Tuesday November 24, 2009.
This team finished above Popps last year and currently are one place above us.  A win could take us above them, but would we be able to demonstrate some consistency against these experienced campaigners?  We arrived ready to play at 7.15 and waited for our opponents to turn up. They eventfully arrived at 7.30, having claimed to have fought through storms and floods to get here. In fact they arrived with one player stuffing herself with chocolate bars while the remainder sucked lollypops for most of the evening, hence the sticky ball, something to be avoided in all situations.

Terry Wassall kicked off well with a win against Derek Williamson.  It took 4 games, Terry winning the first with some good smashes and G2 with better play. However, in G3, Derek took one back with consistent play and the odd fluke. Terry had to focus well to win G4, but he did so, with some well-aimed smashes and a generally safe approach. Terry won 11-5, 11-7, 9-11 and 11-4.

Alan then appeared against Sue Allen. He took time to settle and tried to play safe, but Sue bamboozled him with her service and her successful attacking shots. Alan played better in G3, taking her to 13-15, purely by playing steady returns, but she prevailed to win 3-0.

Your team secretary then took on Rose Tipton. Players from Old Town Hounds like to make themselves out to be shepherds eking out a living in the high pastures of the Pennines, but in reality they are solidly middle class financial advisers and systems analysts.  Robin could not deal with her serve which in fact turned out to be illegal and has been banned by the international court of justice in The Hague.  She also executed some good (legal) forehand smashes and Robin lost 11-8, 11-6 and 11-3, by which time he was hitting anything that moved. At one point, she removed her track suit top to reveal a Persil-white aertex shirt. This is of course illegal and our John Taylor would have called in the TT police. However, it was the sensuous removal of the track suit top which finally killed off RT’s concentration as she waltzed to a 3-0 victory.

It was then Alan’s turn to meet Derek Williamson. He played well in the first game while Derek was executing some wild, angry smashes and at 11-7, things looked good for us, but Derek got his game together and with the help of a good back hand flick moved to 11-6.  Alan could not sustain his form and Derek used his flick to good effect to win the remaining two games to 4.

Then came the set of the match between Terry and Rose Tipton.  Initially, he did not cope with that serve, did not settle down and lost 6-11.  Despite one shot which hit the roof, Terry pulled away to win G2 11-8 and achieved the same score in G3 after a balanced game and one lucky fluke.  In G4, Terry needed to keep cool, but Rose was creeping ahead to 11-7 and a final game beckoned.  Using his short serve worked well, followed up by a smash to Rose’s back hand and Terry eventually succeeded at 11-5.

Robin had some good rallies with Sue and executed one or two attacks, but overall her game was too steady and she ran out 11-5, 11-6 & 11-4 as Robin’s enthusiasm for prolonging the agony finally petered away.

Alan then took on the shimmering white top of Rose. He stumbled as he blinked in the glare, like a startled rabbit in front of a BMW on a dark Pennine night and Rose motored ahead to 11-5. She executed a powerful back hand flick and a well-placed oblique shot to the right of Alan’s forehand and won G2 11-4.  A similar pattern was observed in G3, with Alan not dealing with the serve. He pushed back in mid-game, but Rose eased to 11-5 to take the encounter.

Robin failed to deal with Derek’s tricky serve, got some smashes in, but went out as Derek won 11-5, 11-4 & 11-5.

Terry had hopes of keeping his 100% record in the final set against Sue. He tried to balance his attacks with some steady defence, but Sue smashed her way to 11-8 in G1.  His tactics were more effective in G2 and the game was level at 9-9.  However, Sue kept her nerve with a couple of winners, the final one accompanied by a major foot-stamp. This woke us all up, but stamping, whilst illegal in Rugby Union, is ok in TT it seems. In G3, Terry tried hard to keep on terms, producing some good attacking shots to level at 5-5.  But Sue steadied her game, this time without stamping on anyone and cruised to 11-6.

As usual, the match, won 7-2 by Hounds, was played with good humour and enthusiasm and our opponents climbed on to their tractor and rumbled back through the flooded valley to the barren slopes of the Pennines with another win under their belts. Tomorrow, Rose’s shirt will tipped into the Hotpoint twin-tub be soaked in Persil again, ready for another dazzling success.

The match got off to a late start as the POPPs team, playing away, had taken the venue details from the Handbook which was incorrect. After a number of phone calls and, in Terry Wassall’s case, a stop at the Hare and Hounds pub and Old Town Cricket Club for directions, we all found our way to the chapel where the match duly took place. It was all rather hurried and our reporter was not able to make any notes for this record but  the facts are roughly as follows:  we were hammered. Terry W played at number 1 (as he was first to arrive and at least got a bit of a warm up). He took a game off each of the Hare’s numbers 2 and 3 but lost to their number 3 (who turned out to be a well known table tennis coach in the Yorkshire area!)  0-3. David Mitchell  also won a couple of games over the evening but hasn’t  really get into his stride yet after a long layoff and injury. However, he is gradually getting there and will undoubtedly be more of a force in the second half of the season.

In many ways the POPPs star of the evening was new member Joan in her first ever competitive match. She lost all 3 of her set, like the rest of the team, but improved noticeably as the evening went on. Her basic blocking game was greatly aided by a level of mobility that was quite alien to the normal POPPs B style of play and, as her confidence grew and she put a little more pace and aggression into her more attacking shots, she began to win some points very convincingly. She will undoubtedly become a valuable addition to the B team over the rest of the season. She had benefited of course by watching the other B team players and working out that she had to do something else! So we lost 0 - 9 but against a very good team that will undoubtedly finish very high in the division this year.

There is no doubt the B team are struggling this year and it is easy to become somewhat demoralised. However, given that the better POPPs players are in an A team this year, and last year most of our matches had at least 2 of what are now A team players in the team, the B team is doing pretty much as well as last year. If we keep trying to  learn and keep a positive and constructive attitude, there is no reason why we shouldn’t improve over the season and have a really good run at it next season. In many ways the B team is starting from scratch this year with 2 new players and the 2 players from last year who had played the least number of matches.

Now we know why this team is called ‘G’. Two of their members are from the Gee dynasty, although on this occasion, the legendary Barbara Gee was missing.

From the Popps point of view, we knew we would put in an improved performance with the knowledge that Terry Allington would be playing for us, as we had run out of subs for the ‘B’ team.

In match one against John Wasilewski, Terry A started in his usual patient and steady way, moving smoothly to 11-4. John tried to play Terry at his own game, but lost ground with a couple of failed serves, to lose again 11-4. There were some long rallies in G3, but John had a tendency to over hit and Terry won 11-2.

Terry Wassall then took on Robert Gee. After an excellent first smash, he missed few more against the steadier Robert, who moved smoothly to 11-5. Terry tried to slow things down in G2, but was not connecting and lost 11-2. Robert’s spin serve started to trouble Terry in G3, his percentage of effective attacks reduced and Robert cruised to 11-6.

Probably the youngest member of the Gee tribe appeared in the 3^rd match, where his relative inexperience allowed Robin Thomas to surge to a rare win, 11-4, 11-3 and 11-8. Josh Gee improved in the last game and executed some effective forehand shots. He played with high concentration and good spirit, but Robin was able to vary his serve to good effect to ensure control  the encounter.

Terry Wassall then appeared against John Wasilewski, to create the best balanced match of the night. John won G1 12-10, with some good forehands from Terry and some equally good returns from John. Terry pulled level by 11-8 with a couple of effective smashes. He moved ahead in G3 at 11-9, seeming to connect more with his shots, but in G4, John introduced a tricky spin serve which confused Terry  as John raced ahead to win 11-1.  Finally, John played a steady game to win the decider 11-5.

Terry Allington then met the young Josh Gee, who concentrated hard against the more experienced player. There were some good rallies and Josh delivered a couple of forehand winners, but Terry’s legendary consistency wore him down, to win 11-2, 11-3 and 11-3.

Robin could not handle Robert Gee’s spin, managed to produce one or two winning shots, but gradually lost the motivation to survive against a much better player and went out 11-3, 11-1 and 11-2. Terry W then took on Josh Gee, who scored well, but lost 11-7, 11-5 and 11-4. Terry over-hit some of his shots and Josh demonstrated good mobility. However, all those years of playing table tennis as a bus driver (no—not at the same time as driving a bus) won in the end over the inexperienced, but promising Josh. Robin’s performance against John Wasilewski showed some flair in the second game, where he achieved some winners, but John’s experience, steadiness and use of spin helped him to wins of 11-0, 11-9 and 11-3.

The final match was to be the decider, with the fixture balanced on 4 each.  Terry Allington against Robert Gee turned out to be a fascinating match as both players tried to keep things under control.  Terry played his famous safe game which is hard to deal with at this level. Robert tried to match him, shot for shot, then picking his moment for an attack, In the end, the strategy failed because whichever tactics Robert used, Terry was there, inching ahead remorselessly, to win 11—5,11-8 and 11-4. Towards the end, Robert’s patience deserted him and a couple of missed smashes allowed Terry to creep ahead.

Overall, then an enjoyable match, played with good humour. Terry Allington’s presence in the side gave us a firm foundation which led to our win, whilst the youth of Josh gave us additional opportunities. What other sport would show such a range of ages, from teens to mid 60s? This is one of the virtues of this great game of Table Tennis. You can play as soon as you are old enough to hold a bat and only have to give up when you keep on dropping it.

Monday 2.11.09. Senior Citizens 1 v Popps A 8

The winning run goes on — bragging but we have to say it whilst we can — we have to play the best teams yet !

In this match, the Clash of the (elderly) Titans, Terry A lead the way with 3 excellent wins. Incidentally his last point against Senior Citizen’s Alan Feetham was a rally of 148 strokes, by which time Alan had worn his bat out and the Town Hall clock was striking midnight ! This was followed by Peter Mc winning his 3 matches and then John T winning 2 (just tiring a little in his 3rd). This was a good result against a team which beat us by a similar score last season and shows how much we have improved, thanks to Alan Dickinson’s superb coaching. I suppose, though, that youth is on our side considering our average age is only 66 compared to 71 for the Senior Citizens !

26.10.09 POPPS A 9 POPPS B 0

Full Match Report POPPS A v POPPS B Monday October 26

19.10.09. Sowerby 3 0 v Popps A 9

3 wins each to Peter Mc, Terry A and John T gave us a comfortable win at Sowerby. Johns coaching of the opposition obviously works a treat !

12.10.09. Popps A 5 v Tradesmen 4

3 wins from Terry A and 2 from Peter Mc sealed a hard fought win against a very young and promising Tradesmen team. Derek G had to retire when he went over with a tendon injury. Hopefully this will not keep him out for long as he is a valuable member of the squad.

5.10.09. Northowram Team MPM 0 v Popps A 9

A good team result against a previously unbeaten team. 3 wins each to Terry A, Peter Mc and Derek G.

And so inevitably, with two teams in the league, we would meet each other, and on the basis that we had selected the ‘A’ team to be the stronger combination, the result would probably be predictable. Table Tennis is not like football, where a minnow can despatch a big name in a cup tie, helped perhaps by the run of the pitch and some doubtful decisions by the ref. No, in TT at this level, form normally dictates the result. In addition, we know each others’ games so well and the higher rated players know the weak spots of the less experienced players. However, we knew that the match would be played with a good spirit with the opportunity to discuss the performance straight away over a pint in the Shears.

Terry Allingham, our expensive import from Wibsey, can return almost anything at this level, driving his opponents to eventual distraction and self-destruction. So it happened tonight. Against John Mitchell, an early pattern of his steady play while John was still starting to get into his game led to 11-2 in G1. John showed some flashes of style in G2, but still went down 11-4.Terry’s effective chopped returns, plus his ability to get most shots back finished off the encounter at 11-4. Against the other Terry (W), TA moved into a swift lead. Some of W’s attacking shots worked, but others did not and TA won 11-4. G2 was more even and at 7-6, it could have gone either way. Again TW achieved some spectacular wins, but let himself down with other shots missing the end of the table. TA won that 11-6. In G3, TW started well but allowed TA to get level, and then squeeze ahead by consistency to win 11-7.

Finally, he despatched Robin Thomas fairly easily. Terry A adopted his usual defensive style, lulling his opponent into a deep sleep for a while, whilst occasionally surfacing to attempt a wild smash. G1 was lost 11-3. G2 saw more of the same with Terry returning most of the attack shots. Indeed, in G3, Terry’s defensive shots took on more of an attack mentality and led to a white wash.

John Taylor bamboozled most of the ‘B’ team with his serve. We’ve tried week after week to get to grips with his cunning exploits with spin and the ball goes everywhere but on the table, hitting the ceiling, bursting into the spectators of invading the adjacent playing area.

Against Robin, John perhaps allowed his concentration to drop a little, perhaps his stomach looking ahead to the delicious prospect of steaming, meaty pork pies, drizzled with plump, sumptuous peas in The Shears after the match, and he beat Robin 11-6, 11-5 and 11-8. John occasionally made a spectacular mess of his serve while Robin attempted one or two useful forehand attacks, but the result was never really in doubt.

The battle of the two Johns, Taylor and Mitchell turned out to be the match of the day, but without an irritating introduction by Gary Lineker. JT won G1 on the back of a couple of outrageous fluke shots, at 12-10. But JM fought back in G2, being more consistent and seeming to be improving his mobility and accuracy. JT’s fluke shot was balanced by one of his disastrous serves, and JM was level by 11-9. In G3, JM seemed to be handling his opponent’s spin serve and he seemed to be putting JT under some pressure. However, JT consolidated to win 11-8. In G4, JM recovered to level after a poor start and eventually won 11-9, level with a decider to come. This final match was level pegging. With JM exhorting himself in his typically blunt manner, but John Taylor held his game together under pressure and moved to an 11-7 win.

Against Terry Wassall, JT confused him at first with his wily serves, and goaded him into some wild smashes, to win 11-5. However in G2, TW fought back and executed his fearsome backhand flick with a bit more venom, to win 11-8. In G3 Terry also recorded some effective hits while JT missed some of his, but he held it together to win 11-6. In G4, Terry balanced some good winners with some over-hits, and John moved ahead to win 11-6, overall 3-1.

Peter McMullen, showing flexibility well above one could expect for a man of his years, despatched his opponents with a mixture of attacking forehand hits and some useful back hand flicks. Against Terry W, Peter moved smoothly ahead while Terry was finding his feet. (If you see them anywhere, call the nearest police station). Terry over-hit some of his attacking shots and Peter showed consistency to win 11-5. A similar pattern emerged in G2, with Peter smoothly pulling away to win 11-6. G3 was more balanced when a good smash brought Terry to 5-6. Peter fluked off the edge of the table and duly won 11-8.

Peter’s match with Robin saw a rare win in G3, and a close game in G2, winning some middle-aimed serves and returning better with the help of the odd fluke. However, Peter’s overall steadiness helped him win the encounter, 11-3, 13-11, 6-11 and 11-3. Finally, Peter took on John Mitchell, both of them appearing to be wearing sponsored socks (Umbro and Roller if you must know.). By this time, John may have been tiring and Peter moved effortlessly to 11-4. John achieved some effective smashes to get closer in G2, but to lose 11-7. Peter’s characteristic top spin return was effective in G3 and he won 11-6.

And so, the inevitable happened and the ‘A’ team duly extinguished the ‘B’ team 9-0, but some useful performances were recorded in both teams.

Afterwards, the group repaired to The Shears, full of expectation. Would the appetising aroma of thick pork gravy covering chunks of fleshy pork assail their nostrils as they entered the pub? Well, no, despite Peter’s careful orders to the pie company. The pies did not arrive! Was there a national strike of piemen, over modernisation or privatisation? Had top level negotiations broken down? Would there be a world shortage of pies? No, we believe the answer will be a more down to earth, local situation. We think the pieman was on his way to the pub, but must have been overtaken by a sudden desire to sample the pies, that he pulled into a lay-by, consumed one pie, sinking his teeth into the crumbly pastry and then gnawing his way through the rest before going to another pub, to drown his sorrows in the sure knowledge that his job would be finished. He would go on job seekers allowance and would never be able to afford a quality pie again.

Overall, a satisfying evening of table tennis, a pleasant drink, and a pie-shaped gap in the players’ stomachs. We intend to keep a statistical record of any future delivery failures, possibly using a pie chart!