Pennine grab last-gasp win

THE semi-finals of the Divisional Handicap Cups in the Oldham & District Table Tennis League produced some good finishes - none more so than the Division 2 game between Grotton B and Pennine.

Grotton received a 48 points start and, with just the doubles to play, had been pegged back to 16. Steve Smith gained 15 points for Grotton while gains by Glen Chadwick (33) and John Robertson (54) kept Pennine in with a chance.

After three games in the doubles, the Grotton lead was down to just four points and everything hinged on the last game.

An 11-8 defeat would still have been good enough for Grotton, but Chadwick and Robertson won 11-5 to give Pennine their last gasp victory.

Coldhurst A will meet Pennine in the final following their 47-point win against Hyde YMCA B, with good performances by Simon King (18) and Paul Howarth (34).

In Division 3, Coldhurst D beat Deaf Club A by 32 points after receiving a 24 start.

Ian Cockcroft gained 35 for the Deaf Club but Phil Mellor’s gain of 31 saw Coldhurst D through to the final.

Uppermill B also won through after their 16-point success at Coldhurst B, having made full use of their 46 start.

Malcolm Wills, Darren Brown and Terry Holland all had steady gains for Coldhurst but Howard Meadham’s 18 points gain was the deciding factor.

BAE A beat their B team by 67 points in Division 1 after conceding a 31 start.

The A team went through thanks to gains by Tony Bates (47), Tony Smith (37) and Pete Bradford (14).

Their opponents in the final will be either Werneth A or Saddleworth A.

Fourth division Werneth E, conceding a 95 points start to OTTC D, gained 112 points to win by 17.

All Werneth’s players gained points, Darren Mitzi (44), Phil Coombe (46) and Matthew Taylor (16), as did OTTC’s Alex Reilly (30) who was unfortunate to be on the losing team.

The other semi-final saw Owls B through by default against Unison D.