Milton Keynes Topspin 3-7 Greenleys Warriors

League

Premier Division

Wednesday 21 September 2022

 
Played on loan
 
Played on loan
Chris Belton played on loan from Milton Keynes Pumas in Division One.
Date Wednesday 21 September 2022
Start time 19:30
Competition League
Division Premier Division
Venue Milton Keynes Table Tennis Centre
Season 2022-2023
Games played 24
Points played 407
Published 03/02/2025 11:47 by David Wackrill.
TWO MAN WARRIORS TRIUMPH

Only my second match in after a long lay-off and I run into an old ‘hobby horse’ of mine. My number one pet hate about local League table tennis is teams turning up a player short. My problem, I know, but facing an incomplete team just gets my goat, although this is bound to happen from time to time, It is what it is, unfortunately.

Anyway, in Mervyn Kelly’s continued absence, my Topspin side brought in Chris Belton from Div 1 Pumas, to accompany skipper Russell Penn and myself while Warriors went with the Ricky Taiwo and Darren Ward duo.

Darren got off his sick bed to come out to play and did remarkably well considering his fragile condition, his big weapons of heavy spin and fast hitting fully in sharp focus. I played him first and might have gone to a decider had I taken any one of several game points in the 4th. But he was always on top and never looked like losing. That defeat set the tone for the shortened evening as defeat followed defeat, though Russell put up a spirited performance against Darren, also going to 4 games.

Ricky was his usual imperial self and was untroubled throughout.

So, we got to the doubles set, played last, still seeking our first win. The Chris/Russell combination looked great to start with, hitting brilliantly to take the opening game. But they flattered to deceive and could only muster a dozen points in total over the next three games. So, an early bath and a disappointing night all round for Topspin but many thanks to Chris for standing in for us. Here’s hoping for a full team to play against next week.

Man of the match : Darren Ward