Week 6 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League saw four of Penicuik’s five Teams in Action.
After a very disappointing start to the season, Penicuik’s 1st Team of Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone travelled to face the defending Premier League Champions, North Merchiston 1. The 1st Team went into the match as heavy underdogs but after Greig won the first match of the evening with something to spare, the defending champions were under some pressure. After Colin lost in 4 to Glyn Eggar, the key match of the evening turned out to be game 4 between Greig and Merchiston’s number 1, Cameron Hussain. When Greig took the match into a decider, it looked as if an upset could be on the cards. The final end went Hussain's way as he squeezed home 12-10 to give Merchi a 3-1 advantage. A win for Colin and a comfortable win in the doubles for Greig and Colin kept the match alive at 3-4 going into the last 3 singles of the night but when both Greig and Colin lost their final matches, the chance of at least a draw was lost. Iain did well to win the last match of the night as the 1st team went down to a narrow 6-4 defeat.
After a controversial win in their last match, Penicuik 2’s Clive Liddiard and Brian Bailey were joined by Abby Wighton deputising for the absent Ian Woodyer in their encounter against Murrayfield 7 in Division 2. After being out for a couple of weeks with injury, Clive's return certainly bolstered the home team's chances and his rich vein of form continued as he won all 3 of his singles matches to make it 9 out of 9 in his undefeated start to the season. Abby and Brian both won two of their 3 singles matches as the second team enjoyed a terrific 7-3 win which lifts them into 3rd place in the division, 3 points behind leaders Edinburgh International but with a game in hand.
In Division 3, the introduction of Tony Brentnall to the fourth team has clearly made them a much stronger proposition. Tony joined forces with Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Neil Hayes as they faced Corstorphine 5 in Division 3. Tony again showed a great deal of promise as he was in excellent form winning all 3 of his singles matches. After a number of years away from the sport, his first two matches back have resulted in 5 wins out of 6 and hopefully he can only get better. With Kris and Neil both winning 1 of their singles the team held an unassailable 5-4 lead as they faced the final match of the night, the doubles. Tony and Kris looked to have done enough after winning the fourth end 11-2 to square the game and to swing the momentum in the home team's favour, however, Corstorphine's Jim Lee and John Paul Smith had other ideas as they dug in to win the decider 11-5 resulting in a 5-5 match scoreline - a good point for the visitors and a point lost perhaps for Penicuik.
In Division 4, Penicuik 5 took on one of the new clubs to the League, Haddington. Rachel Petrie joined forces with youngsters, Louis Myatt and Kathryn McKenzie for the home side. The 5th Team always knew this season would be a learning curve for them and when young players come up against awkward experienced opponents as they did when Haddington visited it's always going to be difficult. None of the home team could come to terms with their more experienced opposition, although both Rachel and Kathryn token of their matches to a deciding end, as the team went down to their heaviest defeat of the season with a 10-0 loss.
After a very disappointing start to the season, Penicuik’s 1st Team of Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone travelled to face the defending Premier League Champions, North Merchiston 1. The 1st Team went into the match as heavy underdogs but after Greig won the first match of the evening with something to spare, the defending champions were under some pressure. After Colin lost in 4 to Glyn Eggar, the key match of the evening turned out to be game 4 between Greig and Merchiston’s number 1, Cameron Hussain. When Greig took the match into a decider, it looked as if an upset could be on the cards. The final end went Hussain's way as he squeezed home 12-10 to give Merchi a 3-1 advantage. A win for Colin and a comfortable win in the doubles for Greig and Colin kept the match alive at 3-4 going into the last 3 singles of the night but when both Greig and Colin lost their final matches, the chance of at least a draw was lost. Iain did well to win the last match of the night as the 1st team went down to a narrow 6-4 defeat.
After a controversial win in their last match, Penicuik 2’s Clive Liddiard and Brian Bailey were joined by Abby Wighton deputising for the absent Ian Woodyer in their encounter against Murrayfield 7 in Division 2. After being out for a couple of weeks with injury, Clive's return certainly bolstered the home team's chances and his rich vein of form continued as he won all 3 of his singles matches to make it 9 out of 9 in his undefeated start to the season. Abby and Brian both won two of their 3 singles matches as the second team enjoyed a terrific 7-3 win which lifts them into 3rd place in the division, 3 points behind leaders Edinburgh International but with a game in hand.
In Division 3, the introduction of Tony Brentnall to the fourth team has clearly made them a much stronger proposition. Tony joined forces with Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Neil Hayes as they faced Corstorphine 5 in Division 3. Tony again showed a great deal of promise as he was in excellent form winning all 3 of his singles matches. After a number of years away from the sport, his first two matches back have resulted in 5 wins out of 6 and hopefully he can only get better. With Kris and Neil both winning 1 of their singles the team held an unassailable 5-4 lead as they faced the final match of the night, the doubles. Tony and Kris looked to have done enough after winning the fourth end 11-2 to square the game and to swing the momentum in the home team's favour, however, Corstorphine's Jim Lee and John Paul Smith had other ideas as they dug in to win the decider 11-5 resulting in a 5-5 match scoreline - a good point for the visitors and a point lost perhaps for Penicuik.
In Division 4, Penicuik 5 took on one of the new clubs to the League, Haddington. Rachel Petrie joined forces with youngsters, Louis Myatt and Kathryn McKenzie for the home side. The 5th Team always knew this season would be a learning curve for them and when young players come up against awkward experienced opponents as they did when Haddington visited it's always going to be difficult. None of the home team could come to terms with their more experienced opposition, although both Rachel and Kathryn token of their matches to a deciding end, as the team went down to their heaviest defeat of the season with a 10-0 loss.
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