North Ayrshire continue their remarkable run

Divisions 1-3 of the Scottish National League came to a stirring conclusion on Saturday 8th, at the Royal High School, Edinburgh.

 

Things in perspective

Richard Yule began the day by outlining the reasons behind the late switch of venues. The tragic death of a player at Bathgate Academy on Wednesday evening had had a major impact on everyone including staff, necessitating the switch. Yule asked for understanding in these trying circumstances.

Moving Division 1-3 to matches to the Royal High School had been the “route of least problems”, with fewer travel bookings interfered with. The location and date of the remaining Division 4-6 matches will be announced in due course. Yule admitted that the RHS venue was not without fault in terms of lighting and court size: “we know it’s not ideal…this is not where we want to be”. Further, the SNL was still suffering from the loss of Bell’s in Perth, where all divisions could be played simultaneously with generous court sizes. Yule related that TTS was part of “a robust campaign” to see Bell’s revived as an indoor sports venue.

For Yule, it all gave those involved in table tennis in Scotland a moment to reflect on why we play the game. While winning and competition were part of it, Yule asked for players to “get things into perspective…enjoy the gift of life”. He encouraged players to “play well, play fair and enjoy the day, please”.

In the main, players did keep their grumbles to a minimum. The relatively small venue actually added to the intensity of the event, with players and supporters crowded round the courts keen to see how the league determining matches would go. The increasing temperature during the day added to the sense of things coming to the boil.

 

“We didn’t expect to beat Mendes”

Many eyes were drawn to the second match on table 1 where, after both teams had secured straightforward victories in their morning matches, the destination of the Division 1 trophy would be decided. Not that these morning matches were not worthy of comment. The highlight being Colin Dalgleish’s 5-set win in a finely balanced match against Danny Bajwa. Bajwa also took the first set against Jose Mendes, J. K. Carnbo’s top gun.

JK Carnbo A began the final match a fraction ahead, so only required a draw to take the title. Saying ‘just’ a draw rather underestimates the task, given North Ayrshire’s remarkable record in the competition and the clear desire they had to continue this. Most importantly, Division 1 got the exciting conclusion it deserved with a match of real high quality. With no criticism of the action on the other tables, the JK Carnbo vs North Ayrshire A match was on a higher level altogether.

The match saw the momentum fluctuate. Krzysztof Opila and Billy Main both had folded arms throughout, hardly giving a hint of who was on top. Even when 1-2 down, JK Carnbo still seemed to be well in it with their top two players still with a match left each. In the end Jordan Wykes’ superb 3-1 win over Jose Mendes in match five proved absolutely critical. This subdued the JK Carnbo bench, as their title hopes started to dissipate. A beaming club President Billy Main admitted that they “didn’t expect to beat Mendes”. Mendes certainly cruised through the season, seemingly with several more gears to go through. He was, however, well tested by Martin Johnson in a fine match; Mendes losing the first set before gradually taking control and winning 3-1.

Main outlined that their strategy had been to target the two matches against Colin Dalgleish as their possible route to victory. Wykes had been on their reserve list and his arrival, necessitated by Chris Main’s absence, was perfectly timed. The victory was confirmed by Viktor Gorman (a very strong No. 3!), with a win over Colin Dalgleish. Dalgleish briefly kept the match alive in an epic 3rd set, before succumbing 13-15. There was then a somewhat resigned feel to Krzysztof Borkowicz’s 0-3 loss to Martin Johnson, who finished off matters clinically. The comprehensive nature of the final 5-1 victory took most by surprise, including Main: “we thought it was going to be tough to get a win to be honest”.

Though clearly disappointed, JK Carnbo A contributed a lot to this season and Krzysztof Opila’s side will surely again be strong contenders next season. It will be interesting to see what line-up the two top sides have next season. Murrayfield A narrowly pipped Dumfries A for 3rd spot, though both were never real title contenders, lacking the required strength in depth.

 

Stars of yesteryear

There was much to play for in the final matches with several promotion and relation issues settled late on, often by very narrow margins.

Joining Division 1 next season will be Grange A and Blixen Travel Edinburgh International A. It was good to see Stewart Crawford back in SNL action, and his four wins helped his team stay one point ahead of Edinburgh International to win Division 2. Edinburgh International have made very creditable steady progress through the leagues in recent seasons. This year they were boosted by new recruit Colin Green, who had another strong showing on the final day. Will these sides feel they need to strengthen prior to next season?

As with Grange and Stewart Crawford, Forth Tay A’s victory in Division 3 was assisted by another top player of yesteryear – Sarah Kenhard. Along with Tales Yamamoto and Yiming Tang, she formed a very consistent team who will surely do well in Division 2 next season. They will be joined by South Ayrshire A, for whom two good 5-set battling wins by Kris Taylor helped his side secure a crucial 4-2 victory over Murrayfield D.

 

Thanks

Thanks to all who participated and helped create a successful event in difficult circumstances, including those who stayed on to help ferry tables out. Particular thanks go to those who were part of the top table effort; Stuart Wallis, Senga Thomson (Referee), Cameron Hussain, Graham Muir (who imputed most of the results), and Richard Yule. Above all, thanks should go to Lindsay Muir as the main organising figure in the SNL.

At one point on Saturday, one of the lights went off, plunging tables 1-3 into some gloom. Quick as a flash, Lindsay hurtled across the room, agilely passing through courts. Within a few seconds, the light flickered back on. Only Lindsay knew where the ‘guilty’ switch was. Without his knowledge of the building (Lindsay is an ex-RHS pupil), we’d have been struggling to get the matches completed! Thanks again Lindsay.

Charlie Ellis