Unbeaten records were ended, tremendous table tennis was played, but crucially, Brighton won again. The defending champions are three from three after scrapping it out with Fusion in a proper ding-dong battle which ended with the visitors prevailing 5-2.

This was the sort of encounter that makes Senior British League Clubs Premier Divison as exciting as it is. Not a single set was won in straight ends and ultimately the finest of margins ensured it was Brighton who got the win, rather than Fusion.

Brighton came into this match having not dropped a set in their first two matches. That always felt unlikely to continue here and it proved to be the case, though on another day, their winning start might have been brought to an end. Fusion will be thinking about what could have been once again if they had been able to win two sets they lost in five. But if is the biggest word in sport and the fact of the matter is that Brighton did what they needed to do.

The boring version of this story would be to tell you Brighton actually went 4-0 up, but that just simply does not do justice to what went down. Young gun Larry Trumpauskas lost 3-1 to Swede David Andersson but every end was tight and decided by two points. Trumpauskas couldn’t convert an 8-4 lead in the second and it always felt like an uphill task from there, with Andersson’s backhand block repelling everything throughout.

On the other table, Shaquille Webb-Dixon was playing in the same place where he beat Chris Doran around a month earlier and when he flew to an 11-3 triumph against Shoma Nishihara, another shock appeared on the cards. However, Nishihara’s class showed as he took the next three ends to double Brighton’s lead.

Doubles would prove crucial. Crucially it went Brighton’s way in a decider. Nishihara and Andersson defeated Webb-Dixon and Trumpauskas junior in five, giving the visitors a three-nil lead in front of their impressive travelling crowd. The Fusion duo played admirably but the resolve of the Brighton duo proved to be just enough to see them home, having lost the first end.

There was no room for error after that for Fusion, but with an energetic crowd willing them, they wouldn’t down without a fight. Next up was Larry’s dad, Lorestas, against Brighton’s enraging defender, Ihor Zavadyski. The Ukrainian, for those who have never watched him before, just does not miss. His retrieval work and reach knows no bounds and unfortunately for Lorestas, he found out the hard way.

England’s top veteran constructed points very well to create openings, and his powerful backhand in particular caused problems. But Zavadyski’s variety and spin deception ultimately proved too much. With that, Brighton had the win in the bag.

But it was fitting that Fusion did get some victories on the board to reflect their efforts. In doing so, they ended the unbeaten starts of Nishihara and Andersson. With his dad playing on the other table, Larry produced a massive performance to come from two games down to beat Nishihara. Not to be outdone, Lorestas was equally impressive as he defeated Andersson, much to the delight of the home crowd.

It left Webb-Dixon and Zavadyski to bring the curtain on the contest, and it’s fair to say it was a cracker. The playing styles complimented each other brilliantly, Webb-Dixon launching humdingers and Zavadyski, whose ability to return some of the shots were unfathomable. Despite that, Webb-Dixon went two games ahead and appeared to be on his way to an impressive victory.

But Zavadyski had other ideas. Webb-Dixon appeared to tire slightly in the third but saw the match slip from his grasp in the fourth, surrendering a 10-7 lead. That hurt, and with Zavadyski having his name chanted after winning every point, rallied in the fifth to prevail and send Brighton home delighted.

It’s a win that leaves them top of the table due to a superior sets ratio. Fusion are still looking for their first win. You can watch the full stream back by clicking here.