THE second semi-final of the Aldershot Table Tennis League’s Handicap Cup proved to be a thriller as Division Four side Braybrooke B entertained Division One leaders Central A.

Braybrooke received the maximum start of 25 in every set. The first four were shared, with Malcolm Codd losing to Peter Millard, Kenny Duarte beating Paul Baker and Sandra Jackson losing to Phil Snelson, while Braybrooke won the first doubles.

The next four sets were also evenly split. Duarte beat Millard, Codd lost to Snelson, Jackson lost to Baker, and Braybrooke again took the doubles.

The next singles featured the two unbeaten players and it was Snelson who prevailed against Duarte. Braybrooke were not giving up, though, and narrow wins for Jackson over Millard and Codd over Baker put them 6-5 ahead.

Heading into the final doubles, Braybrooke knew that if they lost, the top-flight team would prevail on count-back. It turned into a bit of an anticlimax as Baker and Snelson swept aside Duarte and Jackson, 11-0, 11-0, 11-2.

Central A now meet another Division Four outfit, Ash H, in the final.

Fleet A secured promotion from Division Two with two 6-4 victories. They first beat closest rivals Old Woking, despite Vijay Bhaskar securing a maximum for the losers. David Joyce and Melvyn Lovegrove each won two for Fleet.

Fleet then overcame Frimley C, also promotion contenders. Joyce was undefeated and Lawrence Dack supported with a double. Frimley’s Peter Farrelly won two in reply.

Tennis J whitewashed the Ash H and G teams to make promotion from Division Four a certainty. Peter Bone, Tom Ette, John Page, John Davis and Mehrdad Abutalebi have all contributed through the season.

The divisional title also beckons for Tennis J after Braybrooke B beat an under-strength Crawley Ridge B 7-3. Sandra Jackson won all three for Braybrooke and team-mates Kenny Duarte and Tony McDowell took two apiece, both losing to Richard Hornby.

Tennis C eased their relegation worries in Division?One with an important 8-2 victory over Ash A. Paul Shakespeare secured a maximum and David Jarvis and Colin Baggott supported with doubles, both losing to Dave Halfpenny of Ash.

Results:

Div I

Tennis C 8 Ash A 2, Ash B 2 Tennis A 8, Central A 8 Tennis D 2

Div II

Fleet A 6 Frimley C 4, Ash C 8 Cody B 2, Old Woking 4 Fleet A 6, Frimley B 5 Tennis E 5, Braybrooke A 1 Bentley B 9

Div III

Frimley D 6 Fleet B 4, Cody E 6 Crawley Ridge A 4

Div IV

Cody F 8 Ash J 2, Ash H 0 Tennis J 10, Braybrookw B 7 Crawley Ridge B 3, Fleet C 4 Ash H 6, Tennis H 7 Fleet C 3, Fleet C 5 Ash G 5, Frimley E 5 Ash F 4, Ash G 0 Tennis J 10

Handicap Cup Semi-Final

Braybrooke B 6 Central A 6 (Central win on countback)