Division 1
At the two thirds point of the season Forest Green A still look good at the top with a 2-points lead and a game in hand over second placed Woodchester B, although with possible injury worries for the FG trio of Dave Harvey, Dave Adamson and Alan Giles the destination of the title is by no means clear. Defending champions Woodchester A hold third place and cannot be ruled out of the running. Thornbury A are in fourth spot ahead of Yate and Frampton in fifth and sixth positions in the mid table tussle. Cirencester in seventh and Thornbury B eighth seem set for the bottom two places save for a remarkable improvement in results in the final third of the season.
Week 18: Div 1: League leaders Forest Green A suffered their first defeat of the season at second place Woodchester B. FG's Dave Harvey was struggling with injury and managed to beat Woodchesters Chris Ball and Tony Clarkson however he was unable to play play his three and was forced to concede a walk-over to Bill Dawe to the disappointment of all present who were all anticipating the leagues top two players going toe to toe. The match finished 6-4 to Woodchester B. Yate managed a 6-4 victory against Thornbury A, Yate's Will Berkley scored a fine maximum and was superbly backed up by Brenda Baldwin who won 2 on the night including a notable victory over Thornbury's Len Vowles. Frampton A completed the weeks results with an 8-2 win over Cirencester. Bob Murray with a maximum, and two each from Steve Porter and Paul Carter secured the victory for Frampton. Paul Bird scored the two points for Cirencester.
Week 17: Forest Green A retain top spot with a 7-3 victory over third placed Woodchester A. Woodchester brought in their big gun, Martin Gunn for the match who had excellent wins against FG's Dave Adamson and Alan Giles but despite his undoubted quality he was unable to get the better of FG's Dave Harvey who remains unbeaten and rightfully tops the league averages. Woodchester B move ahead of their A side and into second place in the table thanks to a 10-0 whiteswash over Thornbury B. Bill Dawe, Tony Clarkson and Chris Ball scoring the points for Woodchester.
Week 16: The battle of Woodchester pt 2 saw a reversal to the first match and a convincing 7-3 victory for the B team. Bill Dawe was in usual top form and was unbeaten winning his three matches in straight sets, Mike Kiff was also on superb form beating both Dave Lloyd and Keith Armstrong. Tony Clarkson added a set to round off an excellent result for Woodchester B. Forest Green A remain favourites for the title with an 8-2 win against Frampton A. Dave Adamson and Alan Giles again led the charge with maximums, Bob Murray and Steve Porter scored the points for Frampton. Yate scored well with an 8-2 victory over Thornbury B, Yate's Andy Cox and Will Berkley both scored maximums in a very keenly contested match where again the Thornbury side deserved a better result.
Week 15: Defending league champions Woodchester A start 2012 in fine fashion with a 10-0 whitewash of bottom side Thornbury B who now look to be destined for a return to division 2. Thornbury substitute Len Pattison provided the only highlight for the home side with an gutsy performance against Woodchesters James Ashton who was pushed all the way but finally prevailed 11-9 in fifth set. Yate travelled to Cirencester and managed an important 6-4 victory moving them to fifth spot in the table. Yate's closest rivals Frampton A had a tough away trip to Woodchester B and were soundly beaten 7-3, Woodchester's Tony Clarkson and Bill Dawe both hitting maximums.
Week 14: Woodchester B hold third spot with a strong 7-3 victory over fourth placed Thornbury A. Woodchesters Bill Dawe was in top form with a singles and doubles maximum without losing a single set. Thornbury's Len Vowles provided the main resistance but was pushed into 5-set victories by Dennis Wadley and Tony Clarkson winning both 11-9 in the final set. Woodchester A remain in second spot but were held to a 5-5 draw by Frampton A. Woodchesters Dave Lloyd was again on unbeatable form for his fifth maximum of the season and fifth spot in the individual averages. Frampton's Bob Murray and Simon Ward each won 2-sets and Steve Porter 1-set for a fine draw.
Week 13: 2-man Yate visited top of the table Forest Green A and returned a commendable 5-5 draw, Yate’s Andy Cox and Will Berkley both beat Jack Collings and Suzi Robinson and won the doubles but could not stop FG’s Dave Adamson from netting and edging his way to victory in both of his singles. Woodchester A had a tough battle with Thornbury A for a 6-4 victory, Woodchesters Dave Lloyd was best on the night with a fine maximum. Julian Elsbury was top performer for Thornbury including a notable singles win over James Ashton. Frampton A scored valuable points with an 8-2 victory against Thornbury B, Steve Porter and Simon Ward were both unbeaten for Frampton, however credit should be given to Thornbury’s young gun Mark Attwood who beat Paul Carter for his first ever win in the top division.
Week 12: Yate hosted Woodchester B and were soundly beaten 7-3, Bill Dawe was slighty off his usual top form and was subsequently pushed all the way to an 11-9 fifth set victory over Yate's Andy Cox who could 'see the headlines' and may never get a better chance for such a notable victory. Thornbury A move into third spot with a 6-4 win over Frampton A. Len Vowles lead the Thornbury charge and was unbeaten but was pushed to a 5-setter by Frampton's Paul Carter. Julian Elsbury won 2 singles but was soundly beaten by Frampton's Bob Murray who also won 2 on the night.
Week 11: Woodchester A retain second spot with a 7-3 victory over Yate. Woodchesters Dave Lloyd was best on the night with a hard fought maximum, Yate's Andy Cox won 2 including a second win of the season against James Ashton. Woodchester B hosted Cirencester and had a comfortable 9-1 victory, Cirencester again had to field a 2-man team, Charlie Jefferies prevented the whitewash with a singles win against Dennis Wadley. The battle of Thornbury (pt2) went the same way as the first with a 10-0 trashing by the A side. Mark Attwood provided the only minor highlight for the B-side by taking their only singles game of the night against Julian Elsbury.
Week 10: Leaders Forest Green A show little sign of slowing up with another big 9-1 win at Thornbury B, Suzi Robinson and Alan Giles were both unbeaten for FG whilst Jason Prescott scored the single point for Thornbury beating FG's Jack Collings coming back from 2-sets down. Yate overturned their first meeting loss to Frampon A with a 6-4 victory in the return fixture, Will Berkley lead the fight for Yate with a fine maximum including a dogged fightback against Framptons Bob Murray to win in the 5th set. Woodchester A remain in second place with a 7-3 win over seventh placed Cirencester despite a maximum from Cirencesters no.1 Graham Slack.
The season is now at the end of the first rotation where all teams have played each other once, so we get our first clear view of the table. Forest Green A are making the early running with 59 points and an impressive 8.43 set average which gives them a healthy 10-point lead over defending champions Woodchester A (49). Thornbury A and Woodchester B are tied for third spot on 44 points. Yate (31) and Frampton A (29) are both confortable in mid-table whilst the bottom two, Cirencester (19) and Thornbury B (5) will no doubt be looking to improve on the remaining two thirds of the season.
Week 9: Table toppers Forest Green A hosted Woodchester B and won a high class 6-4 match. The match saw the top two SDTTL players go head to head for the first time in recent seasons as FG’s Dave Harvey and Woodchester’s Bill Dawe battled it out with Dave taking the all important bragging rights and so maintains his unbeaten record. Bill was then pushed all the way by FG’s Alan Giles who led 10-8 in the 5th set only for Bill to take then next 4 points for a 3-2 win. Yate and Thornbury A played out a 5-5 draw in a very even handed match-up both on the table and off with the banter where no player could manage to remain unbeaten by either on the night. Cirencester and Frampton A also drew 5-5 as Cirencester’s new star signing Graham Slack made his first appearance of the season and was duly beaten by Frampton’s Bob Murray who returns to top form after a few below par weeks.
Week 8: The match of the week saw defending league champions Woodchester A host table toppers Forest Green A. Forest Green no.1 Dave Harvey was the star attraction dropping just a single game on the evening, whilst Woodchesters Dave Lloyd and James Ashton both game notable performances winning 2-sets each both getting the better of Alan Giles and Jack Collings, to draw the match 5-5.  Third placed Woodchester B kept up the pressure on the top 2 with a convincing 9-1 victory against bottom placed Thornbury B, Thornbury’s Kim Morris single point against Woodchesters Dennis Wadley enough to prevent the whitewash. Fourth placed Thornbury A also had a big win with a 9-1 victory over Cirencester, Len Vowles and Nick Collins were both unbeaten in the singles, whilst Paul Bird managed a 5-set victory over Ian Maggs for the single Cirencester point.
Week 7: The battle of Woodchester (pt1) produced an excellent match and a narrow   6-4 victory for the A-side. Woodchester B’s Bill Dawe was again top dog at Woodchester however he was made to work for it by Dave Lloyd who battled back from 2-sets down to force a decider only to lose 11-9 in the 5th, and by new signing Martin Gunn who took the first set 12-10, only for Bill to win the next 3 in 9, 8 and 9, all setting up the next Woodchester battle nicely !!  Forest Green A managed another 10-0 whitewash this time against Frampton A who slip to 6th in the table. Forest Green have now only dropped 2-points in their first 4 matches and can boast a mighty set average of 9.5 !! Yate followed last weeks first season win with another strong performance and a 10-0 win at Thornbury B that in all fairness did not reflect the competition on the night. Thornbury’s Gavin Rogers in particular played some excellent table tennis and was extremely unlucky to finish the night without reward.
Week 6: Yate enjoyed a much needed first win of the season with a 9-1 victory over Cirencester, Charlie ‘edges’ Jefferies again provided the single point for Cirencester by beating Andy Cox !! Woodchester A won 9-1 at bottom of the table Thornbury B,  Gavin Rogers avoided the white wash with a fine points against Woodchesters Keith Armstrong. Forest Green A look destined for the top spot as they scored a fine 9-1 victory over fellow title challengers Thornbury A in the match of the week. Forest Green’s Alan Giles and Dave Harvey remain unbeaten in the individual averages, whilst Dave Adamson lost his first set at the hands of Thornbury no.1 Len Vowles. Woodchester B keep up the pace and 3rd place in the title race with an 8-2 victory at Frampton A.
Week 5: Woodchester A beat Frampton 8-2 which saw Frampton’s Bob Murray on unusual off form and without a win on the night. Dave Lloyd and James Ashton for Woodchester led the way with maximums apiece.  Cirencester scored their first win of the season at Thornbury B who remain bottom of the table despite picking up their first points of the season after 2 consecutive whitewashes. Thornbury A continue their good start with a fine 6-4 victory at Woodchester B, however Thornbury’s Len Vowles, Nick Collins and Julian Elsbury were still no match for Woodchester’s Bill Dawe who remains unbeaten so far !
Week 4: Match of the week was Thornbury A v Woodchester A which resulted in a fine 5-5 draw. Sets were shared out as Woodchester's Dave Lloyd beat Thornbury's no.1 Len Vowles 12-10 at the end of a 5-set triller and James Ashton, but was then himself beaten by Julian Elsbury, who was in turn beaten in straight sets by James Ashton. Yate we soundy thrashed 10-0 by the Super-Veterans of Forest Green A. Dave Adamson, Alan Giles and Dave Harvey with an amazing combined age of 195 years, and in doing so proving that in table tennis 'youth is no substitute for quality' !! Frampton A also managed a 10-0 whitewash at bottom of the table Thornbury B who are yet to find some of the form that brought them the Div 2 title and promotion last season.
Week 3: Woodchester B had a comfortable 7-3 win against Yate. Bill Dawe was in usual top form and was unbeaten on the night. New Woodchester new signing Chris Ball playing in his first Div 1 match played solid table tennis and beat Yate’s Andy Cox. Will Berkley with 2 and Keith Sheppard with 1 scored the points for Yate. Forest Green A played their first match of the season with a comprehensive 9-1 victory over Cirencester. Charlie Jefferies prevented the whitewash with a notable and lengthy 3-setter 16-14, 18-16, 19-17 against FG’s Jack Collings.
Week 2: Div 1: Woodchester A had a convincing 8-2 victory againts Yate, Woodchester’s Dave Lloyd was unbeaten in singles. Andy Cox scored the 2 singles points for Yate including a very rare win against James Ashton. Woodcester B opened their account with another 8-2 win at 2-man Cirencester, Charlie Jefferies again with the only singles win for Cirencester beating Dennis Wadley 13-11 at the end of a 5-set ding-dong battle. Thornbury A also returned their first result of the season and so confirm their title ambitions with a 10-0 whitewash against their club mates Thornbury B. Nick Collins, Len Vowles and Julian Elsbury taking the bragging rights at Thornbury.
Week 1: The new SDTTL season has kicked off early this year and with several new signings and some big money transfers the quality of the top division continues to increase promising a highly competitive season with many teams having title hopes. Last year’s defending League champions Woodchester A made a steady start with an 8-2 win over Cirencester, Charlie Jefferies providing the singles point for Cirencester with a notable win against Woodchesters Keith Armstrong. Frampton B matched this with an 8-2 win at home to Yate who also only managed to field a 2-man team, Bob Murray was unbeaten and best on the night including a 5-set ‘grind-out’ against Yate’s Andy Cox who saw a 2-game lead slip away.
Prepared by Andy Cox
05/02/2012