Match of the week ...

Match of the week was between Wanderers 'A' and Eldon Grove which ended in a 5-5 draw. Michael Bee again starred for Eldon Grove with three wins and on this occasion he was supported by Glenn Wright with a win over Gerry Clarke. Bob Bellas and Malcolm Hewling provided two wins each for Wanderers but the Eldon pairing of Kev Wates and Wright won a close doubles encounter 8-11, 17-15, 11-8, 12-10 to help their team to a share of the spoils. A key derby match in the race for the title was between Hartlepool 'A' and Hartlepool 'C', but with the 'C' team missing the unbeaten Anthony Jackson, they found the going difficult although young Keiron Roberton did well to take ends off Nicky Gallagher and his father, Keith (look out!). Ben Goodchild pushed Andrew Lund close (11-8 in deciding game), and enjoyed a win over Gallagher who also lost to Keith Thomas (11-9 in fifth) but the overall strength of the 'A' team prevailed led by the unbeaten Keith Robertson to register an 8-2 victory. Westbourne continued their relentless charge for the title with another 10-0 win, this time over Hartlepool 'D' with only Kevin Peek and Lewis Twidale able to extend the home team whose trio of Andy Greason, John Bushnall and Dave Hutchinson were unbeaten. Hartlepool 'B' inflicted a similar defeat on Wanderers 'B' through their unbeaten trio of Alan Price, Alan Hind, and John Harper, with Price and Harper winning the doubles to cap a 10-0 victory.

The Hartlepool National Junior League team were in action at the weekend and enjoyed wins over Ormesby 'C' (9-0) and Sunderland (8-1) but lost to Ormesby 'B' (6-3). Anthony Jackson led the way with 6 out of 7 wins, supported by Ben Goodchild (5 out of 7) and Keiron Robertson (3 out of 7). Keiron produced the performance of the day with a 17-15 fifth end win against the Sunderland number one player.

Defending champions Westbourne ...

Defending champions Westbourne did their hopes of retaining their title no harm with two resounding 10-0 wins this week. At home they faced understrength Eldon Grove and although Kevin Wates put up strong resistance taking games off Andy Greason and Roy Horseman, and his teammates Glen Wright and Tom Rayner extended John Bushnall and Roy Horseman to four ends, the experienced Westbourne trio were not to be denied their emphatic victory. In their second game away to Wanderers 'B' Martin Boyce and Dave Hutchinson replaced Bushnall and Greason but the result was the same. Only Graeme Wilson (v Boyce) and Graham Cully (v Roy Horseman) managed to extend the visitors beyond three ends. Title hopefuls from Hartlepool Table Tennis Club also enjoyed a fruitful week. First up Hartlepool 'A' enjoyed a 9-1 win over Wanderers 'A' with Malcolm Hewling scoring the point for Wanderers with a 3-0 win over Sarah Thorpe. Keith Robertson and Andrew Lund were unbeaten for Hartlepool although all three Wanderers players extended Lund to four ends. Hartlepool 'B' had a good win over Eldon Grove strengthened by the return of Michael Bee who took two games for the Grove against Josh Daniels and John Harper. Alan Hind starred for Hartlepool with three wins, although Kevin Wates pushed him to four ends. Club bragging rights were at stake in the match between Hartlepool 'C' and Hartlepool 'D' and Lewis Twidale led from the front for the 'D' team with excellent wins over Keith Thomas (3-0) and Ben Goodchild (3-1) but Anthon Jackson steadied the ship for the 'C' team with three wins, although not without alarms against Mick Kipling (3-2) and Lewis (3-1). Thomas and Goodchild recovered to pick up the remaining points to include a 3-0 doubles win. League table to date is:- Hartlepool 'C' P6 – 41, Westbourne P4 – 35, Hartlepool 'A' P3 – 28, Eldon Grove P5 – 19, Wanderers 'A' P5 – 19, Hartlepool 'D' P5 – 14, Hartlepool 'B' P3 – 13, Wanderers 'B' P4 – 11.

Match of the week ...

Match of the week was the much anticipated clash between Hartlepool 'A' and Arbory, Isle of Man, in the British League Division 4 North with both teams strongly positioned to win the title. Unfortunately, but good news for Hartlepool, John Hilton (ex European Champion), Arbory's leading player was unable to turn out due to injury. However they still fielded a strong team with highly rated players Mark Ramsbottom and Phil Biggs at no 1 and 2. This was underlined with Biggs taking the first end against Hartlepool star Ahmed Heykal 11-5 but Ahmed came back to win this close encounter 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6. The strength of Arbory was underlined in the next game where Darren McVitie succumbed to the consistency of Ramsbottom losing in three ends. Dave Robson steadied the ship for Hartlepool with a straight set win over Liam Chan but Arbory came back with Phil Bowe getting the better of Chris Blake. With the match in the balance at 2-2 Hartlepool finally clicked into gear and won the remaining four games to register a great 6-2 win. The other encounter with Bonsall Barbarians produced an easy 7-1 win, the only reverse coming when Steve Porter got the better of Chris Blake (13-11, 11-8, 15-13). On the local scene Hartlepool where in action against Ormesby 'C' in the Cleveland Premier League and ran out 9-1 winners with Ahmed Heykal and Darren McVitie unbeaten supported by Anthony Barella with two wins and an assist in the doubles. This result keeps Hartlepool In contention for the title at the end of this inaugural season.

The Hartlepool League provided a close encounter between Hartlepool 'C' and Wanderers 'A' with Hartlepool coming through to win 6-4 thanks to a hat trick from Anthony Jackson supported by Keith Thomas with two wins and an assist in the doubles. Malcolm Hewling was best for Wanderers with two wins, with a five end win against Thomas (12-10 in the deciding game) and a narrow defeat against Jackson (8-11 in the deciding game). Gerry Clark and Bob Bellas added to Wanderers score with wins over Kieran Robertson. Wanderers 'B' visited Hartlepool 'D' and suffered a 7-3 defeat Lewis Twidale and Mick Kipling were unbeaten for Hartlepool but Kevin Peek was the unluckiest of on the night losing all his three singles games in five ends, Graeme Wilson, Graham Cully and John Dinning each enjoying narrow wins for Wanderers.

The week produced some close and thrilling encounters ...

The week produced some close and thrilling encounters in the Hartlepool League with performance of the week coming from the evergreen Gerry Clark with three hard fought wins for Wanderers 'A' over Hartlepool 'B'. Gerry was well supported by Malcolm Hewling with two single wins and an assist in the doubles. Alan Hind was best for Hartlepool with wins over Hewling and Bob Bellas who was also on the losing end against Josh Daniels (9-11 in the fifth) and John Harper. Final result Wanderers 6 Hartlepool 'B' 4. Another unbeaten player was Michael Bee who led his side (Eldon Grove) to an 8-2 win over Hartlepool 'D'. Mick Kipling fought hard for the losers with wins over Tom Rayner and Kevin Wates but despite seven of the games going to four ends or more, the Hartlepool team could not add to their tally. Finally, Wanderers 'B' made life difficult for Hartlepool 'C' before losing 6-4. The game saw the league debut of 13 year old Keiran Robertson for Hartlepool and although he failed to win he took the experienced Graham Culley to four ends and John Dinning to a fifth end decider. Keith Thomas was imperious for Hartlepool winning all his games in straight sets and was supported by Ben Goodchild with two wins and an assist in the doubles.

On the national front Hartlepool have two teams playing in the British League this weekend in Division 4 (north) and 5 (north) respectively. The anticipated highlight in the Division 4 team match against Arbory, the Isle of Man whose team is led by former European Men's singles champion John Hilton and who are Hartlepool's closest challengers for the title.