Busy period for West Lothian Table Tennis Club

Dec 31 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE festive period has provided no respite for the County's table tennis fraternity as regular fixtures have piled up.

West Lothian teams found points hard to come by in a series of difficult matches against miserly opponents.

The A team struggled against a very strong Murrayfield outfit and found themselves at the wrong end of a 10-0 drubbing.

At the Christmas break they lay second bottom of the division but only two points fewer than Edinburgh Sports Club, the team above them.

With the recent signing of Brian Hunter added to regulars Lewis Hills and George Flanagan there is every hope that they will start to pick up points in the New Year.

The B team lifted club morale a bit by registering a close 6-4 victory against HPO with a line-up of John McCulloch, Andy MacDougall and Steve McKay. McCulloch and MacDougall both acquitted themselves well with three wins in their respective singles games, despite which they contrived to lose the doubles encounter.

After having performed so well in the Edinburgh tournament McKay was totally out of sorts on the night and finished without a win.

In their next match against table toppers Murrayfield McKay was replaced with Hills but still suffered a 1-9 loss with Hills taking the only scalp with McCulloch and MacDougall out of touch on the night.

This is now their fourth defeat of the current campaign but they still sit mid table in a very competitive division.

The C team continued its excellent form by inflicting a 10-0 whitewash away to Edinburgh International.

However, this result looked in some doubt as McKay and Strywzewski got caught in Edinburgh's Festive Season traffic, leaving Milne with the thought that his efforts might be in vain.

This win kept them at the top of the division but their next match was against second placed Murrayfield. Having led the league since the first match, there was every expectation of a win to put some daylight between the two teams but a 4-6 loss dashed these hopes.

Although ultimately losing the match, Milne and MacKay did continue their undefeated run in the doubles.

In Division Three the E team of Jim Stewart, Martin Rumsey and John Swift won 10-0 against North Merchiston in one sided encounter.

Captain Stewart, in particular, was delighted with his display as he registered his first maximum in the Edinburgh League.

This fixture was followed by a 6-4 victory against Corstorphine with Graham Chambers deputising for the unavailable Stewart.

The result was marked by Swift dropping his first game of the season for the local side.

The ever dependable Rumsey again won all three and Chambers pressed for a regular place by winning the decisive game.

To add to this winning streak in a very busy period they then went on to defeat Murrayfield 7-3 with Chambers again in for Stewart.

In the same division the D team sit top without having dropped a point.

This team comprises the veteran Drew McLaren with two very promising juniors in Daniel MacKay and Kieran Boyle. In beating the Blue Liners (a Lothians Police team) 7-3 only MacKay dropped games during this clash.

With the D team sitting at the top of this table the postponed fixture between both these teams promised to be a cracker and the banter within the club suggested that no quarter would be given, or sought.

Regardless of the outcome both teams would still be among those teams seeking promotion.

Young MacKay was unavailable and so Kevin Boyle (father of Kieran) stepped in at the last minute while the E team boasted a full complement in Stewart, Rumsey and Swift.

By the end of the night McLaren had continued his season unbeaten and Boyle junior duly emulated this feat before joining McLaren in a doubles win.

Each of their opponents beat Boyle senior, but one only in the deciding set, to account for their three wins.

Given the fact that the D team are beating all before them the end result was not necessarily the best one for the club.

That said, this E team looks more and more capable each week of following in their colleagues' footsteps and the result in the return fixture is far from certain.

With renovations being carried out in the Bathgate Academy Sports Hall over the festive holidays these matches brought the year's activities to a halt until the New Year when all players will be eager to restart.