PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Loveder

Fusion ensured they would not finish bottom of Senior British Club Leagues Premier Division after winning an outstanding contest with North Ayrshire, prevailing 5-2.

After being on the wrong side of several narrow defeats this year, Fusion finally got over the line in one after prevailing twice in the fifth, including the tightest match of the entire season.

From a Fusion perspective, the fixture started in spectacular fashion as Larry Trumpauskas stunned Viktor Gorman to bring his unbeaten campaign to a screeching halt. The Swede was 8-0 for the season but came unstuck against Larry who produced a dazzling display to win in straight ends.

The match on the adjacent table could not have been any different. Shaquille Webb-Dixon has been involved in some of the most entertaining matches of the entire campaign but he will perhaps take the starring role in match of the season after his utterly epic win over Martin Johnson.

As far as titanic tussles go, this is right up there. Webb-Dixon took the first end with conviction before Johnson battled back to win the second 11-8. By now, the two players had a good understanding of each other, so it was little surprise the third went to deuce, Webb-Dixon crashing a forehand into the top of the net to give Johnson a 12-10 third end. But his reaction was excellent, winning the fourth 11-4.

It went to a decider and for a long, long time, there was no way to decide between them. At 9-9, Webb-Dixon fresh aired the serve. 10-9 Johnson. Match point down, Webb-Dixon popped a push in the air, Johnson honed in, only for a tremendous backhand counter to fly past him. 10-10. And they kept going, and going… and going. At 14 apiece there was drama as Johnson claimed a wet spot on his bat returning serve. After almost four minutes, play resumed, and Johnson saved match point!

Eventually, at 18 apiece, the game ended, but it deserved better. Webb-Dixon got a stray edge for his sixth match point and at 19-18, Johnson faulted! 3-2, 20-18, 50 minutes. Enthralling table tennis. If you want to watch it, you can watch it from 10 minutes into the excellent YouTube stream here.

Unsurprisingly, nothing matched that for the rest of the day, though doubles was another great game. Larry teamed up with his father, Lorestas, to beat Johnson and Colin Dalgleish from two sets to one down, nudging Fusion ahead.

Larry then produced another fightback, this time from 1-0 down against Johnson, to take it in four and ensure Fusion would get the win.

North Ayrshire, to their credit, battled on. Dalgleish held his nerve to take out Lorestas 11-9 in the fifth and Gorman then responded to his earlier defeat by racing to victory over Trumpauskas senior in straight ends.

It came down to Webb-Dixon, just about recovered from his earlier singles, and Dalgleish. The Fusion man stormed into a 2-0 lead before Dalgelish put his stamp on the game, grinding out the third in deuce. But Webb-Dixon would get his double as he took the fourth, securing victory.

These two teams head into the final round of the season battling for fourth. Fusion would have to beat Drumchapel Glasgow and hope North Ayrshire lost to BATTS. It would then come down to sets ratio, with Fusion currently two sets better off than their Scottish counterparts.