Table Tennis: Players enjoy mixed fortunes

Nov 5 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

IT was a mixed week for the various teams of West Lothian Table Tennis Club in their respective leagues.

Having just won their first game of the season in the Premier Division the West Lothian A team went into last week’s home fixture with North Merchiston in an excellent frame of mind and with great optimism.

For the second match running the team was Lewis Hills, Barry Hills and George Flanagan.

By the end of the night the home team had lost 4-6 in a match which never had a two-game difference, until the all-important and crucial doubles encounter.

Team captain Lewis Hills led by example by winning two of his three singles games in which his fighting qualities came to the fore.

Two were won in the fifth and deciding set, and the game lost was lost in four sets. Dad Barry and Flanagan chipped in with one win each.

At 4-5 down the West Lothian outfit still thought that the match could be saved as they had lost only one doubles game all season. However, this was not to be and they suffered the closest-possible loss.

Next week is free but when the season recommences there should be a new signing in place to help the side move up the table.

Last week was free for the B team who presently sit two points behind league leaders Murrayfield in Division One with a game in hand. This week’s match is with Penicuik who currently lie third bottom. All going well this team could enhance their promotion credentials.

It is in the lower divisions that the West Lothian club displays its strength in depth and this is very apparent in Division Two where the C team presently stand equal top of the table.

They went into last week’s match undefeated and finished 10-0 victors over Edinburgh International in a match which was as one-sided as the score suggests.

From a team comprising Kevin Milne, Keith MacKay and Zbigniew Stryzewski only the last named has dropped a game so far this season. The other two remain undefeated and in their doubles games they have yet to lose a set.

Even at this early stage of the season promotion is a distinct possibility as they dispose of their opponents with consummate ease. The litmus test will come when they meet Edinburgh HPO, their main rivals for the title.

The D team and E team both compete in Division Three. Of the two the D team are doing slightly better and currently lead the table. In the week just past they registered yet another victory, this time a 9-1 win against an Edinburgh University team.

West Lothian fielded their regulars – captain Drew McLaren with juniors Daniel MacKay and Kieran Boyle. MacKay dropped the game but it proved to be only a consolation for their opponents.

The undoubted ability of this trio should see them drop very few points during the season, but expect a hard-fought encounter when they meet their club mates later in the season.

Like their colleagues in the Premier Division the E team was at the wrong end of a 4-6 defeat.

Captain Jim Stewart decided to blood newcomer John Swift together with himself and Martin Rumsey. Swift answered the call with three singles wins to stake a place for regular selection.

However, it was the form of mainstays Rumsey and Stewart which gave cause for concern as they won only one game between them. By his own standards Rumsey was unusually subdued although he did record the other win before losing in the doubles with Swift.

In their own league, West Lothian had decided to introduce a reasonably regular individual ladder competition and it premiered last week.

The organiser set up the ladder with the better players placed in the bottom half with the idea that any player can challenge another within two positions higher, with the winner taking the higher spot and the loser the lower spot.

Given other matches there was a reasonable turnout but the main success was in attracting a couple of former members back to the club.

Details of the club’s activities can be found at www.tabletennisclub.co.uk