IN the Burnham and District Table Tennis League, Mapledene A emerged as a formidable contender with decisive performances against league leaders Cold Norton B .
Mapledene's Liam Squirrell's unbeaten streak of wins held Fambridge to a draw, thwarting their chances of stealing Cold Norton B's Division 1 title.
Cold Norton B secured a solid 7-3 victory over their A team.
Sam Lowman completed a hat-trick during his five-set battle against Duncan Taylor.
However, the joy for Cold Norton B was tempered when the Fambridge side faced off against Mapledene A, with Liam Squirrell, the league's top performer, stealing the spotlight.
Squirrell's remarkable play included a nine dart hat-trick that thwarted Fambridge’s hopes of securing a much-needed victory.
Mapledene then faced Cold Norton B, with George Reeves paving the way by overcoming Eric Green in the opening match.
Squirrell continued his dominance, avenging his earlier defeat with a convincing four-set victory over Lowman, contributing to another hat-trick.
Kieran Skeggs also achieved two straight-set wins against Green and Lowman, with his only setback occurring against Ian Wall.
With these results, the gap to the top narrowed, positioning Fambridge to capitalise on their game in hand against the leaders in early March.
Elsewhere, Mapledene B defeated Cold Norton C in a tightly contested 6-4 match.
Kieran Skeggs and Colin Chatfield were instrumental, combining for all the points, with Chatfield only slipping once to Arron Chandler.
The internal rivalries continued as Mapledene’s A-side faced off against their B-side, where Squirrell again demonstrated his capabilities, bagging another three straight-set victories and leading his team to a 6-4 victory.
Meanwhile, Woodham B managed to squeeze out a 6-4 win in a tightly-fought encounter.
Peter Harverson was the standout performer, marking his first top-flight hat trick, including a thrilling five-set clash against Richard Storey.
As the season progressed, Blackwater A continued to assert their dominance in Division 2, delivering a commanding 9-1 victory against their own B side.
Denis Balic and Neil Freeman each netted hat-tricks, keeping their team well in the hunt for the title.
Cold Norton D faced a challenging match against leaders Maldon A, suffering an 8-2 defeat despite Neil Want's commendable attempts to preserve honour with two points.
Elsewhere, Stow Maries B posted an impressive 8-2 victory over Maldon B, with Nicky Reece-Ford and Adi Kamma both contributing hat-tricks.
In Division 3, Blackwater C recorded a flawless 10-0 triumph, marking their sixth whitewash of the season against Blackwater F.
The trio of Gary Smith, Peter Davenport, and Colin Barham excelled in singles play.
Blackwater D also enjoying a successful week with an 8-2 win over Blackwater E, seeing Roger Tiffin emerge as the standout player.
Tiffin won all of his singles with teammates Dave Benstead and Jacqui Treacy each winning two singles.
In their second encounter the D side won 7-2 against Woodham D, with Woodham's Simon Thomas emerging as the star player with a hat-trick despite the overall loss.
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Maldon D secured a 10-o win over St Lawrence followed by a 9-1 victory over Maldon E.
Joan Leavett was the only Maldon E player to secure a point against stalwart Shirley Carroll, who took a hat-trick in the St Lawrence fixture, as did James Raymond and Tim Huxtable.
Raymond also achieved a hat-trick in the Maldon E match, alongside young Luca Riedling.
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