This year’s final of the Clacton League’s Handicap Cup will be between two teams from the Nomads Club.
In this week’s semi-final matches, the Lions, the only top-flight team left in the competition, beat Third Division Windsor Falcons, whilst the Bobcats overcame Brotherhood F in an all-Division Three tie.
The Lions were 5-1 winners over the Falcons, Paul Hume, Adam Wilkin and, in his first Cup appearance of the season, Ethan Lloyd proving too classy and experienced for their lower Division opponents. The Falcons, who must nevertheless feel pleased to have reached this stage of the competition, picked up just one win, a Kelvin Olano/Matt Thomas (+3) doubles win over Hume and Wilkin (-13).
Credit, too, to the Lions for their sportsmanship. When one of their opponents was injured during the first doubles and was unable to continue, the Lions chose not to claim that match and subsequent matches but, instead, agreed to re-start the complete tie with the Falcons’ reserve substituting.
The Brotherhood F v Nomads Bobcats tie was a re-match of an earlier cup match at the group stage where Brotherhood had triumphed 5-2. But this time the tables were turned, this time the Bobcats winning by the same 5-2 scoreline.
In a keenly fought encounter between two evenly matched teams, it was all-square at two-all at the halfway stage. But the Bobcats’ trio of Matt Sage, who remained unbeaten on the night, Alex Baldock and Sam Watling made full use of their marginal handicap advantage to take their place in the final, just one year after being beaten semi-finalists.
The final will be played at the Brotherhood Hall on Tuesday 22 April with play starting at 7.30pm.
* In Division One of the League, Nomads Panthers edged nearer to yet another title with yet another win, this time 8-2 over Walton C for a second time this season. Denes Somodi’s hat-trick for the Panthers included a nail-biting 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 12-10) win over Pete Burrows. Gill Locke and John Hatley each won two for the Panthers, whilst there was a couple also for Burrows for Walton.
Nomads Lions cemented their second-place position with a 10-0 victory over bottom side Lawford. Adam Wilkin, Adam Cuthbert and Ethan Lloyd all stayed unbeaten, although Wilkin nearly came a cropper in the final encounter of the evening, edging past John Colvin 3-2 (13-11, 6-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9).
Brotherhood A defeated Walton B 7-3, an exact reverse of their early-season score. There were three for Kevin Gowlett, two for John Cleasby, one for Russell Hillier and a Gowlett/Cleasby doubles success, only a fifth doubles victory all season for the Brotherhood team. Mark Gale picked up a couple for Walton, with Paul Meikle beating Hillier 11-9 in the fifth to complete the scoring.
Windsor Buzzards have already wrapped up the Division Two title and they put the icing on the cake with a 9-1 victory over Windsor Harriers. But the scoreline belied a much closer encounter, the Buzzards winning all five matches which went the distance.
Scott Campbell took his maximum for the Buzzards, as did Pete Bloomfield, although it was 11-8 in the decider for Bloomfield against Barry Allen and 11-9 in the decider against Isabel Barton. Ray Chillingworth’s two wins included an 11-6 in the decider victory against Barton, but he lost to Allen who picked up the Harriers’ sole point.
Finally, in another all-Windsor clash, three for Peter Aumord, two for Jackie Bunce and one for Allen Denyer, plus an Aumord/Graham Bunce doubles win saw the Kestrels home 7-3 against the Magpies. Alan Rutledge, with wins over Denyer and Jackie Bunce, was the Magpies’ best player.
RESULTS
Handicap Cup : Semi-finals
Brotherhood F 2 Nomads Bobcats 5
Nomads Lions 5 Windsor Falcons 1
League
Division 1
Nomads Lions 10 Lawford 0
Nomads Panthers 8 Walton C 2
Brotherhood A 7 Walton B 3
Division 2
Windsor Buzzards 9 Windsor Harriers 1
Windsor Kestrels 7 Windsor Magpies 3
