Ellis stars in handicap win

TABLE TENNIS ROUND-UP: GROTTON’S Shaun Ellis turned in the top Division 1 performance of the second round of the Oldham Table Tennis League handicap competition.

He gained 66 points to ensure his team beat unofficial competition favourites Honeywell B. Grotton gave the Honeywell side 31 points start but clawed back 51 overall to win by 20.

There was a tight match at BAE where the B team managed to beat Honeywell A by two points having had an 82 point start. Eddie Kalinowski was their star, conceding only points in his games, while Phil Myers gained 34 for Honeywell.

Werneth C just about prevailed over Hollinwood B, winning by 11 points after having a lead of 43 at the start. Karen Hill and Paul Wilkinson both crucially gained points for Werneth, while Dave Cheetham made 39 for Hollinwood in defeat.

Werneth B also progressed to the semi-finals after a walkover against Hyde YMCA.

There was an exciting Division 2 match at Honeywell D where the home side held a 19 points lead going into the final doubles match but conceded 28 and so lost by nine to Hyde, for whom Steve Hilton gained 50 points.

In another close game at Pennine, the home side started with a 22 points advantage against Hollinwood C but went down by seven, with the doubles again being crucial. Matty Evans gained an important 37 points for the winners.

Coldhurst A beat Droylsden by 20 points and Werneth D also progressed to the semi-finals with Hollinwood E not having enough eligible players to raise a team.

In Division 3, there was a great all-round team performance from Saddleworth B against Coldhurst C where they originally had an eight-point start and gained an extra 11. Chris Brazewell’s defeat of Ryan Conway proving to be the turning point in the match,

Deaf Club A are still on for the league and cup double after defeating Gilders by 15 points despite conceding a 28 start. Dave Varney was the star man of the evening, gaining 31 points.

Last year’s winners Uppermill B started 67 points up on Owls A but conceded 90 to bow out of this year’s competition. Paul Woodward proved to be the big difference between the sides, gaining 54 points.

St Saviour’s A beat Coldhurst D by 24 points after starting off 10 points in front. Alex Reilly and Alex Leach had gains of 13 and 16 points respectively.

Honeywell F turned in the best Division 4 performance to overcome a starting deficit of 95 points and gain an incredible 194 on the night to win by 99, with Lee Rowbotham and John Rutland gaining 67 and 68 points respectively.

Werneth E beat their G team by 31 points to maintain their hopes of a league and cup double, overcoming an initial 87 points deficit. Phil Coombe was outstanding for the E team in gaining 54 points.

Werneth F had a comfortable 45 points win over the Deaf Club C team after starting out with a 21 point advantage, Colin Pellowe’s 29 gain on being crucial.

Deaf Club B had to concede their clash with Counthill.




In the league, Saddleworth A and Werneth A fought out a Division 1 draw which could have gone either way. Darryl Meredith was outstanding in winning his three singles, beating Paul Cicchelli 11-9 in the fifth.



Paul won his other two singles as did Ian Mclean. Werneth also won the crucial doubles set 11-9 in the fifth.

Grotton A also drew with Hollinwood A 5-5. Shaun Ellis scored a treble and Stuart Sykes two good wins for Grotton. Ian Quinn won two for Hollinwood.

Uppermill A had two wins in rearranged Division 2 games. First they beat Honeywell D 7-3 thanks to three wins for Mark Simpson and two each for Pete Watson and Keith Moores.

Uppermill then beat Hollinwood C 6-4 thanks to two wins each for Mark Simpson, Dave Grundy and Keith Moores, Andy McNabb won two for Hollinwood.

Unison D had a great 6-4 win over Uppermill B in Division 3 thanks to a solid all-round team performance from Dennis Heyes, Barry Fordham and Tony Hyde. Howard Meadham was unbeaten in defeat for Uppermill.

The Owls A team went down 6-4 at home to St Saviours A, Brian Huskinson’s treble for the visitors proving crucial.