Welcome return of West Lothian League

Oct 20 2011 by Kieran Westbrook, West Lothian Courier

TABLE TENNIS fans witnessed the long-awaited return of the West Lothian League last week.

The first two fixtures featured three new regulars in husband-and-wife Iain and Liz Henry, and promising junior Sam Wood, whose father Ian used to be part of the county’s top team.

In the first match, Whitburn took on Bathgate and inflicted a 7-1 defeat to take the league’s top spot.

West Lothian champion Robbie Fairley turned out for Whitburn along with Stephen Gray – who was deputising for the unavailable Jeff Yates – and Kevin Boyle.

It must be said, even at such an early stage this team looks formidable.

Bathgate fielded the seasoned campaigner Drew McLaren as captain, along with newcomers Iain Henry and Sam Wood.

In beating Gray, McLaren registered Bathgate’s sole victory over Gray.

At the same time, the West Calder team comprising Kieran Boyle, Benny Flockhart and Colin Neilson lost 3-5 to a greater all-round team effort from Broxburn, who fielded Ian Wodecki, Sam Stanton and Liz Henry.

Top junior Boyle won both his singles and his team captain accounted for the other win.

However, Neilson was a little ring rusty after his season out but will no doubt come good as the season progresses.

For Broxburn, Wodecki won one, Stanton two, and Henry one, to get off the mark, which they added to with victory in the doubles.

In the Edinburgh and Lothians League the A Team lost 3-7 in a Premier Division fixture at Murrayfield without any of their regular line-up.

Instead, they relied on two deputies in John McCulloch and Dariusz Szymczak to take the place of three players.

In losing, both players gave a good account of themselves in winning one and two games, respectively.

In Division One the B Team took on Penicuik and finished with an 8-2 victory.

Playing for them was the regular trio of John McCulloch, Barrie Hills and Kieran Boyle with Hills giving a faultless display.

The C Team travelled to Corstorphine where they inflicted a 7-3 defeat on their hosts.

For this encounter they boasted two regulars in Kevin Milne and Keith MacKay while Andy Wyles deputised for the missing Andy MacDougall.

In finishing undefeated Milne continued his fine start to the season.

At this very early stage in the season the B Team sits second top and is one of only two undefeated teams while the C Team, comprised of Keith MacKay, Andy MacDougall and Kevin Milne, sits comfortably in the top half.

Next week both teams have tricky fixtures on the same night against Edinburgh University and North Berwick respectively.

In Division Two the D Team of Ian Wodecki, Drew McLaren (captain) and George Anderson returned to winning ways with a 7-3 win over a very experienced Meadowbank outfit.

In the same division, the E Team travelled to Edinburgh International with a team of Jim Stewart (captain), John Swift and Sam Stanton and also won, with a scoreline of 9-1.

Stewart dropped their only game but, at 16-14 in the deciding set, it could have gone either way and he can consider himself unlucky to have lost out.

At the present time the E Team sits higher in the league than their more fancied colleagues.

However, if this situation persists after next week’s results there should be some added spice to their meeting during the following week.

Without a match last week, the F Team sit in the top echelons of Division Three and should finish the season there, despite their declared intention of blooding new players in what is for them a more competitive environment.