The New Milton Table Tennis Club could only muster three wins out of their eight matches in the Bournemouth and District league last week, two of those victories coming at the expense of their own teams in local derbies.

Div 1 saw the second encounter between the bottom-placed D team and the third from bottom C team, not what you’d call a clash of the titans. The Dees lost 2-8 first time round, but at least they managed to take a point this time in a 4-6 defeat against a weakened C team. Gerard Redman (pictured below) scored a second hat-trick for his C team, Matt Winter bagged a brace and they combined clinically to beat Terry Jenvey and Malcolm Floyd in the doubles. Floyd returned from injury and beat Paul Iliffe playing up from Div 4, although it went all the way to five ends. Floyd took a good lead against Winter in the first end of their match but surrendered that lead and went on to lose it 0-3. Captain Jenvey also got the better of Iliffe and demonstrated just how to handle Winter’s tricky rubbers to bag his brace.

In Div 4, the table topping F team also did the double over their H team, this time by the lower margin of 6-4. Mike Roberts came up with a sixth hat-trick for his F team, the previously unbeaten Steve Cheesman bagged a brace, and they both just got the better of Paul Iliffe and John Childs in the doubles. Up until this match Cheesman was unbeaten in all competitions, but it took a club mate in the form of Paul Iliffe to deprive him of his 100% record by sneaking it 13-11 in their fifth and final set. Iliffe also beat Sylvia Smith as did John Childs and David Strike.

The club’s only non-derby win came in Div 5 as the K team avenged a first round 3-7 away defeat at the hands of Nimrod C by beating them 6-4 at home at the Grange. Milton were gifted a point as Nimrod turned up a player short leaving a team of ex-Miltonians of Chris Courage & Mike Melaniphy. Captain Stuart Burton led from the front as he won the evening’s first singles against Courage, then James Harper and John Parkhouse did likewise to add to the three game advantage.

The club’s only draw came in the headier heights of the Premier as a strengthened A team (Doug Gerrish, Brian Vibert & Russell Wilson) greatly improved on a first round 2-8 hammering by close rivals Winton YMCA A. Gerrish and Vibert bagged a brace apiece and Russell Wilson, who was called in at the last minute, added one more to the tally. Milton could actually have ended up winning it in the doubles, but it was not to be as Gerrish and Vibert lost out to the YMCA pairing of Adam Thomson and Adam Elcock over five enthralling sets.

Two other Milton players came up with hat-tricks; John Hook (B team) and Simon Golding (E team), but both ended up on losing sides.  Full results details appear below:-PREMIER
New Milton A 5 Winton YMCA A 5
(Doug Gerrish 2, Brian Vibert 2, Russell Wilson 1)

Broadstone A 6 New Milton B 4
(John Hook 3, John Millward 0, Shaun Newcomb 0)

DIVISION 1
New Milton D 4 New Milton C 6
(D Team: Terry Jenvey 2, Roy Hobbs 0, Malcolm Floyd 1)
(C Team: Matt Winter 2, Gerard Redman 3, Paul Iliffe 0)

DIVISION 2
Broadstone D 7 New Milton E 3
(Simon Golding 3, Bev Scott-Johns 0, Paul Nelson 0)

DIVISION 4
New Milton F 6 New Milton H 4
(F Team: Sylvia Smith 0, Steve Cheesman 2, Mike Roberts 3)
(H Team: David Strike 1, Paul Iliffe 2, John Childs 1)

Nimrod B 6 New Milton G 4
(Eddie Tompkins 1, Graham Underwood 2, Les Smith 0)

DIVISION 5
New Milton J 3 Elec-Trick 7
(Malcolm Douglas 1, Mike Gent 1, Geoff Biggs 0)

New Milton K 6 Nimrod C 4
(Stuart Burton 1, James Harper 1, John Parkhouse 1)