Division 2 roundup - week 8
The first week of the second round of 3 matches resulted in two draws and a narrow 6-4 win.
The week started when Newport Pagnell Lagondas drew with Leighton Buzzard Van Hire. Tony Ardis beat Richard Hardy and Donnie MacDonald, while Chris Horn and Yongwan Tian beat Richard and Chris and Yongwan beat Richard and Bernie in the doubles. For Van Hire, Donnie won twice but the eveningâs star was Bernie with a good macimum.
The second draw came when 7th placed Greenleys Princes visited MK Powers and improved on their 3-7 loss in week 1. Andy Pearson continued his good form with wins against Saravana Kumar and Richard Bailey, as did Keith Carrington who needed an 18-16 final game win to complete a good comeback after losing the first two games. Saravana and Richard each beat Paul Tompkins and Anand Keshavâs excellent treble against the divisional leaders led to the draw, as Andy and Paul has beaten Saravana and Richard in the doubles. The result takes Princes into 6th place by a point over club-mates Valiants, whose match this week was postponed.
In the weekâs final match, Woburn Sands Mosquitoes came away from the Open University with a 6-4 win against bottom team OU Shockwave. This success was driven by a maximum from James Molloy against Charles Tien, Yi Cao and Yifan Liu, while both Glenn Barcham and Rob McPheat also beat Yi. Charles and Yifan battled hard for the two wins they each managed, against Glenn and Rob. As is often the case, the doubles made the difference, as James and Rob combined, for the first time this season, to beat Charles and Yifan. Although the result leaves Shcockwave in 8th place, they have closed the gap on the teams above them and are level on points with Greenleys Valiants and only one point behind Greenleys Princes.
The final scheduled match, between Greenleys Valiants and Little Horwood Wooden Tops has been postponed by just over a week, until 14th November, as Greenleys Middle School was unavailable, as the hall was needed for parentsâ evening. The outcome is likely to propel Wooden Tops into 4th place, above LB Van Hire and a good performance by Valiants will take them above club mates Princes.
The 3 results leave the top 3 unchanged, although WS Mosquitoes are a point nearer the promotion places. LB Van Hire are currently in 4th place, but will almost certainly lose that place to Woodentops when they play their postponed match. Valiants will probably leap-frog Princes if they can secure at least 2 points from that match. This remains the tightest division in the league, with only 16 points separating first from last so good or bad results for any team will probably affect league position.
Performances of the week: Bernie Raffe and Anand Keshav