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HPO S&S Club II 4- 6 Murrayfield VI |
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Written by Charlie Ellis
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Wednesday, 25 November 2009 |
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HPO S&S Club II
* Robin Copeland 1
* Steve Kirk 2
* Gary Woodhouse 0
Murrayfield VI
* Charlie Ellis 3
* Ian Robertson 1
* Jake Cullen 2
Team 6 did just enough to beat HPO II.The match had something of a retro 1950s feel, with Ian the only person on show who could be described as an 'attacking’ player-the evening featured a number of lengthy, slow rallies (HPO had Gary Woodhouse with a hardbat; Steve Kirk playing defensively; and Robin Copeland's unusual 'penhold' type strokes-played with a shakehand grip). Furthermore, despite HPO’s swish new venue, the lighting over the table was perhaps more suitable for dancing than table tennis.
The match was hardly a classic with Charlie and (particularly) Jake suffering with colds and Gary struggling with a bad back, which limited his movement. Despite leading 5-1 at one stage, a bad performance in the doubles from Charlie and Ian (losing after leading 2-0) gave HPO a chance and it wasn’t till the penultimate game that the match was won. Jake –stepping in at the last moment- made the key contribution with two hard fought wins over Robin and Gary. Charlie played solidly enough to take his three games. Ian was off form and though he beat Gary easily he failed to get to grips with Steve's good chopping game before playing a ragged final game vs Robin.
Match played November 25th at HPO.
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