in 5 tight ends, an out of sorts Charlie then lost match 2 before Gary got the side on the scoreboard with a “deuce in the 5th win” in match 3. As with Team 1, the pattern was repeated in the second round of singles, unfortunately for the home side that meant a 4-2 deficit going into the doubles. When Krzysztof and Gary lost out in that match, a point was the best which could be hoped for – unlike Edinburgh International v Team 1, however, this match was never in doubt as the visitors won all 3 final singles to run away to an 8-2 victory.
 
Week 10 was a busy one for Team 3 in Division 2. On Wednesday night they travelled to North Merchiston 4 and in a tight match there were a couple of crucial 5 set games which were pivotal. After a loss for Chris Markey in Match 1, Ian Hislop and Abby Wighton gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage. Chris then made it 3-1 before two mammoth matches which went the distance. Fresh from his win in Match 1 v Chris, Slawomir Bess looked like he was going to cause an upset v Abby as he took a 2-1 advantage. Abby was having none of it, however, as she roared back to win ends 4 and 5. Nick Thomas then looked to have worked out Ian’s difficult style as he came back from 2-0 down to win ends 3 and 4. Ian regained his composure, however, to sneak home in 5. Those two wins were to prove crucial and after a win in the doubles for Ian and Abby the match was over as a contest. Abby rounded off an unbeaten night for her with a win in Match 8 before two 5 set victories for the hosts resulted in a 7-3 victory for Team 3. 
 
A couple of nights later and Team 3 travelled to face Edinburgh University. A Friday night and surprise surprise the youngest team member, 19-year-old Abby seemed to have other plans!! We blame her father for not putting his foot down! With Chris unavailable, Ian and James were joined by Louis McLeod from Division 4. Imagine their luck then when they turned up to find that University could only field a two-player team – a win was surely on the cards and when Ian won the first match of the night the visitors effectively held a 4-0 lead. Matches 4 & 5 on the scorecard were to determine the outcome. The Uni’s number 1, Amadeus Chen came back from 2-1 down v Ian to record a 5-set win and that was followed by James letting the momentum slip, he having recovered from 2-0 down to 2-2, as he also lost in 5 ends. Suddenly, a defeat was a possibility! Thank Goodness Ian and James secured a good win in the doubles – that assured them of a point and that was all they were getting as James & Louis both lost their last matches by a 3-1 scoreline. We suppose it could have been worse – a full team for the Uni would have potentially resulted in a loss – the point dropped, however, spoiled what had otherwise been a brilliant 14 days for Team 3. On the 2nd of November they sat with 4 points and were in a lowly position in the League table – by the 16th of November, 3 wins and a draw later, Team 3 have climbed to 3rd with 11 points – a terrific fortnight for them.
 
In Division 3, Team 4’s season has been a little inconsistent so far. They promised much at the beginning of the year but defeats to Murrayfield 9 and Haddington 3 and a draw in Week 9 v NM 5 seems to have put them out of the promotion battle. They faced Murrayfield 8 at Ladywood on Wednesday. Team Captain, Julian Taylor returned to the team to join Sonny Taylor and Gavin Hunter but not even his presence could prevent another narrow loss for the home side. After some really unlucky losses it was good to see Gavin get on the scoreboard as he defeated Haydn Jackson, playing up from Team 9, but arguably the visitors most talented player. That win was added to by wins for Sonny and Julian v Bob Sterling and a doubles victory before Julian faced Haydn in the last match of the night – a win for Julian would have secured a draw for the home side. As it was, Julian fell just short as he lost 11-8 in the fifth – an unlucky 6-4 defeat for the home side. 
 
As Team 1 played Edinburgh International 2 on Wednesday night, they were joined by Team 5 who faced Ed Int 5. Father and daughter Bennett returned to action as they joined forces with John Bald. Team 5 enjoyed the same luck as Team 3 when they discovered that their hosts’ 3rd player had got mixed up about the match and they would therefore only face a two-player team. Unlike Team 3, however, Team 5 took advantage as they recorded a 7-3 victory. 3 wins for John, 2 for Millie and 1 for Stuart were added to by a doubles victory. With other results again falling into place for Team 5 they maintain their position at the top of the Division 4 table, although their next two matches see them take on WL 8 and 9, both of whom are battling it out for a promotion spot. 
 
Team 6 had been buoyed by their draw in Fife in Week 9 and were looking to go one batter as they hosted Haddington 5 at Ladywood. Craig Linton and Louis McLeod were joined by Adam Woodhouse and they knew that a win would result in them pulling level with their opponents in the Division 4 table. Two crucial 3-2 wins for Louis against the young David Hayman and then the very old Martin Hayman kept Team 6 in with a shout. A defeat in the doubles however, meant that with two matches left, the scores were tied at 4-4. Craig and Adam were unable to pull off the win and instead, wins for David and Liam Govan in Match 10 secured a 6-4 victory for the visitors. 
 
And finally in Week 10, Team 7 travelled on Thursday night to Royal High to take on Murrayfield 10 in Division 4. A different trio this week for Team 7, as after a couple of weeks of partying, in came Hannah McDonell in place of Phil Daly – she joined George Wilson and Kristian Skotzen as Team 7 looked for consecutive wins for the second time this season. In the first round of singles, when Hannah lost 11-8 in the fifth and Kristian lost out in 4 ends, it was left to Team Captain George to steady the ship with a straightforward 3 set victory. Hannah and George then won their second singles matches, but a defeat for Kristian meant the scores were tied at 3-3 going into the crucial doubles. Hannah and George combined well to win in 4 ends and the advantage lay with the visitors. As Kristian won Match 8, Hannah was involved in another long 5 set match but this time she came out on top to secure the victory. George made the score line even better as he finished off an undefeated night and Team 7 recorded a good 7-3 win. 
 
And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 10. Only four players were undefeated in singles play this week - Abby, John, Louis and George. Louis lost the doubles and his team lost - sorry Louis., you're out the running. Remarkably the other three were also successful in the doubles. How do we split them? Despite another undefeated night, George was again unable to win the Player of the Match award! That’s what happens when you play with an ever smiling attacking 12-year-old! John’s undefeated night is slightly misleading – he only had two singles matches – so this week’s deserved winner is Abby for her important 3 ½ points in a 7-3 victory for Team 3 – well done Abby.  
 
Anything controversial this week? Team 3’s match v NM 4 was seemingly quite tense from the start! Match 1 saw Chris Markey in action and after only a couple of points it seems Chris made certain complaints about his opponents serves – firstly this was apparently due to his opponent not having his hand flat – not sure if that was sorted but a couple of points later and it was suggested that the ball was not being thrown up the requisite height. NM Umpire ignored any calls for intervention. As tensions were running high it was then the turn of the NM player to complain about Chris’ serve – oh my goodness – this could get out of hand. According to Abby, the bickering went on every few points between the protagonists! Who would want to be an Umpire. In the end NM came out on top, but a rather frosty atmosphere was generated by the arguing which had taken place. 
 
This is one of our all-time favourite issues in our Weekly reports – Umpiring! We’ve harped on about it for years – can you really expect an umpire to put his neck on the line in a situation such as this – if the Umpire was “qualified” then there really isn’t any argument to be had. When we last checked though, the number of qualified Umpires in the Edinburgh League can be counted on one hand (and we don’t think you need all your fingers)! Then there’s the issue of service in general. Last season we had a bit of a go at a certain Haddington umpire for calling a fault in a Division 4 match for an illegal serve – no warning, no guidance, no education as to the issue – but hey the rule is the rule. And probably that’s how it should be – but let’s face it, if we actually got a top umpire to look at our serves every week, we’re fairly sure the majority of us would be pulled up on something! 
 
In the same match, one of the new league rules reared its head. No surprise that our Nastiest Team Captain, James was involved (wasn’t he meant to be our nicest captain?). James was there to support the team and to no doubt give daughter Abby a lift. He had taken his bat and at one point he went on to a free table to give Abby a hit. Hold on a minute said NM – you can’t have a knock up. 
 
“Only a fellow member of a player’s team for that fixture or nominated non-playing captain/coach may offer playing advice to a player once a fixture has commenced. Any such advice must be limited to one minute between games. No player may practise between matches with any person not part of the team for a fixture, once it has commenced.”
 
Good on NM for reading up on the rules – but hold on – maybe we can appeal – is James not “part of the team for a fixture”. Where does it say he has to be a “playing part of the team”! Maybe that’s stretching the interpretation of the rule too far.
 
The good news is that as far as we understand it despite various tense moments during the match, it was generally played in good spirit and everyone shook everyone else’s hands and there were no hard feelings by the end. Seemingly the match finished with a group hug between the teams (maybe James made that last bit up!)
 
Roll on next week….
 



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ELTTL 2018/19 - Week 9 Report

11/11/2018

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Nine weeks in to the Edinburgh and Lothians League and for most of our teams their point tallies are already better than their entire points total from last season! 
 
Wednesday night at Ladywood saw one of the Club’s best nights as all three teams in action recorded victories. Team 3 started the ball rolling in rapid quick fashion as they faced Haddington 2. James Wighton, Ian Hislop and Abby Wighton were looking to build on their last two victories (9-1 & 7-3) and they proved too strong for their East Lothian opponents – although Haddington won 7 ends on the night, they lost 30 as Team 3 recorded a whitewash 10-0 victory. The only surprise on the night was that Team Captain, James didn’t win the player of the match award – he strolled through his games for the loss of only 45 points in 9 ends of table tennis – impressive, but clearly not enough to wrestle the award away from Ian! 3 consecutive wins have catapulted Team 3 up the table into 4th place. 
 
Team 5 meanwhile faced Murrayfield 10 in Division 4. In the absence of father and daughter Bennett, George Wilson took advantage of a free week for Team 7 and played up for the second time this season – he was joined by John Bald and Craig Johnson. Team 5 have been the masters of close victories so far this season – of their 5 victories before Wednesday night, 4 of them were won by a 6-4 scoreline. There was no such tension in Week 9 however as only 3 matches on the night went beyond three ends as Team 5 kept the perfect night going for the Club as they too recorded a 10-0 win. With other results falling into place perfectly for Team 5, they ended Week 9 atop the Division 4 Table – a great week for them.
 
The final match of the night at Ladywood was in Division 1 and it had a “friends reunited” theme as for the first time in a couple of years those old muckers, Greig McDonell and Colin Green were seen playing together. They were joined by David Melrose who added to the feeling of “the good old days” – the last time this trio turned out in a match together was remarkably about a decade ago!! A top of the table clash v Murrayfield 4 awaited them, and their experience showed in the first round of singles matches as all three players won in straight sets. By the time the second round of singles were concluded the match was over as a contest, only David dropping an end, as the home side raced into a 6-0 lead. A doubles victory followed before Greig and Colin finished their unbeaten nights off. 9-0 and a perfect overall Club score of 30-0 was on the cards as David took on Luke (a former Penicuik player) in the last match of the night – there was no doubt Luke had been “up for it” all night and in a cracking game he secured a 3-1 victory to spoil a perfect night for the Club.
 
Away from Ladywood, Team 2 faced a trip to North Merchiston 3 still in search of their first win of the season. With Eddie Scott in the opponent’s ranks (he’s really a Premier player, isn’t he?), Gary McDougal, Charlie Brindley and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz knew that their matches against Amelia Norbury and Graham Booth we’re going to be crucial. Matches 3 and 4 on the night proved pivotal. With the scores level at 1-1 (Gary having beaten Amelia), Charlie had to defeat Graham – a five end marathon went all the way – game points for both but Graham came out on top 16-14 in the fifth. The pressure was then on Krzysztof as he faced Amelia and at 2-1 up, he looked like he was going to bring the scores level again – alas for the visitors, Amelia’s attacks proved too strong as she came through in 5 and rather than a 3-1 advantage, the visitors found themselves 3-1 down. When Eddie and Graham won the next 2 as well, the match was over as a contest. Charlie’s win against Amelia proved to be the only other victory on the night for the visitors as they fell to an 8-2 loss.
 
In Division 3 Team 4’s away match v North Merchiston 5 looked quite straightforward on paper, the visitors sitting in third place in the Division whilst their hosts were struggling at the wrong end of the table. Team Captain, Julian sat out this match as Sonny Taylor and Tony Brentnall were joined by Gavin Hunter, playing only his second match in the last couple of years. Gavin must be our unluckiest player this season. His first outing of the season saw him lose two close five enders and trying to secure a point v Haddington he lost 11-9 in the fifth as Team 4 fell to a 6-4 defeat. On this occasion, the TT Gods put him in the position to secure a 6-4 victory for the visitors in the last match of the night – you guessed it – he lost 11-9 in the fifth. On the night Sonny was undefeated and Tony won 2 for the 5-5 draw. In fairness a point is probably a fair result with 6 of the 10 matches on the night going to deciding 5thends.
 
Finally, in Week 9, a result which helped Team 5 was provided by Team 6 as they travelled to Inverkeithing to face then top of the table Fife 4. Craig Linton and Louis McLeod were joined by Rachel Petrie, making her first appearance of the season having almost fully recovered from injury. After wins for Craig and Louis the visitors held a 2-1 advantage after the first round of singles. Matches 4 and 5 were close – Craig is still kicking himself after letting a 2-0 lead slip away as he lost match 4 – Rachel then looked down and out after losing the first two ends in Match 5 but somehow managed to turn the game around for a terrific 3-2 victory. Louis was then defeated to bring the scores level at 3-3 going into the doubles. Craig and Louis represented the visitors and probably a good job that Rachel gave her injured leg a rest as she watched the first end extend to 44, yes 44 points!! A 23-21 victory for the Penicuik pairing seemed to knock the stuffing out of their hosts as they won the next two ends for the loss of only 8 points. A 4-3 advantage to Penicuik and when Rachel once again came back from 2-0 down it looked like at least a point was going to be secured. On this occasion though, the 5th end went the way of Fife and the scores were level again at 4-4. After a loss for Craig it was left to Louis to salvage a draw in the last match of the night and that he did in comfortable fashion. A hard fought 5-5 draw was probably a fair result in the end and a huge help to Team 5 and the chasing pack in Division 4.
 
And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 9. Greig and Colin from Team 1, all of Team 3, Sonny from Team 4 and all of Team 5 were undefeated in singles play this week. How do we sort that bunch out? 4 of the 9 players who were undefeated this week didn’t drop a single set, Greig, Colin, James and George. There’s no splitting them is there? Let’s give the casting vote to our opponents – despite not dropping a set, neither George nor James could even win the Player of the Match award in their outings – they must have been doing something wrong so sorry guys you’re out of the running!! A straight fight therefore between Colin & Greig – for his ability to claw his way off the floor and to provide his opponents with some amusement no doubt (the chair came off worse) Greig won the POTM vote from Murrayfield 4 and is therefore this week’s winner! That’s fair isn’t it? In fairness he did deliver the line of the week after “the chair incident” by pointing out that it seems it’s not only horses at Center Parcs that he can’t sit on due to a weight limit!!  
 
We take a look this week in our controversy of the week section at the League’s stricter enforcement of the postponement rule – on one view this does seem to be working – you only have to look at the Unreported Matches section on the Scoring Website to see that across the 5 divisions there are only 4 matches showing as not reorganised and they are all still well within the 4 Week rule. One match which sat unreported for an age was the Corstorphine Derby in Division 1. That’s now disappeared but no result shows in the League table. The outcome seems to be that the match was declared void – all in terms of League Rule 6 (d)! 
 
“For re-arranged matches between teams from the same club that are not played within four playing weeks the match will be void and no points awarded to either team….”
 
We’re struggling to see the rationale behind this – why should the points not be awarded against the team requesting the postponement just as it would be if two teams from different Clubs fell foul of the 4 week rule? Maybe it is to avoid some skulduggery taking place intra club – would Club’s really do that if promotion or relegation was on the line?? The problem with a void match, however, is that it too could have an impact come the end of the season. We do not know of the circumstances behind this postponement but what if promotion or relegation were to come down to game difference – a void match could significantly impact upon that, either at the top of a Division or indeed at the bottom. Indeed, if the stronger of the two teams were challenging for promotion, they’ve just lost the ability to gain two points, never mind game difference! Would a Club ever let that happen though? Maybe that’s the rationale, a void match is the lesser of two evils. It does seem strange, however, that this should be treated any differently.
 
And finally, we were saddened to hear today from West Lothian Table Tennis Club that a true gentleman of the sport passed away this weekend – Davie Dall was WLTTC’s first Chairman and an Honorary Life Member – many from our Club will also be aware of his family connection to one of our members – our thoughts are with Davie’s family and with our friends from WLTTC. 

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ELTTL 2018/19 - Week 8 Report

4/11/2018

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Week 8 of the Edinburgh and Lothians League was a quiet one for the Club with only four of our seven teams in action. 
 
In Division 1, Team 2 faced a trip to Edinburgh International 2 and were up against it from the start as Gary McDougal, Charlie Brindley and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz faced one of the teams who must be fancied for promotion - without wanting to be too negative, given their start to the season, Team 2 look like they’ll be concentrating on trying to avoid relegation. In a match which was, according to Krzysztof, a pleasure to play in, the result was anything but pleasurable. Whilst only 4 matches were won in straight set, the visitors only victory came in the doubles as Gary and Charlie combined for a 5-set victory. A 9-1 defeat for Team 2 leaves them in the drop zone but with a couple of matches in hand against the teams directly above them. 
 
Team 3 were looking to build on their Week 7 win as they played one of their postponed matches in Division 2 against Granton. On paper, James Wighton, Ian Hislop and Abby Wighton looked far too strong for their opponents, but hold on a minute, in Halloween Week things got a bit scary for Team 2 with news that having given Granton a postponement they somehow rearranged the match for a date when Abby couldn’t play – that’s got to be joke right? Nope! Phil Daly stepped up from Division 4 to try and help out. Maybe it was supreme confidence from Captain James, belief that even understrength Granton would be no match for Team 2? With El Presidente’s words ringing in the teams’ ears that they would take over from Team 6 as the most shambolic team in the club if they lost, James and Ian secured 6 wins between them and as an added bonus, Phil also got on the scorecard as Team 3 recorded a 7-3 win – an undefeated night for Ian who combined with James for the doubles victory. We commented last week that Team 3s credentials would be tested over the next fortnight with 4 matches in 14 days and they've got off to a good start on that run.

Team 4 had been due to play against Corstorphine opposition at Ladywood on Wednesday but the Edinburgh based outfit couldn’t muster a team and therefore conceded the match – a 10-0 win boosts Team 4’s game difference and for a short moment on Wednesday night they topped the Division 3 table. Wins for Haddington and Murrayfield on Thursday night, however, returned them to third place! 
 
In Division 4 both Teams 6 and 7 were in action at Ladywood on Wednesday night. Team 6 were still reeling from being called “shambolic” in last Week’s Report and were determined to show that they could actually have three players start and finish a match for only the second time this season! Craig Linton was joined by youngsters Louis McLeod and Adam Woodhouse as they faced North Merchiston 6. With young Aidan Davis showing his promise (undefeated in singles play for the visitors) it was crucial that all three home players contributed on the night. A terrific first win of the season for Adam boosted the home side’s chances of success and after a good doubles victory for Louis and Craig, the home side led 5-4 going into the final match of the night between Craig and Kai Hely.  It didn’t look good when Craig lost the first end, but he steadied himself and came through in 4 ends to give Team 6 their first victory of the season. Two wins each for Craig and Louis, 1 for Adam and a doubles win resulted in a 6-4 win. What a difference it makes when you can actually field a full side! 
 
Meanwhile, for the second week in a row Team 7 lined up with George Wilson, Phil Daly and Kristian Skotzen as they hosted Edinburgh University 6. Kristian seems to have benefited from his week in a darkened room after losing last week to 107 year old John Bald – in fairness, as we said in last week’s report, although he lost that match, it was some of the best TT he’s played in the League and there was no stopping him on Wednesday night as for the first time in his short League career he was undefeated on the night. He even managed to combine with George for a scarce doubles win! The highlight of University 6’s season so far was our Team 6 conceding to them last week and they were no match for the home trio as they went down to a 10-0 defeat.
 
Division 4 looks like it could see one of the most interesting battles for promotion this year. Previously undefeated WL 8 lost to Fife this week – Fife lost to our Team 5, our Team 5 lost to WL 7 who then lost to our Team 7. Add into the equation WL 9 who could only manage a draw this week with Haddington 5 and before you know it we have about half a dozen teams who are all capable of beating each other! As it stands our Team 5, who had a free week in Week 8, are right in the promotion fight, a point behind the league leaders but with a game in hand. Interesting times ahead.
 
And so to our Player of the Week Award for Week 8. All of Team 7 were undefeated in singles play this week – can we look any further than Kristian for this week’s award? His first ever undefeated night in the league? The award was his until an email from Phil reminded the selection committee of his excellent week – undefeated for his own team and an important victory (allegedly) for Team 3 whilst playing up v Granton – a victory which saw Team 3 over the winning line! He’s a shoo-in for this week’s award, isn’t he?  Eh, no he’s not! According to our nicest team captain Phil was a nightmare whilst playing up for Team 3 - anywhere he goes controversy seems to follow said James! In a week which saw Team 6 record their first victory of the season, Wednesday night also saw the first singles win of the season for this week’s winner – his victory made the difference between a draw and a victory for Team 6 – well done to Adam. (Sorry Kristian and Phil)! 
 
And finally, our controversy of the week section.
 
Last week we touched on Team 6’s concession and how our esteemed Club Secretary had been led to believe there was no fine for such a concession. Mr Bailey stands corrected and now accepts that any concession does attract a fine (£5 for the first offence) – tight for cash however, Brian argued the case at the League Committee meeting during the week and lo and behold our appeal was successful and the fine waived. Just shows how much effort Mr B can put in after he was told he would be the one stumping up the cash if we had to pay the fine!
 
Postponements and the shambles that was Team 3s postponed match against Granton were going to form a big part of this week’s piece – fortunately, however, the risky strategy of James didn’t come back to haunt him in Halloween week and he can come along to the Club next week without being ridiculed – lucky him!! Seemingly that match did involve a bit of controversy (Phil as usual) but he’s sworn us to secrecy about it – another reason for him missing out on our Player of the Week Award!
 
A third of the season over already – jings the weeks are flying by.


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