Ice-cool Grotton edge final thriller

TABLE TENNIS: THOSE who predicted a tight Division Two Handicap Cup final were spot on as the Oldham Table Tennis League showdown went right down to the wire.

Grotton ‘A’ gave Droylsden a 32 points start, which was down to just one point after the third set, back up to 22 points after the fifth set and down to 12 after set eight.

It was only after the last singles that Grotton got their noses in front, taking a four-point lead into the final doubles, only to instantly lose the first six points.

They went on to win the first game 11-8 with an unexpected Dave Morris backhand drive.

Droylsden then took the next two games 12-10, reducing their deficit to three points with the final game of the doubles remaining.

At eights points each it could not have been any tighter, with Grotton needing just one more point to claim victory, while Droylsden would force the draw if they won the next three points.

And it was Grotton who secured the point they needed.

Hollinwood ‘B’ team’s 117-point handicap start proved too much for Honeywell ‘A’ in the Division One final.

And had the Hollinwood side of Paul King, Mohammed Sagied and Nathan Buckley put in similar performances during the season, then surely they would have avoided relegation.

Honeywell ‘A’, of Marcus McNulty, Dave Buckley and Simon Hardwick, stuck to their difficult task throughout, in an entertaining match of attacking table tennis.