Windsor Eagles set out their new year intentions clearly in Division One of the Clacton & District League with an emphatic 9-1 victory over Nomads Lions, a result which leapfrogs them over their rivals and gives them a six-point cushion in second place.

Gary Cattermole (pictured, photo by Roger Hance), making a rare but welcome League appearance, and Paul Hume both took trebles, with the ever-reliable Phil Smith, an Eagles’ regular since 2007, contributing a couple. Adam Cuthbert picked up the Lions’ point.

It was also 9-1 in the meeting between the top and bottom teams, Nomads Panthers and Walton C. It may have been a predictable victory but it was by no means a walk in the park for the Panthers, John Hatley needing five sets to beat Jason Gale 11-3 in the decider, Gill Locke defeating the same player 11-8 in the decider, whilst Gracie Edwards beat Mark Gale 11-6 in the decider. Mark Gale took the Walton point with an excellent 3-1 (11-9, 11-13, 12-10, 11-5) win over Locke.

Andy Vincent stayed unbeaten in Windsor Hawks’ drawn match with Walton B, with Pete Burrows and Gavin Price each winning two for Walton. Unusually for a match which ended in a draw, none of the individual matches went the distance, with only two requiring a fourth set.

The Hawks went one better in their second match, defeating Brotherhood A 6-4. There were two each here for Vincent and for Felipe Rodriguez, and one for John Barton. But none of them could get the better of Kevin Gowlett who stayed unbeaten for Brotherhood.

In Division Two, Nomads Jaguars turned out a strong side in their clash against leaders Windsor Buzzards, the match eventually ending all-square. Chris Parr took three for the Jaguars and Dave Miller, in his first outing of the season, a couple. For the Buzzards, Dave Martin won two, and Andy Cawley and Pete Bloomfield one each. Once again, unusually for a drawn match, none of the matches went to five.

Brotherhood C and Walton D drew for a second time this season, sharing the four matches which went the distance. Mark Boyland was forced to work hard to maintain his unbeaten record, edging past Andy Foster 11-9 in the fifth and Clive Allenby 11-7 in the fifth. Foster and Allenby won two apiece for Walton, Foster defeating Mark Beckham 11-4 in the fifth, with Foster and Allenby taking the doubles 11-6 in the decider against Boyland and Gallagher.

In a vital relegation encounter, Windsor Kestrels beat Windsor Harriers 7-3 to move off the bottom of the table. Peter Aumord, Debra Found and Graham Bunce all won two for Kestrels. Jenny Higgins of the Harriers was involved in two close matches, losing 11-8 in the fifth to Found but enjoying an unexpected 3-2 (5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9) success against Bunce.

In Division Three, leaders Windsor Penguins continued their title quest with a 9-1 win over Brotherhood F. Neil Chegwidden and Kayley Rodriguez took hat-tricks, although Rodriguez was taken all the way before beating Fred Gallone 11-5 in the decider. Gallone took the Brotherhood consolation point with an 11-7 in the decider victory over Sharon Gowlett.

Second-placed Windsor Merlins also enjoyed a good win, a convincing 10-0 victory over Windsor Magpies, John Harvey, Sam Plummer and Joe Plummer all unbeaten.

The Magpies had better fortune in their second match of the week, sharing the spoils in a tight match with Walton E, Dave Sweetland and John Plummer each winning two. Plummer had a narrow 11-8 in the fifth win over Lynette Sparks whilst Sweetland only narrowly failed to notch up a hat-trick, losing 11-7 in the decider to an unbeaten Paul Woolnough.

And Woolnough secured a second hat-trick in his side’s second match, Walton beating lowly Nomads Bobcats 8-2. Sparks and Maggie Earle won two each for Walton, as did Doug Green for the losers.

Andrey Pavlov with three, Yulian Yaramenko with two, Lucy Carvell with one, and a Pavlov-Carvell doubles victory, saw Brotherhood E to a 7-3 success against Nomads Lynx. Brotherhood won three of the four matches which went the distance, Pavlov and Carvell beating Ann Peart and Anne Kigang 11-7 in the fifth in the doubles, Yaramenko beating Peart 11-4 in the decider, and Pavlov enjoying a fine 11-3 in the decider victory over Dave Wright. The closest match of the evening saw Peart edge past Carvell 12-10 in the fifth.

Finally, Nomads Leopards defeated Nomads Ocelots 10-0, Stu Wilkinson, Dominic Joannou and Bob Jillins comfortable winners in a match where all the individual matches were settled in three-straight.

* In the draw for the first round of the Knock-Out Cup, all four remaining Division One teams will face lower Division opposition. The two stand-out ties see Brotherhood A take on club-mates Brotherhood B whilst, in another inter-club tie, Windsor Hawks take on Division Two pace-setters Windsor Buzzards.

Walton A have an intriguing tie against the young guns of Brotherhood E whilst Walton C will also face Division Three opposition in the form of Nomads Bobcats.

RESULTS

Division 1
Brotherhood A 4 Windsor Hawks 6
Walton B 5 Windsor Hawks 5
Walton C 1 Nomads Panthers 9
Windsor Eagles 9 Nomads Lions 1

Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 7 Windsor Harriers 3
Nomads Jaguars 5 Windsor Buzzards 5
Brotherhood C 5 Walton D 5

Division 3
Nomads Bobcats 2 Walton E 8
Nomads Lynx 3 Brotherhood E 7
Windsor Penguins 9 Brotherhood F 1
Windsor Magpies 5 Walton E 5
Nomads Ocelots 0 Nomads Leopards 10
Windsor Merlins 10 Windsor Magpies 0