NJ’s (home)A: Ross Barnes, B: Charlie Cliffe, C: Josh Gee     
POPPs B (away) X: Derek Greenwood, Y: Joan Bottomley, Z: Tom Sunderland

After the Popps ‘A’ team’s recent chaotic visit to Northowram, we were relieved to find only two tables occupying the playing area as opposed to the previous three. The ‘B’ team was reduced further by the diary secretary of Terry Wassall, leaving this stressed-out academic slavering behind a large glass of Merlot on his very own sofa instead of battling it out with the Northowram ‘youth club’ – more muffin than boffin you could say! Tom, doing his round as the ‘B’ team gauleiter, happen-stanced his limping way into the Northowram arena without bat or pumps, protesting his inability & unfitness to play. But Joan was there, and bleeding heavily from the nose as Tom resisted her overtures, she squeezed out her not inconsiderable charm into bucket after bucket, her final coup de grace being the offer to Tom to play with her equipment – sometimes known as a paddle! Because of Tom’s late & unexpected arrival, together with the ‘rivers of blood’, Derek, on generous loan from the ‘A’ team, had already played his three sets by the time the other two were pronounced ‘fit to play’. His first set against Ross tested his uncompetitive recent past & lack of any kind of practice, well past the limit, although Derek did manage to squeeze into a final fifth game before he shuffled off his mortal coil. Charlie proved a slightly easier nut to crack as Derek changed up a gear & took on a Stig-like pose at the end of the table. Derek’s victory in three games was close but ultimately assured, not least due to the respect shown to him, in every way, by Charlie – well played, young man! Against Josh, Derek simply wafted Josh away as if he were merely an irritating insect come in from the cold. Charlie & Joan enjoyed a somewhat cliff-hanging five game set with Charlie finding the focus to close the match. Good performance overall from Joan though. Ross took on Tom in a curiously one-sided set in which Tom found little to be happy about. The set of the night was certainly Josh against Joan. Having seriously squandered his games & sets against Derek, Josh got his act together against Joan, finding a focus & accuracy missing from his game so far. Joan responded, but tiring at crucial points & allowing her confidence to evaporate occasionally, she succumbed to Josh over 5 games. Josh had less luck against Tom, with Tom catching his form using Derek’s bat, enabling him to speedily waft Josh away. Ross’s well organised all-round game was too much for Joan & he completed a relatively easy 3 game victory. In a tight set, Tom eventually succumbed in three close games to Charlie’s superior mobility & continued impressive shot range.

A dis-jointed but accomplished evening of table-tennis with Northowram Juniors winning 6-3, leaving much for Popps ‘B’ to think about, like when is Joan going to get a new & faster bat, when will Tom tell his doctor that his medication is rubbish & does not win him table-tennis matches,   when will Terry W. send his diary secretary for re-education to the gulag & when will loanee Derek earn his fee & win three games out of three? Well done, Juniors, a deserved win for you!

1: AvX 6-11/8-11/13-11/11-5/9-11. (A)
2: BvY 11-8/9-11/2-11/11-5/13-11. (H)
3: CvZ 7-11/8-11/7-11. (A)
4: BvX 5-11/10-12/10-12. (A)
5: AvZ 11-1/11-3/11-7. (H)
6: CvY 9-11/6-11/11-7/11-8/13-11. (H)
7: BvZ 12-10/13-11/12-10. (H)
8: CvX 11-0/11-3/11-6. (H)
9: AvY 11-8/11-4/11-7.(H)

Sowerby 2 (home) A: Andrew Whiteley, B: John Korner, C: Phillip Parry   
POPPS A (away) X: Peter McMullen, Y: Terry Allington, Z: JohnTaylor

Our annual trip out to the far hills of Sowerby provided us with a considerable degree of apprehension, based on the strength & quality of the Sowerby team & the timescale of the previous reverse fixture, when, at the Table Tennis Centre, even the scorer & the duty manager had effectively nodded off by the time we completed our match at 10.45 pm! This time, complete with regulation striped pyjamas, a jar of Ovaltine & a packet of plain digestives, we attempted to boost our confidence on the presumption that at least we were ready & willing. Green walls, green grass, green table but no little green men awaited us. Inside the neat & plushly draloned clubhouse, intimidation returned as the obsessive attention to surface detail gave us the impression that either sport, bowls or table-tennis, could be comfortably played on either or both of these finely honed, flat, green expanses – for the sake of tradition & historical precedent, we plumped for the table! – not necessarily our best decision of the night, as it turned out.

A comfortable punt by Peter in the first set against Andrew, briskly put the match on its way, Peter dominating in games one & two, with Andrew pushing hard in the third but to no avail: set over in less than fifteen minutes! The second set began amidst reasonable trepidation from both sides as this was the pairing that, on our previous meeting, had turned day into night, so to speak. We had need to be afraid, very afraid, as Terry & John K. began their endless journey into night: this time John was the victor, as Terry, appearing a little out of sorts, missed crucial points. Our only argument, ALL of us, was with the fact that this set took ONE HOUR & TWENTY MINUTES!!! Even Terry appeared exhausted after this marathon. Throughout, the question of the score was not of much interest, more the question of whether we were all still on the same planet. Derek, as scorer, was already suffering from waking nightmares of torture low-points from an imaginary past (or was it?). As John Korner’s remarkably passive & still resistance to Terry’s bouncy country dance provoked a space between the points, the scorer’s blood-pressure sank to below knee-level, finally exiting through the soles of his shoes!  During this second set, Peter absent-mindedly popped on his slippers, John Taylor curled himself up in hibernation amongst the cushions, which then resulted in his disappointing & swift demolition by Phillip. Exhausted from his encounter with the Wibsey Wizard, John Korner faded badly against a decisive Peter, offering little resistance. John, with his heavy bovine snorting, was stretched mercilessly by Andrew into an interesting, though not exciting five-game set, with Andrew slowly peeling away John’s resistance. A committed & thumping set from Phillip against Terry, saw Phillip patiently & opportunistically carve a slicing path to victory. A steady recovering set by John Korner against John Taylor, was closely but decisively fought, leaving John K. a relatively comfortable winner over four games. A rip-roaring set between Phillip & Peter, the best of the night, allowed Phillip to further enhance his reputation with a cool-headed & deserved victory. Too late & too exhausted, Terry cruised easily to the finish line against Andrew with a typical metronomic victory.

So, our first defeat of the season, against a very good team effort from Sowerby 2: frankly, we got what we, perhaps, half expected & certainly fully deserved. No going down in a blaze of glory, no brave lads fighting to the death, just a competitive table tennis match won by the best team on the night in a green fortress of sporting resistance. Thank you Sowerby 2 & well done!

1: AvX 5-11/3-11/10-12. (A)
2:BvY 11-9/4-11/12-10. (H)
3: CvZ 11-9/11-4/11-7/11-9.  (H)
4: BvX 5-11/9-11/6-11 (not sure of last score as scorer lost the will to live!) (A)
5: AvZ 12-14/4-11/11-8/11-7/11-7. (H)
6: CvY 11-7/7-11/11-5/9-11/11-7.  (H)
7: BvZ 7-11/11-8/11-9/11-8. (H)
8: CvX 7-11/11-7/7-11/11-1/11-5.  (H)
9: AvY 7-11/1-11/3-11. (A)

Popps (0) destroyed by teenage sensations, Tradesmen (9)

Tradesmen are currently lying 2nd in the league and are the major threat to our ‘A’ team for promotion. Last December, they defeated Popps ‘B’ 9-0, with a young, laid-back team, who, according to Sports Journalist Terry Wassall, barely had to break into a sweat to demolish the perspiring ‘B’ team senior strugglers. This time, our team will be weaker and will include Robin, so, is there any point in turning up? Would our £12 be better spent on a round of drinks in the Old Shears, because Popp’s would need a raft of Tomahawk missiles to have any impact on this lot? Incidentally, you may have heard that the Irish air force have bombed Tuebrook (by the way, that’s actually a district of Liverpool). It was later announced that they had bombed Liberia.

As for the young Tradesmen team, how would we handle this encounter with members of this generation. Will they be wearing hoods? Will they use texting whilst playing TT? Will they talk in a strange type of rap-talk? Anyway, to return to the more politically correct topic of TT reporting, the match went as follows, and there will be no intention of giving you a blow by blow account of what will probably be a whitewash.

Tradesmen (well almost Tradesboys) were represented by Sam Drake (looked about 12), Alex Shaw (perhaps 13) and Kristian Fearnley (the old man of the group, maybe 16). If I’ve upset them by guessing these ages, I apologise. Perhaps they all follow a healthy life style. In fact, they are all keen youth TT players, taking part in local tournaments and aspiring to be good players, not something you could say about Popps ‘B’.

Match 1 saw Robin against Sam, which swiftly moved to 11-7, 11-4 & 11-5, when your correspondent could not find any way of dealing with a cunning serve and an all round superior game. By this time Terry Wassall, Professor of Tweeting at Leeds University, had arrived, even knackered after walking from the car park, to take on Alex, the smallest of the boys in Match 2. Alex frightened Terry (and most of the local neighbourhood), by a loud foot stamp as he executed his cunning serve, in the way that you would imagine an angry flamenco player approaching TT. He went into an early lead while Terry tried to organise himself. He stayed ahead to win 11-5. Alex was getting some good forehand smashes in, and while Terry’s backhand started to work, he couldn’t change the pattern and Alex won the second game by the same margin. Alex actually missed a shot in the 3rd game, and Terry stayed in the game longer with some useful backhand flicks. At 9-7, it seemed as if Terry might pull this one out of the bag, but Alex prevailed to win 11-8.

Joan then appeared, resplendent in a new hair-cut which she had commissioned especially for this sporting encounter. It gave her a modern, streamline look, but probably didn’t affect the result. She was up against Kristian, who raced into a swift lead, using a backspin chop which Joan promptly bundled into the net. At 9-2, it was looking very one-sided, but Joan executed a couple of effective forehands to make it 11-4. Kristian continued with his fancy serve which flummoxed Joan, allowing Kristian to race to 11-3. Kristian may have relaxed in G3 and messing up a couple of serves and flashing at some unsuitable balls, so 11-9 looked a bit more respectable to Joan.

Terry then met Sam in Match 4. It was pretty even, with Sam’s looping forehand doing some damage and Terry playing a steadier game. At 10-10, it could have gone either way, but there was a certain inevitability about Terry’s failed smashes which allowed Sam to move to 12-10. Terry tried to keep up in G2. A fluke helped him to get to 6-6. But Sam also had a fluke and despite missing a serve, moved to 11-7. Terry’s mix of the good, bad and the ugly continued in G3 and Sam stayed ahead to win 11-8.

Your correspondent then returned to the table in Match 5 against Kristian. Mercifully, he was not able to take notes and the bald facts of a routine 11-4, 11-4 and 11-7 victory by Kristian do not have to be added to. There were some good rallies, but Robin was out of his depth against this effective teenager.

The next match between Joan and the diminutive Alex had all sorts of images about it, even Madonna and child perhaps, but there was nothing cosy about the result as the hyperactive Alex pounced to an 11-8, 11-3 and 11-7 win. Joan is doing all the right things, using steady returns, seeking attacking opportunities and fighting for every point, but Alex’s game had too much going for it. There was something rather brutal about a young boy, barely into long trousers, thrashing this mature, freshly coiffured woman in this way, but that’s table tennis.

Terry/Kristian. Wasn’t that the name of a foul-mouthed presenter on The Word, a genre-bending, barrier-breaking yoof TV show? But I digress. Terry was much more into this game and while he over-hit Kristian’s topspin, he stayed respectable losing 11-7. However, in G2, his smash started to work, like an inexperienced cook tackling instant mashed potato, and with the help of an outrageous fluke, eased to 11-8, our only game of the night. At this point, a massive display of fireworks appeared over Greengates in Bradford, celebrating Terry’s win. Or had the Irish air force wrongly targeted Bradford as part of the attack on Libya.

But for Kristian, this game was merely a blip as he cruised to 11-4 and 11-7 to take the set. Terry tried to play a steady game, but could not resist unpromising smash opportunities. That’s the way he is. Lives on the edge of danger, never accepts the safe route, his body a coiled mass of energy ready to explode at any moment.

With the result never in doubt, Joan returned to the spotlight, which picked out the glinting highlights of her elegantly-styled hair, as she took on Sam, who raced away to a big lead with some spectacular looped smashes. 11-2. She fought more effectively in G2, with some long rallies, some smashes and the odd fluke. Sam looped a few and moved to 11-9.m Joan continued to play well in G3, Sam had the odd wild slash, but prevailed to take it at 11-8.Robin then returned for the final encounter with Alex, who needed to get home in time for Muffin the Mule and a warm cup of drinking chocolate. He scampered round the table like a monkey on speed, winning 11-1. 11-1 and 11-2 as your correspondent gave up the ghost.

Out team enjoyed the friendly atmosphere created during this thrashing and would like to congratulate the boys on their good sportsmanship. We wish them well as individuals, but not in the league as they are the only potential threat to our ‘A’ team in gaining promotion.

Popps register rare win against the Hoods, 5-4.

Our first match against Old Town Hoods, back in September, the first of our season, resulted in a comfortable victory for Popps ‘B’, but it was not a sign of things to come. We had the experienced Derek, now a professional coach, playing for us, we had a fitter Tom and your correspondent played well above expectations for us to register a 7-2 victory. Tonight, we would lack the mercurial but often effective Terry Wassall and our team is Tom, Joan & Robin.

We understand that Old Town Hoods have had to be flown back from a table tennis boot camp in Libya and may be jet-lagged. They were arrested by rebels on a farm and after high level diplomatic protests were able to sail from Libya in a converted Mersey ferry boat to Malta dressed in their Oxfam tracksuits, from which they have flown via Ryan air, where they had to pay to use the toilets. They will also be disadvantaged by the new ban on snoods being worn in league marches, following the accidental strangling of a player from Illingworth last week who was being embraced by his team-mates after registering his first win in 10 years. However, given Popps’s poor form in recent months, we will take nothing for granted. Tom is being held together with sticking plaster and Robin is continuing a prolonged loss of confidence which may be terminal. Only the highly motivated Joan is on an improvement curve, with her athleticism, grace, designer track suit and air-filled Jimmy Choo trainers rendering her capable of reaching the ultimate heights. The Old Town Hoods were represented tonight by: Dave Warburton, and the new version of the Beckhams of TT, Paul and Steph Penny.

Set 1 saw Tom taking on Steph. This went to 4 games, with Tom winning the first 12-10, with the rapidly improving Steph turning out to be quite determined and difficult to play against. With Tom’s experience, he should have dominated, but he was struggling a bit physically. Tom won the 2nd game 11-8, with some useful smashes, but Steph fought back in G3 to win 11-8, with some equally effective smashes, while Tom was becoming a little careless. Tom eventually clinched it in G4, winning 11-9, only really forging ahead towards the end of the game.

Set 2 had Robin against another rapidly improving member of the Penny family, Paul, who won an intriguing 5 game set, which flowed each way as they changed sides. Paul’s spin serve has improved and Robin had some problems with it. Paul was also delivering more smashes.

Set 3 saw Joan stepping up to take on Dave, a steady, careful player not prone to taking risks. He won G1 11-9 after some long rallies. He was helped by an outrageous fluke. However, in G2, Joan developed her fluent game, especially her flowing forehand and dogged back-hand push and she won 11-6. However, it was not sustainable and Dave reeled off the next 2, 11-6 and 11-5, to win the set.

Robin then produced a rare victory in Set 4 against Steph, even though it took 5 games, with the 4th game going to a crucial 17-15 in Robin’s favour, who managed to upgrade his motivation to win the final game, knowing that the final result might hinge on this match.

Set 5 had Tom against the increasingly steady Dave. Tom was over-hitting and Dave had the odd fluke and he moved to win the first game 11-7. Tom was starting to have minor eyesight problems, possibly caused by medication and he had a couple of Specs Saver moments as Dave picked up the 2nd game, 11-9. Tom had to fight hard to restore some respect in G3 as Dave missed the table on a couple of occasions and Tom won 11-9. But Dave’s all round consistency helped him to tie up the set with an 11-8 win.

Joan showed her improvement by registering a useful win against Paul in Set 6. She had a magnificent start, rocketing to 9-0, until Paul started to get a grip. She kept it steady and allowed the occasionally erratic Paul to make mistakes. She eventually won 11-4. Paul continued his fight back to win G2 13-11, despite a couple of strange services. Joan had to pull her game together, which she did by clinching the next 2 games 11-6 and 11-4, as Paul started to go to pieces, finishing with a disastrous serve. These serves have become a feature of his game and cause excitement and amusement to spectators.

Set 7 involving Robin & Dave can be described briefly: Dave won 11-4, 13-11 and 11-5. Dave played his usual steady game, while Robin attempted to hit anything that moved. At this point, Hood were leading in the match by 4-3, but Popps had two chances to overhaul that lead.

Set 8 saw the two females on the table, the match of the maidens, the struggle of the sisters, even the battle of the battle axes, and Steph showed what a difficult player she is to compete with. She went into an early lead in G1, as Joan took time to adjust and as Steph executed some useful smashes. 11-5 to Steph. In G2, Joan settled down, despite a loud crash as a couple of other players fell against a barrier. But it didn’t put her off as she edged to 12-10. Joan won the next 2 games 11-5 and 11-9, with some long, dogged rallies and some useful smashes from both players.

With the match at 4-4 and the officers wanting to lock up the centre, Tom took on Paul in the final set, set 9. It was touch and go, as Tom had to keep taking his medicine to keep pain at bay. Paul won the first game 12-10, with some excellent shots. Would Tom keep his form to fight back? Yes he did! He sailed ahead in G2, getting more shots on the table, to win 11-2. Paul started well in G3, but Tom caught up, with some useful back hand flicks as Paul once again surrended points by suicidal services. Tom won 11-6 and now only (only!) had to win G4 to clinch the games, set and match. Tom need to get ahead to take the pressure off him, but Paul hung on with determination. It reached 10-10 at which it is customary to say that it could have gone either way, with the whole fixture hanging on every shot. Finally, Tom was able to inch to 14-12, to finalise the night and the win.

As usual the match was played with good sportsmanship and generally appropriate humour. The Hoods strapped on the hoodies, climbed onto their Vespas and raced off to the wild hills above Hebden Bridge, protected against the driving rain by their military mod-style anoraks, with their hoods underneath their regulation crash helmets. On their way, they would indulge in some rough street fighting with the Mods of Mytholmroyd and then scoot off before the sleepy local PC had worked out what was going on.

Northowram G (home) .A: Robert Gee, B: John Wasilewski, C: Raj Panesar
POPPS A (away) X: Peter McMullen, Y: Terry Allington, Z: Chie Hick

We faced another awkward fixture at Northowram, awkward because of the tightness of the venue with three tables crushed into a space suitable only for two & awkward because of the potential of their players. Due to a recent operation, Barbara Gee was not available to play – we wish her a speedy & good recovery. We came, not expecting a clean sweep & perhaps simply hoping for anything we could call a win! This time, things were complicated by Northowram’s three teams all playing without a full compliment, meaning that at least three of their players were playing across three tables! Not a good idea, as it meant games were not played in the usual order, waiting ensued until a specific player had finished a game on another table & it was, consequently, difficult to check our next opponent. Some good table-tennis, but NOT a good evening as a whole!

1: AvX – Robert v Peter: 8-11/7-11/9-11 AWAY WIN
2: BvY – John v Terry: 8-11/6-11/8-11 AWAY WIN
3: CvZ – Raj v Chie: 3-11/11-13/11-5/11-9/7-11 AWAY WIN
4: BvX – John v Peter: 11-7/11-7/14-12 HOME WIN
5: AvZ – Robert v Chie: 8-11/4-11/11-9/3-11 AWAY WIN
6: CvY – Raj v Terry: 4-11/3-11/5-11 AWAY WIN
7: BvZ – John v Chie: 11-8/11-13/4-11/11-6/11-8 HOME WIN
8: CvX – Raj v Peter: 8-11/7-11/2-11 AWAY WIN
9: AvY – Robert v Terry: 1-11/2-11/3-11 AWAY WIN

Result: Northowram ‘G’ = 2 Popps ‘A’ = 7

Steady, easy start for Peter against a distracted Robert: Peter, generally, finding a good early range, won easily.

Just as last time, John was unable to satisfactorily deal with Terry’s consistent & penetrating style.

An excellent hard fought win by Chie over Raj, as she now re-consolidates her game after her New Year home break: still a bit of inconsistency in places but just about ‘getting there’.

A confident win by John over Peter in three games, with Peter somewhat distracted by team G’s organisational shenanigans.

Another excellent win by Chie, over Robert, keeping well focused on each point & beginning to find some consistency in her best shots.

A total whitewash for Terry over Raj, with nothing given on Terry’s part & much less offered by Raj.

A valiant effort by Chie against John, with Chie, again, demonstrating her resilience & ability to fight for every point: the fourth set proved decisive, but a good match for Chie over five games.

A rather poor game for Raj, as Peter easily won points & made few mistakes

A shockingly one-sided game as Terry simply & mercifully obliterated Robert.

A good solid victory for Popps ‘A’. the result being the only important thing after a frustrating & somewhat haphazard evening. Well done team!

On paper this looked easy for the A team, but they have to keep focused for the challenging matches ahead.

Our visitors from the ancient Druid village of Old Town like to keep their old customs. The tribal leader, Jo Sweeney, presented us with a gift of a packet of chocolate buscuits. The A team offering was refreshments of tea or coffee, with a dram of whisky. A very happy time, with much laughter, was had by all.

It was nice to see Chia Hick practicing really hard, after her happy reunion with family and friends in Japan.

The last time we played the experienced MJM team we had supersub Terry Allington playing in place of a sick Terry Wassall. Consequently POPPs came away with a few points. This time would be different! The POPPs B team consisted of the same team as last week, Tom, Joan and Terry W. MJM also had their usual complement of Martyn Halliday, John Wasilewski and Mark Craven. I keep meaning to ask them where their team’s name comes from. Next time perhaps.

Once again Joan was the best and most consistent and determined of the POPPs players. In fact her knock-ups with each of her opponents before each match were some of the most impressive table tennis of the evening! As our American cousins would say, Joan gives good knock-up.

Terry probably played a little better than last Thursday, due to playing again after such a short break, but the result was much the same. He looked to be in with a chance against Martyn losing the first game narrowly 10-12 and winning the 2nd 11-9. But he flattered to deceive and lost the next 2 games only getting 3 and 4 points in each.  He had a good set against John getting respectably close in all 3 games without actually winning one.  Likewise against Mark, going close in 2 games, 10-12 and 9-11, but fading badly and offered little resistance in the 3rd game.

Joan also took a game against Martyn, 11-8, but didn’t score more than 6 in any of the other games. However, she had a great game against John and pushed him close without quite managing to win a game. Likewise against Mark, Joan got to withing 2 or 3 points in each game but just couldn’t summon up the little extra (or even a bit of luck) to get across the line. There is no doubt it won’t be long before she wins another set (her first victory was in a match last November) and see her kick on with the confidence that will give her.

Tom struggled all evening with mobility problems despite battling on bravely. He played some first rate rallies at times but the younger and more agile opposition moved the ball around and left Tom out of position. There were times when he really punished them though and every sign that he has a lot more to offer if he can  sort out some of the ailments holding him back. The spirit is still there and willing!

As usual the match was played in good spirit and I like to feel we brought a little light and joy into the opposition’s lives. They certainly left smiling!

A: Martyn Halliday X: Terry Allington
B: Mark Craven Y: Chie Hick
C: John Wasilewski Z: Peter McMullen

For us, confusion has always surrounded the three Northowram teams, as configurated by the forceful & inimitable Barbara Gee; which team is which, who plays where and when, issues which have clouded our team selection and planning for a not inconsiderable time. But, what the heck! – we still turn up and just simply ‘get on with it’, allowing our current momentum and confidence to dilute our doubts and insecurities. Tonight, our confusion was massaged a little more owing to all three Northowram teams playing at home in a tight space, in the same room and on the same night. An interesting juxtaposition was the appearance against their junior team of our main rivals in the league, Tradesmen 2. An instant concern was the tightness of the space and the liability and inevitability of more than the odd ‘let’ occurring, particularly during one of ‘our Terry’s’ 140-shot rallies! As it turned out, things could have been a lot worse.

AvX – Martyn v Terry: 4-11/5-11/7-11 AWAY WIN 0-1
BvY – Mark v Chie: 9-11/6-11/8-11 AWAY WIN 0-2
CvZ – John v Peter: 10-12/11-6/11-2/11-5 HOME WIN 1-2
BvX – Mark v Terry: 4-11/7-11/3-11 AWAY WIN 1-3
AvZ – Martyn v Peter: 7-11/11-8/8-11/5-11 AWAY WIN 1-4
CvY – John v Chie: 11-4/6-11/11-7/11-8: HOME WIN 2-4
BvZ – Mark v Peter: 7-11/4-11/9-11: AWAY WIN 2-5
CvX – John v Terry: 6-11/3-11/7-11: AWAY WIN 2-6
AvY – Martyn v Chie: 12-10/12-10/4-11/11-3: HOME WIN 3-6

Martyn v Terry: a cool, calm game collected by Terry which set him on the way against an inconsistent Martyn. 2nd & 3rd games slipped into Terry’s ‘bag’ with relative ease.

Mark v Chie: a steady start from Chie, attempting to play herself back into the sport after her ‘home break’: good 2nd game followed by a steady & positive 3rd.

John v Peter: with a similar type of game, Peter found himself slugging it out with John, resulting in a tight game won by Peter, just: 2nd game initiative was taken by John from the start & he pushed into an unassailable position, totally compounded in the 3rd game, leaving him with an easy 4th with Peter totally out of it.

Mark v Terry: a galloping start from Terry, accumulating points with ease, his usual consistency pushing Mark into a corner &, in the 3rd, completely out of sight.

Martyn v Peter: unfocused 1st game for Martyn, allowing Peter to accelerate to the finish; however, in the 2nd, Martyn put his foot down & gave Peter a hard time, although he recovered his composure in the 3rd & completed the job in the 4th.

John v Chie: easy 1st game for John with Chie unable to deal with his spin; John sat back in the 2nd allowing Chie a glimmer of hope, although this quickly faded in the 3rd & 4th as Chie was unable to deal with John’s spin and power.

Mark v Peter: good, positive & comfortable start for Peter, moving into a sprint in the 2nd game, despite Mark working hard but not quite achieving consistency: in the 3rd game, Mark stuck with it up to 9-9, when Peter pushed to the finish.

John v Terry: in a way, NOT surprising, but in another way VERY surprising!: after his confident exploits earlier in the evening, it was astonishing to see John’s game go totally to pieces against Terry. A brilliant win!

Martyn v Chie: close 1st game of cat, mouse & table-tennis, with Martyn just making it home & following up with a similar 2nd game, as Chie forced her shots a little too hard: 3rd game saw Chie in a more accurate & focused mood, running away with the game, but in the 4th Martyn regained his grip & pushed easily to the finish.

All in all, a good night’s work, with Chie working her way back into the game, Peter, when focused, continuing his excellent form & Terry effectively squashing all before him, like an efficient & beautifully formed steam-roller! As we squeezed our way out of the playing arena, we noted that Tradesmen 2 had apparently lost three of their games – positive news for us, for the time being at least. Thank you Northworam MJM for your friendliness, hospitality & good evening’s competitive table-tennis. 16 out of 16 with just 6 to go –

WELL DONE TEAM! – keep it up.

POPPS A: Terry Allington B: Peter McMullen C: John Taylor
SCs       X: Harry Wotherspoon Y: Alwyn Kershaw Z: Roy Oldroyd

We faced our 15th league match of the season with good confidence, yet knowing it would be a tough match. This trio of players, a long-standing & effective trio, embraced a determined & somewhat dour approach. This was the ‘old school’ at work, re-creating traditions from the past, not for the sake of it, not for ‘luck’, but for a deeper, intense & compulsive reasoning, rooted in principle, standards & with a result in mind. The simpler & more naiive response of Popps has always encompassed a willingness to bend to the desires & demands of our opponents. So, on this night, when our opponents began moving our bags & coats from one set of chairs across to the other set, to ensure that both teams would be separated by the scorers chair, we merely raised an interested eyebrow or three, smiled gently & continued to focus on preparing ourselves for the approaching confrontation. Awaiting the starting flag, friendly they undoubtedly were, but smiling they were not! Should we be intimidated or simply cool?

1: AvX – Terry v Harry: 11-8/13-11/9-11/11-4 HOME WIN: Terry moved to the table with a nervy & edgy gait, as Harry snarled his way to the table, fire not quite issuing from his nostrils. A somewhat paranoid starting game from Terry disintegrated into a point for point scrappy contest & at 8-8 anybody’s to win: Harry lost it, Terry didn’t. Adding a powdering of spice & a small sum of determination in the 2nd game moved us on to a match of possibilities, even if they were still hidden behind a wraith of error & missed chances, Terry again edging it, before succumbing in the 3rd to a grimly determined Harry, intent & grumbling on revenge. Spent & blunt with frustration & exhaustion, Harry succumbed to the rising fire in Terry’s belly & fell away to 4-11 in the 4th. A bruising match which had promised much & delivered less.

2: BvY – Peter v Alwyn: 11-8/15-17/11-6/8-11/11-9 HOME WIN: A colliding & mesmirising encounter, swerving across the table before skidding off edges & corners into heartbreak. Tension in the 1st game saw Peter missing the table entirely with too many serves but surviving Alwyn’s cleverness to pinch a win. Craziness erupted in the 2nd game with end of table misses committed wholesale at both ends until Alwyn slid to an unconvincing victory at a silly 15-17. The 3rd swung Peter’s way again as he pushed hard to eradicate basic errors but a disputed edge called in the 4th distracted him enough to allow Alwyn a cruise to the finish. Another close call in the 5th as the game slipped Peter’s way towards the end; an absolutely fascinating & truly great match to watch & much credit & thanks to both players.

3: CvZ – John v Roy: 10-12/9-11/5-11 AWAY WIN: A tight 1st game but Roy took a close win in to the 2nd game & by the 3rd game, John was having difficulty in dealing with Roy’s top spin plus still feeling somewhat under the weather. Roy pursued John around the table, giving no quarter & taking a good win here with John regretting losing his grip on that 1st game.

4: BvX – Peter v Harry: 11-9/11-7/11-5 HOME WIN: An extremely steady 1st game from Peter followed by more focus & physical dominance in the 2nd & 3rd. An excellent win for Peter with an onslaught of wide & fierce shots pulling Harry completely out of position.

5: AvZ – Terry v Roy: 11-7/11-4/11-0 HOME WIN: A quiet & steady start from Terry in the 1st game, improving in the 2nd & devastating & comprehensive in the 3rd. An easy win for Terry with Roy having no answer at all to Terry’s foot-speed & precise placing of the ball.

6: CvY – John v Alwyn: 11-9/6-11/6-11/11-8/4-11 AWAY WIN: Good 1st game for John offering a glimmer of light but 2nd & 3rd games quickly slipped away with Alwyn focusing better on each & every shot. John recovered to win the 4th game but not convincingly & faded badly in the 5th to give Alwyn a very hard-fought but well-deserved and comfortable victory.

7: BvZ – Peter v Roy: 11-8/11-7/11-3 HOME WIN: Roy, obviously disappointed with his calamitously empty defeat against a fully wired-upTerry, showed a sliver of determination in the 1st game but Peter, fortunately, continued with his devastatingly sparkling & athletic form to run over Roy with barely a limp or a gasp of breath, skidding & twisting shots across the table.

8: CvX – John v Harry: 11-13/9-11/3-11 AWAY WIN: Close call in the 1st game with Harry catching John short of accuracy & placement. Switching on more power & guile in the 2nd, Harry quickly & effectively brushed John aside & plunged with great skill & relish into a one-sided 3rd game in which John looked totally non-plussed &, eventually, totally ran out of any answers.

9: AvY – 11-6/11-3/11-4 HOME WIN: Having played more than competently in his two previous games, Alwyn finally ran out of steam, energy & ideas, as Terry buried this tussle deep enough in the 1st game, laid out the top-soil in the 2nd & finally, placed a vase of flowers on top by the end of the 3rd game!

So, fifteen matches without defeat & we’re still hovering thereabouts near the top of our league. Our experienced & committed opponents in this match were an object lesson in how to go about dealing with strong competition & we can certainly learn from their approach. Their grip on a controlled & limited range of shots took us well down the road of consistency for them & patience & focus for us. This time we passed the test but must never under-estimate long-established teams & their knowledge, competence & reliability in dealing with ‘young upstarts’ such as ourselves. Over the next seven games, our concentration must be exclusively in playing to our strengths, with patience, care & without unforced errors, limiting our opponents to as few (if any) wins as humanly possible. Thank you Senior Citizens for a good competitive night & WELL DONE TEAM, yet again.