Premier League Round-Up
Week 5 (21 Feb 2008)
Drumchapel B 0-5 North Ayrshire
This could prove to be a league winning result for North Ayrshire brothers Chris and Ritchie Main. Ritchie started proceedings with a solid 3-1 win over Sean Doherty of Drumchapel. Chris, living life on the edge, then produced a 13-11 win in the fifth over Daniel Swiatek followed by a vital 3-1 win in the doubles for Ayrshire. Chris continued his Houdini impersonation with another five set win, this time 14-12 in the final end against Sean. Rithchie wrapped up a great victory with a 3-1 winning margin over Daniel.
This takes North Ayrshire to the top of the league and are very much in the driving seat with a one game advantage over nearest rivals Drumchapel A. The forthcoming match between these teams is a virtual league decider with winner takes all. Bring it on.
South Ayrshire 4-1 Greenock
This was a much closer match than the score line suggests with three matches going to five and the other two to four ends. Callum Gerrard came back from 2-1 down and got Greenock off to a positive start with a win (11-6 in fifth) over James Weatherston. Allan McCarry got South Ayrshire into the match with a 3-1 win over Malcolm Hutton (11-9 in the fourth). Allan and James then took control of the match, but only just, with a 3-1 win in the doubles followed by two five end wins in the singles, James beating Malky (11-7 in the fifth) and Allan beating Callum (11-9 in the fifth)
Week 9
Drumchapel Vets 0-5 North Ayrshire
To maintain pressure on the league title contenders – Drum A and Drum B – North Ayrshire required an emphatic win against their more experienced but aged opponents Drumchapel Vets. They duly served up a feast of proficient table tennis. Richard Main got the ball spinning with a 3-0 win against Peter Cameron and was followed by his brother, Chris, who produced a similar score line against Gerry Keenan. Peter and Gerry managed some resistance in the doubles, taking a consolation end, but service resumed to normal for the impressive Ayrshire duo who repeated 3-0 wins in the reverse singles. Five points to North Ayrshire and another move in the right direction in the league title race.
Drumchapel B 3-2 Greenock
Drumchapel B started with a brace of victories in the opening singles with wins for Daniel Swaitek (3-1) and Sean Doherty (3-0) against Greenock stalwarts Callum Gerrard and Malky Hutton. Malky and Callum started a mini fight back with a solid (never in doubt!) 11-9 in the fifth win in the doubles. This was followed by an impressive 3-1 win for Malky over Daniel Swiatek and setting up a final match decider between Sean and Callum. In a five end rollercoaster Sean ran out a worthy winner 11-6 in the deciding set. This was a great match and a very useful win for Drumchapel B to keep them within striking distance of the league leaders.
South Ayrshire 4-1 Holyrood
Peter Shaw got Holyrood off to a great start with an 11-9 win in the fifth against James Weatherston of South Ayrshire. Allan McCarry then produced some impressive play with an emphatic 3-0 win over Davie Thomas. Match score 1-1. The doubles was one way traffic with a 3-0 win for South Ayrshire and was followed by a solid win for James over Davie and a rare win for Allan over Peter.
Week 8
Drumchapel A 5-0 Greenock
This tie turned out to be a solid win for Drumchapel with Craig Hardie and Terry McLernon Jnr coming through against the very experienced Greenock pairing of Callum Gerrard and Maky Hutton. Craig set the tone of the match with an efficient 3-1 win over Callum, who put up some resistance in the third set, winning it 11-8, but could not maintain any pressure on Craig who completed the win by an impressive margin (11-3) in the fourth set. Similarly, Malky took Terry to four ends and again lost the fourth set 11-3. Craig and Terry combined well in the doubles, winning three straight and Craig repeated this winning margin in the next singles against Malky. Terry secured the five points with a 3-1 win against Callum.
Drumchapel C 1-4 South Ayrshire
Corinna Whitaker got Drum C off to a bright start with an excellent win against James Weatherston of South Ayrshire. Corinna won 3-1. Allan McCarry then restored parity for South Ayrshire with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Natasha Milliken. Ayrshire then turned up the pressure with a 3-1 win in the doubles followed by two wins in the remaining singles – a 3-0 win for Allan against Corinna and a 3-1 win for James against Natasha. All-in-all a good effort from the junior girls against two difficult and very experienced opponents.