Week 5 Abingdon A edged their way to the top of Division One after defeating Moreton B 7-3 to leave the chasing pack behind by a single point. Braces from trio Chris Smith, Stuart Pringle and Paul Garner inflicted the heavy damage for the host’s, with Niall Harris (2) doing his best to keep the visiting Moreton within touching distance. The defeat sees Moreton hang onto third place, whilst a fourth win in five helps Abingdon claim top spot from Drayton A. This was because runners-up Drayton threw away their 100% start to the season after suffering a shock 6-4 to strugglers RAL B. Anders Markvardsen’s explosive maximum took the league leaders by surprise, with doubles from Matthew Davies and Robert Hudson not enough to match Markvardsen’s stunning individual display. This healthy victory sees RAL storm off the bottom of the table, with their first win of the season lifting them up to eighth. The remaining top-flight match saw Marlborough A come away from Moreton A with a 7-3 victory to guide themselves away from the relegation zone. Trebles from the away side’s Greg Donovan and substitute James Lovelock recorded a third win in four for Marlborough, seeing them stroll into fourth whilst Moreton linger down in sixth. Onto Division Two and Drayton D joined rivals Drayton B level on points at the summit of the league table after rallying to a 5-5 draw at home to RAL D. Kavan Warrender’s maximum for the host’s Drayton was cancelled out by doubles from RAL’s Ron and Kevin Liquorish, meaning the game finished all square. The stalemate moves Drayton up to second, just point’s difference from top-spot, with RAL D rock-bottom on ten points. Abingdon B celebrated their first win of the campaign after narrowly defeating Marlborough D 6-4 away from home. Owen Brazell’s brilliant treble for the visitor’s was aided by David Smart’s persistent double, ending their winless run after four fixtures. Meanwhile Drayton C also turned in a winning performance after seeing off RAL C 7-3. The away side had Antony Krason’s superb treble to mostly thank for their second win of the season, although John Gould supplied a contributory double later on. With this division being so tightly packed, with the top to bottom positions separated by a mere five points; Drayton’s triumph sees them only escape the drop zone by a single point in sixth, with RAL also on 12 points in eighth. Moreton D marched to their fifth consecutive win to extend their lead in Division Three to a healthy seven points after comfortably beating Abingdon C 8-2. Hiten Pitel and Daniel Artene both hit trebles for the visitor’s, with Roger Templeman (2) also in fine form. Second-placed Drayton E lost valuable ground on the league leaders after suffering contrasting fortunes during their two matches midweek. Drayton started the week poorly after their hard fought 6-4 loss at Grove A. Steven Osborne’s maximum proved decisive in this epic battle for the home side, with Andrew Cuddon (2) doing all he could to bring Drayton level on terms with Grove come the final game. But the runners-up redeemed themselves later in the week after a convincing 7-3 win at Marlborough E meant Drayton still retained the league’s second promotion spot. Cuddon went one better this time alongside teammate Matt Wicks in snatching maximums away at Marlborough, condemning the host’s to their third straight defeat, leaving them in ninth. Letcombe B prevailed amongst their fierce rivals Letcombe C this week 6-4 to steer themselves clear of their derby opponents. Gerald Batt-Rawden’s treble for the visitor’s Letcombe B proved to be the match winner, beating the efforts of Duncan Vale (2) for the struggling host’s. Letcombe C still remain winless this term despite climbing one place to seventh, however Letcombe B can purr vigorously as they look down upon their rivals in fifth. Drayton F hammered Moreton E 9-1 on home soil to join the promotion contenders in Division Four. Peter Weir and Janet Quarry produced exquisite performances to earn maximums for the host’s, with Allan Lovelock also getting on the act with a well-taken brace. The win sees Drayton take third-spot, just three points behind league leaders Letcombe D, although Moreton E stay sixth following their third defeat in their opening four fixtures. The only other game in the fourth-tier watched RAL E sweep past Upton B with ease after sealing an 8-2 away victory. Eric Thomas’ (3) brilliant display was soon added with doubles from Matt Chambers and Kevin Knowles to give RAL an unassailable lead, helping the visitor’s move into the runners-up spot. Marcham remain top of the league in Division Five after recording two victories in the space of a week. Firstly the frontrunners edged past Drayton G 6-4 despite Lewis Waddup’s brave maximum for the losing side, with Harry O’Higgins and Robin Butt’s braces deemed enough to snatch victory from the fifth-placed side. Marcham’s O’Higgins then hit top gear with a wonderful treble to down Hanney 7-3 and hand the league leaders a pleasant six-point lead at the summit. Namesake teammate Robert O’Higgins also scored highly for the away side (2) to seal a fourth win in five for Marcham, leaving second-placed Hanney out of steam. And lastly Moreton F and Grove B both clawed their way to their respective second victories of the season with 6-4 wins over Abingdon E and Drayton H. Ben Parfitt was the man of the match at Moreton after his treble single-handedly knocked back the best of efforts from Abingdon’s Phil Neatherway and Pedro Goncalo (2). Whilst the combined effort of doubling trio Tony Brown, Kameron Osborne and Aidan Stock avoided a third defeat for Grove after Drayton H’s Scott Muil’s bagged an incredible maximum for the league strugglers. Triumphs for both Grove B and Moreton F help them acquire third and fourth-spot, on the other hand, Drayton H drop two places to sixth, with Abingdon E still plummeted to the basement. Results: Div 1: RAL B 6 (A Markvardsen 3), Drayton A 4; Abingdon A 7, Moreton B 3; Moreton A 3, Marlborough A 7 (G Donovan 3, J Lovelock 3). Div 2: Marlborough D 4, Abingdon B 6 (O Brazell 3); Drayton D 5 (K Warrender 3), RAL D 5; RAL C 3, Drayton C 7 (A Krason 3). Div 3: Grove A 6 (S Osborne 3), Drayton E 4; Abingdon C 2, Moreton D 8 (H Patel 3, D Artene 3); Marlborough E 3, Drayton E 7 (A Cuddon 3, M Wicks 3); Letcombe C 4, Letcombe B 6 (G Batt-Rawden 3). Div 4: Drayton F 9 (P Weir 3, J Quarry 3), Moreton E 1; Upton B 2, RAL E 8 (E Thomas 3). Div 5: Moreton F 6 (B Parfitt 3), Abingdon E 4; Hanney 3, Marcham 7 (H O`Higgins 3); Drayton H 4 (S Muil 3), Grove B 6; Drayton G 4 (L Waddup 3), Marcham 6. by Dan Church
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 10:13:49 +0000
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