West of Scotland Table Tennis League

West of Scotland Table Tennis League
News
House of Harris Semi Final
South Ayrshire 5 - 4 Boys Brigade
 
This tie turned into a semi-final heartache for the BB but joy for an energetic septenarian. The night before, the BB team had suffered a cruel 3 point defeat at the hands of Drumchapel D in the handicap semi-final so were in a determined mood at the start of this match. It started brightly for the BB with Adam Gaffney producing an efficient 3-1 win over Jago Brown of South Ayrshire. Paul Morris then stepped up to the mark for the Ayrshire club and in a rollercoaster match just held on against the ever improving Sam Murdoch, 11-9 in the fifth. Philip Houston restored the BB’s lead with a five end victory over Garry McAlpine but again South Ayrshire clawed back to equal terms with another five end victory, this time Jago Brown over Sam Murdoch. The first game of doubles went to the BB with Adam and Sam combining well against Garry and Jago and then Paul produced another fine performance for Ayrshire winning 3-0 against Philip, in three deuce games. Match Score 3-3.
 
Adam then overpowered Garry 3-0, only for the Ayrshire duo of Jago and Garry to win the second doubles 3-1. The final match brought together Man of the Match - Paul Morristwelve year old Adam, against 71 years young Paul. This developed into a terrific match with Adam playing to every part of the table and Paul retrieving superbly, mixing float with heavy backspin.  Adam secured a 2-1 lead in games but Paul somehow managed to scrape home 12-10 in the fourth end. Paul then applied all his experience, moving Adam around the table, mixing his returns, and even managing a backhand drive to move to 9-7 in the fifth. Adam had run out of ideas and Paul wrapped up the match and a place in the final with a superb display - played four and won four. A great match, disappointment for the BB but two semi finals in their first season must augur well for the future and a fantastic effort from South Ayrshire in general and their septenarian Club President Paul Morris in particular.