Newton Abbot Buzzards one win away from table tennis title glory

There were wins for the top three teams in the first division in the Torbay and South Devon Table Tennis League and with just two matches left to play the NA Buzzards require just one more win to collect their third successive title.

Maximums from Kevin Nicholls and Herbie Sage helped the Buzzards to a 9-1 victory over clubmates NA Eagles. Brixham Sharks, in the runners-up spot, defeated Halwell 6-4, Aarish Marharjan with another maximum for the Sharks.

NA Owls, in third place, closed to within a point of the Sharks with a 9-1 victory over NA Ravens, Jim McIvor and Mark Morley were undefeated for the Owls.

Brixham Trawlers are second division champions, their 5-5 draw with Torre Vikings gives them an unassailable lead with just the one match to go. Chris Garner secured a fine maximum for the Vikings who take over in second place.

Teignmouth Aces, who were in the runners-up spot, were well beaten 7-3 by struggling Torbay Academy 2 who still sit at the bottom of the table, Nev Cregan was undefeated for the Academy side.

It’s very tight at the top of the third division with just two points separating the top three. Last week’s leaders NA Kestrels were defeated by clubmates NA Kites 6-4 thanks to a fine maximum from the Kites’ Nick Kitchen.

That made way for the NA Harriers to reclaim the top spot following their 6-4 victory over Brixham Gulls, Albie Andrews with another man of the match performance for the Harriers. Torre Spartans and Torbay Academy 5 in third and fourth place battled out a 5-5 draw and are both still in contention for the title.

Jamie McGuire, with a maximum for the Academy side, also inflicted a first defeat of the season on the Spartans’ Rob Austin.

Grove Tigers require just one more victory to secure the fourth division title. They sat out this week, so Teignmouth Delinquents were able to close the gap at the top to fifteen points with a 7-3 victory over NA Ospreys, Andy Clitheroe with another fine maximum for the Teignmouth outfit.

The clash of the bottom two saw Brixham Seals’, Elliott Stobie, Henry Carter and Wayne Gilbert whitewash NA Vultures 10-0. Maximums from both Derek Stratton and Doug Morgan were enough to see NA Merlins to a narrow 6-4 victory over Torbay Academy 7.

There was one handicap singles cup match which saw an unfamiliar NA Falcons team defeat Taverners and progress to the semi-final. The Falcons’ Mike Dummett was well supported by Leo McTear and Huw Darch who turned around a four-point deficit at the halfway stage to a 20-12 win.