Last of the table-top battles
The last match of the Star Paving Services North Norfolk Table Tennis League was the Handicap Singles Cup final, at Trunch Village Hall.As with the previous week's Handicap Doubles Cup final, Delta took on Goblins with one change to both line-ups.
The last match of the Star Paving Services North Norfolk Table Tennis League was the Handicap Singles Cup final, at Trunch Village Hall.
As with the previous week's Handicap Doubles Cup final, Delta took on Goblins with one change to both line-ups. Chris Pooley joined Goblins' Jonathan and Simeon Care and Edna Stone teamed up with Delta's Tom Baldock-Yaxley and Jack Morton.
Delta were looking for a handicap double after winning the Doubles Cup final 5-2 and in the opener Morton took on Pooley.
The handicaps were even and Pooley's backhand was on form, but Morton edged a tight first set 21-18.
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The Goblins took a 7-1 lead in the second, but the Delta levelled at 8-8 before taking the set 21-13.
Next, the handicaps gave Simeon Care a six-point start, but Stone levelled at 9-9 in the first and 11-11 in the second as she edged a tight contest 21-18, 21-18.
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A lucky net gave Stone the final point in the first set and Delta moved 2-0 ahead.
The third battle saw Baldock-Yaxley face a player he had struggled against all season, Jonathan Care.
However the handicaps gave him a six-point start. Care won a lot of early cheap points on serve but once Baldock-Yaxley got the ball in play, after some entertaining rallies, - he won 21-13, 21-15.
The battle between Morton and Simeon Care was another where the handicaps were even and Care took the first set for Goblins, coming from 4-10.
However, Morton won in three to put Delta one win from the cup.
Pooley's flashes of brilliance can make him a dangerous player, especially with a nine-point head-start, as the handicaps gave him against Baldock-Yaxley.
He led the first set 16-6, but Baldock-Yaxley rattled off 12 points in a row, levelled earlier at 12-12 in the second, and won both sets 21-18.
Delta's 5-0 win wasn't quite the foregone conclusion that the score suggests, as Goblins certainly had a few chances, but a couple of good wins early on gave the North Walsham team all the momentum they needed to complete their Handicap Cup double.
Handicap Singles Cup: Goblins 0, Delta 5. Morton (+0) bt Pooley 21-18, 21-13, Stone bt S Care (+6) 21-18, 21-18, Baldock-Yaxley (+6) bt J Care 21-13, 21-15, Morton (+0) bt S Care 18-21, 21-15, 21-13, T Baldock-Yaxley bt Pooley (+9) 21-18, 21-18.
