Press report 1
Premier Division
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Burnley Boys Cl 4 4 0 0 117
2. East Lancs 3 3 0 0 89
3. Ward & Stobbart 4 3 0 1 77
4. Hyndburn TTC A 3 2 0 1 64
5. Rovers 4 2 0 2 64
6. Ramsbottom A 4 2 0 2 46
7. KSB A 3 1 0 2 43
8. Hyndburners 4 0 0 4 37
9. Brierfield 3 0 0 3 30
10. Ramsbottom B 2 0 0 2 27
In the Premier division Burnley Boys Club who have added an ‘old boy’ in super veteran Dave Kay to their squad this year have shown their intent with 4/4 wins and may hope to take the opportunity to win their first title this season as last years winners Hyndburn A nurture young blood into their squad. The teenagers Charlie McGrath & Ben Farrar have taken a big leap from Division 2 to play for the Hyndburn side and not done too badly so far either, but even with the experienced campaigners of Mick Moir & Graham Young playing alongside it would be a big ask for them to gain the honours of champions this season. It is great though what coach Mick Moir is doing bringing on the league’s young talent. The only other unbeaten side East Lancs with 3/3 may also have their own aspirations after a good start. Early strugglers with no wins so far are Hyndburners, Brierfield and Ramsbottom B.
Division One
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Whalley Eagles 4 3 0 1 92
2. Old Masters 3 3 0 0 74
3. Mavericks 3 2 0 1 68
4. Clitheroe LM B 3 2 0 1 62
5. Whalley Hawks 3 0 0 3 53
6. KSB C 4 0 0 4 45
7. Ramsbottom C 2 1 1 0 45
8. The Lions 2 1 1 0 43
9. KSB B 2 1 0 1 43
10. HSC 2 0 0 2 34
11. Hyndburn TTC B 2 1 0 1 32
Whalley Eagles are top of Division 1 and have already equalled as many wins as they got all season last year, and will be optimistic of avoiding the struggle at the bottom end this time round with 3 wins and just 1 loss to date. Unbeaten though with 3/3 and looking to challenge again after just missing promotion last year are the ever experienced ‘Old Masters’. The Lions demoted from the Premier will hope to boomerang back up but with a win and a draw so far may have now realised they can’t take it for granted. Last years Div 2 champions KSB C (were ‘B’ last year), have found the step up a division a difficult adjustment and could struggle having already lost 4/4. Other teams also looking for their first wins are Whalley Hawks & HSC but its early days yet!
Division Two
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Rolling Doals 3 3 0 0 79
2. Hyndburn TTC C 3 3 0 0 73
3. Tackyfire 3 3 0 0 73
4. KSB D 3 1 0 2 57
5. Ramsbottom D 3 1 0 2 52
6. Hyndburn TTC E 4 1 0 3 46
7. Whalley Falcons 3 0 0 3 38
8. Adpak Aces 1 1 0 0 30
9. Slayers 2 2 0 0 27
10. Whalley Kestrals 1 0 0 1 12
Newly promoted teams to Division 2 Rolling Doals & Hyndburn C have made an impressive start with 3/3 a piece, and it should be a fiercely fought game when they play each other this coming week. But the favourites for the division title will be Tackyfire who are also unbeaten with 3/3 after playing perhaps stronger teams early on than the two teams currently above them. It’s hard to tell the form of some teams having already fallen a few fixtures behind, but Whalley Falcons having played 3 and lost 3 look as if they are going to have a long difficult campaign
Division Three
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Misfits 4 3 1 0 94
2. Doals Marauders 4 3 1 0 93
3. Hyndburn TTC D 4 2 1 1 92
4. KSB E 4 3 1 0 92
5 Whalley Phoenix 4 2 0 2 78
6. Whalley Merlins 4 1 0 3 64
7. Doals Vikings 4 1 0 3 64
8. KSB F 3 2 0 1 60
9. Doals Jetstream 4 0 0 4 45
10. Hyndburn TTC F 3 3 0 0 33
The Division 3 teams already occupying the top 4 slots are likely to be there at the end of the season even if not quite in the same order. Two crucial matches between the 4 have already taken place where the honours were shared as Misfits drew 19:19 with KSB E & Hyndburn D drew 23:23 with Doals Marauders. All the other 6 teams in division 3 have added to the league new players this year and all have competed well so far and will continue to improve. That is especially the case for the new youngsters of Hyndburn F who are already showing they have some good skills which when harnessed will begin to win games in the future.
From Neil Hepworth (East Lancs. Table Tennis League Press Officer)
Email: Hepworth_neil@hotmail.com. Mob 07873834942