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MATCH REPORT: POPPS B (1) v Marsh Con (8) 15 JUNE

Terry — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:13:41 +0000

In their latest summer league match Popps B (as last week, Alwyn, Tom and Terry) met the formidable Marsh Cons – the dad and son pairing of Adrian and Tom Normanton plus John Schofield. Once again Popps B salvaged a smidgen of respectability by winning one set and avoiding a white wash. Whereas Alwyn was our star player last week, Terry achieved this exalted position this week clearly benefiting from having played last week rather than the previous 3 week break.

The first 3 sets made it clear we were in for another tough night. The No. 1 pairing of Alwyn and Adrian played first and Popps quickly lost this set 7-11, 8-11 and 2-11. Alwyn seemed to be getting into the match in the 2nd game but Adrian turned on his efficient forehand and backhand topspin loops and drives in the 3rd and Alwyn put too many returns off the end of the table. There were many quite long defensive rallies too, a characteristic of all the sets (except Terry’s!), but generally we were first to either make a mistake or lose patience and go for a winner – too often in practice a loser.

Tom then played Tom Normanton and, despite pushing him close in all 3 games and having a 5 point lead in the second, lost 9-11, 7-11 and 9-11. Tom N had a similar range of shots as his dad – a reliable top spin back hand drive, an effective aggressive forehand and being prepared to push defensively if required. However, he seemed to be more impetuous and error prone than Adrian so offered the other Popps players perhaps a glimmer of hope. Terry then played his first set against John and lost rapidly 5-11, 7-11 and 5-11, a combination of poor returns of service and too many attacking shots flying into the net or beyond the table.

In the next two sets Tom and Alwyn lost in 3 straight games to Adrian and John respectively. They both switched strategies from patient defense to hit and hope ‘winners’ but neither tactic payed of with too many mainly unforced errors. The next set produced Popps only success of the evening with Terry beating Tom N in five long, hot and sweaty games. Terry lost the first game 8-11 but it was evident that he was playing to young Tom’s strengths with rallies consisting of drives and counter drives with Tom’s rhythm and reactions coming out on top more often than not. At this point Terry remembered reading somewhere that in top class table tennis the average rally length was between 3 and 4 strokes with the most common sequence being serve, return, attacking winner. So he decided to raise his game and deploy this tactic. Whatever the result, it would mean he would get home earlier. Or so he thought. Terry won the next two games 11-9, 11-9 using mostly a very short serve followed by an attack on the return. Amazingly this kept him in the game and seemed to discombobulate Tom. On receiving Tom’s serves, Terry concentrated on returning safely rather than attacking it and began to put some long high shots in, tempting Tom to smash. Despite some spectacular winners the impetuosity spotted in an earlier set led to some misses at the critical stage of each game and Terry scraped home in each. The 4th game looked as if Tom would win it 11-0 as he raced to a 7-0 lead as Terry lost concentration and went back to feeding Tom’s best shots as he had done in the first game. Facing a whitewash for the game he dug in and eventually lost 7-11, so all was on the final fifth game. Reverting to the successful tactics of the 2nd and 3rd games Terry pulled out a 5-0 lead and then, determined to win at least every other point from then on, ran out the winner 11-5 taking the set 3 games to 2.

After that it was business as usual and Marsh Cons took the last 3 sets. Alwyn took a game off Tom N and Terry took a game off Adrian but we never looked likely to take another set.

The match was played in good spirits and the opposition very kindly refrained from commenting on Alwyn’s enormous floral shorts. I don’t know what dress code Alwyn adheres to but it is probably as well if we don’t attempt to decipher it. How he spends his spare time is entirely between him and his advisers.

MATCH REPORT: POPPS ‘A’ v DOLPHINS: MONDAY 14 JUNE 2010

Robin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:59:51 +0000

Dolphins were able to deal with our ‘B’ team with relative ease, but against our ‘A’ team, they would be up against a different level of foe. Whereas the ‘B’ Team was devoured by the hungry Dolphins as they ploughed through the waves, our ‘A’ team would be harder to be chewed up by the Dolphins.

In the event, our strong ‘A’ team was able to defeat Dolphins by 7 sets to 2. Popps ‘A’ had new signing John Davenport on display for the first time. John normally plays in the Huddersfield league as a colleague of John Taylor’s. He comes with a good reputation and he is using his appearances with us to keep in touch before the next winter league in Huddersfield. Incidentally, John has had the all-clear from the medics and is making a gentle return to playing TT. We wish him well.

John Davenport duly won his 3 matches. He conceded one game to Alan Cowburn, but eventually won 11-7, 11-9, 9-11 and 11-3. He tamed the usually difficult Ken Scott 11-7, 11-8 and 11-3 and clearly was able to deal with Ken’s legendary top spin. John then beat Denise Scott 11-9, 11-6 with the last game going to 14-12 as Denise tried to stay in the set.

John Korner had mixed fortunes. He lost G1 10-12 to the steady Denise, won the next 2 11-8 and 11-6, but allowed her to come back 7-11. In the final game, he prevailed at 11-9. He struggled against the tall figure of Alan Cowburn, going down 4-11, 10-12, and 3-11. He showed great determination in winning a five game set against the wily Ken, 11-6, 4-11, 9-11, 11-5 and 11-4, when Ken may just have started to run out of steam.

Trevor Kershaw won 2 out of 3. He met a fresh Ken who won 9-11, 8-11, 11-3 and 11-13, a pattern which shows how players have to learn to read their opponent’s game as a match progresses. He lost one game to Denise, but won overall 3-1, the score being 11-9,7-11,11-4 and 11-5. In a close, but 3 game set against Alan, Trevor won 13-11, 11-8 and 12-10.

So overall, a good win for Popps ‘A’, with John Davenport making a useful impact on his first appearance with our team. How refreshing to see this bunch of sportsman playing an active part in sport rather than drinking numerous pints of lager, scoffing boxes of high fat pizza and watching World Cup football in pubs crowded with ale-swilling, beer-bellied, face-painted louts wearing Leeds United shirts.

Tues 06.04.2010–Suma 2 v Popps A–Sealed Handicap Qtr.Final

Peter — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:45:15 +0000

Not knowing the Handicap allowance till the end of the match made it quite exciting.

Peter Mc Started the battle with a hard attacking effort against David Blackburn.Davids retrieving from 20′ back was amazing and eventually won him the game 42-30 — still a satisfactory start for Popps.

John T. had a similar result against Brian Chapman going down at 42-29.

Terry A. then revealed himself (!) and had an easy win against Steve Caufield 42-24.

Peter lost 41-32 to Brian C but then Terry came on against Dave B in what was to be the Match of the Season. In a 3 hour Epic and after 24832 strokes Terry finished up the victor at 42-39, a fantastic performance by both players.
The aggregate score at this stage was Suma 188 Popps 175 — Popps seemingly in a strong position.

Popps continued in a similar vein over the last 4 sets — Terry completing his 100% record against this high flying Div 2 opposition, with Peter and John doing their best in the other games.

Popps thought the match was theirs with a mere 53 points deficit.
However when the ballot box was opened and showed only a 45 point allowance, Suma came out victors by the narrow margin of 8 points !!

We have to congratulate Suma on the way they stuck at it, particularly David when he had to win by a big margin to clinch the match.
So the singles season comes to an end and our gradual improvement unfortunately came to the attention of the handicapping committee just too early ! We can’t hide our light under the bushel forever !

Well done all who have played in the Popps A team this season, those who played tonight, also Derek and Alan who have made equal contributions.
And a special mention to Terry Allington who must be undoubtedly be Halifax’s emerging “Star of the Season”

P.Mc

QF Plate Doubles Popps A v. Panthers B

Peter — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:23:48 +0000

Popps A 420 Panthers B 375

Our top doubles partnership, Terry Allington and John did not get off to their usual good start, only managing 15-42 in the first game. We feared the worst against the First Division team who had Robert Wood, James Foster and Matthew Stevens playing for them.

With Peter Mc suffering from tennis elbow (bad !), John with gastro enteritus (really spelt “the sh—s)and lack of sleep (volunteers wanted to do the washing) Terry had to be in top form to carry the others. He did not relish the task (particularly with his fine sense of smell) but nevertheless he took up the challenge inspiring both Peter and John to greater heights.

We actually won 3 games and had the match tied up before the last sets, winning by an impressive 45 points.

p.mc.

Popps ‘B’ (2) against Old Town Hounds (7)

Robin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:07:24 +0000

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.

POPPs B (0) versus Old Town Hares (9)

Terry — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:59:52 +0000

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.

POPPs A (3) versus Northowram G (6)

Terry — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:13:25 +0000

16th November. Northowram ‘Team G’ (M Halliday 1, J Wasilewski 2, B Gee 3) 6 v HxTTC Popp A (T Allington 2, J Taylor 1, D Greenwood 0) 3

This was the A team’s first lost match this season playing the formidable full strength Northowram G Team. Unfortunately Derek had to withdraw with the occurance of an old injury and so Northowram got 3 uncontested point but it is fair to say that the overall win may well have been just beyond reach for the A team anyway on the night. But we’ll never know! The second half rematch will be interesting!

POPPs B (5) versus Northowram G (4)

Robin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:36:54 +0000

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.

Summer league versus Evergreens 24th August

Peter — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:03:42 +0000

First our official complaints (not excuses I hasten to add) :–

1. They tried to dint our enthusiasm by telling us that they won last winter Third Division by a margin of 30 points. Totally out of order.
2. Their No 2, David, topped Div 3 averages last year and he regularly runs marathons (fit bugger !). Surely this cannot be allowed ?
3. Captain Mick, small in physique but big in bed, brought back fresh from his honeymoon in Cyprus and ready to go. Foreplay like this should be banned (or he should be quarantined for at least a week on his return.
4. John, our star player complained he had to play against 2 people at the same time (although the scorer was ‘ours’). A definite legitimate claim.

Now the match highlights.

1. Peter won his first 2 games against their No.1, Michael in magnificent style (but then managed to turn victory into defeat).
2. John took 1 off the newly wed (game, not woman) even more gloriously.
3. Alan showed great improving style and playing some excellent rallies against their David.

They could not match our highlights, but in the end thanks to 9 lucky results ended up just in front.

A prize is up for grabs to the first person to guess the actual result. It is the actual match ball, old and flawed just like POPPS. (Anyone or their friends or relations with any knowledge of TT is banned from entering.

Summer league versus Spartans 10th August

Terry — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:00:08 +0000

Spartans won 7-2. POPPs team David, Peter and Terry. David was the only set winner for POPPs with a win of 3-0 against Spartan’s Steve Hanson and a hard fought 3-2 win over Michael Mullins.

Peter took a game from all 3 players, Michael, Karthik Shetty and Steve. Terry failed to win a single game thus confiming his position as the POPPs no. 3.