ST Pat's hopes of winning the Barrow Table Tennis League were given a huge boost as they beat holders and title rivals Hawcoat Park 7-3.
There was a good start for St Pat's, with the two Jonnys – Lowes and Crawford – seeing off Alan Turner and Steve Bushell, with few chances given.
The match became the tighter affair anticipated beforehand as Hawcoat cut the lead to one after five games, with Andy Murphy and Turner both beating Paul Ackred and Lowes defeating Bushell.
St Pat's again pulled away after that, with Crawford and Lowes defeating Turner and Bushell in the doubles and Murphy losing out against Crawford.
Ackred lost to Bushell, before Lowes and Crawford sealed the victory and maintained their 100 per cent starts in beating Turner and Murphy respectively.
Elsewhere in Division One, there was a tight match between Furness Cricket Club and Hawcoat Park B, ending in a 5-5 draw.
Neil Honeyman and David Coulter put in strong performances for Furness, winning two games each, however Dean Fawcett was the top performer, wining all three.
The result gives both teams breathing room from the relegation zone.
Millom Former Pupils faced a busy week in scheduled fixture against Hawcoat Park C a day after a rearranged game with Furness Cricket Club Juniors.
The first fixture brought success for the youngest team in the division as Furness beat the more experienced Millom side 6-4.
Millom, as for much of the season, had just two players, so knew they had a mountain to climb from the off, having forfeited a 3-0 lead before the first ball was served.
The young Cricketers were always favourites with such a handicap, and two of the finest young talents in the North West, Ben McDonald and Matty Rigg, showed their skill in beating Nick Woods and defeating the pairing of Woods and Neil Smith in the doubles.
The lead was slimmer than it could have been though, as Smith, one of the top players in the league for the best part of 40 years, won all three of his matches, ensuring Millom still put four points on the board.
The next day brought better fortunes for Millom, with both Woods and Smith on top form, winning all three of their matches plus the doubles without dropping a game, in order to defeat the Hawcoat Park outfit of Francis Pajarillaga, Ray Adams and Tariq Undre 7-3.
After an interesting start, things are starting to settle down in Division Two, and the race for promotion is taking shape.
One team be fighting to go up are second-placed St Pat's C, who advertised their intentions with a 10-0 thumping of Halifax.
The experienced trio of brothers John and Colin Taylor and Ben Charnley proved too good for Keith Onions, Dave Pedley and Barry Anderson as they moved to within five points of leaders Parkview Former Pupils, who did not have a fixture.
Ponderosa have enjoyed their fair share of spells in the Division One, and are looking to add another season to that record.
The trio of Keith Edwards, Claire Largue and Tony Mercer came out as 9-1 winners against the young Furness CC Juniors A team of Emma McDonald (sister of Ben), Rebecca Rigg (sister of Matty) and Aman Kstherapal.
One positive for the Furness team was Rigg getting the better of Mercer in three sets, showing promise that she can meet or even surpass the high standards her elder brother has set.
St Pat's E and Hawcoat Park Thunderbats played out a close encounter with home side St Pat's just getting the upper hand 6-4.
The match featured six new players to the league, five of whom coming up through the development system brought in at the start of the year.
In spite of the lack of experience, the standard of table tennis was high and some outstanding performances were put in, notably from Sol Arribas Garthwaite, who picked up two wins, but also from Chloe Irvine and Amelia Langhorn, who each won two matches as well.
Hawcoat Park T2B against St Pat's D also featured a number of new players, with all three Hawcoat Park members having come through the development programme.
Experience ultimately told, with St Pat's coming out 9-1 winners.
Steven Gill and Andrew Dorrian both won all three of their matches. However, a positive for Hawcoat and Adam McLoughlin is that he was able to defeat Lee Worton in a close five-set encounter, proving he not only has the ability to play at the top level in future, but the strength of mind as well.
RESULTS
Division One: Furness CC 5 Hawcoat Park B 5 (POM Dean Fawcett), Hawcoat Park 3 St Pat's 7 (POM Jonny Lowes), Millom FP 7 Hawcoat Park C 3 (POM Nick Woods), Furness CC Jrs 6 Millom FP 4 (POM Neil Smith).
Division Two: St Pat's C 10 Halifax 0 (POM John Taylor), Ponderosa 9 Furness CC Jrs A 1 (POM Keith Edwards), St Pat's E 6 HP Thunderbats 4 (POM Sol Arribas Garthwaite), HP T2B 1 St Pat's D 9 (POM Steven Gill).
STANDINGS
DIVISION ONE
P
W
D
L
SF
SA
Pts
St Pat's
4
3
0
1
31
9
31
St Pat's A
3
3
0
0
24
6
24
Furness CC Jrs
3
3
0
0
23
7
23
Hawcoat Park A
3
3
0
0
23
7
23
Millom FP
4
2
0
2
21
19
21
Hawcoat Park
3
2
0
1
20
10
20
Furness CC
4
1
1
2
18
22
18
Hawcoat Park C
4
1
0
3
15
25
15
Hawcoat Park B
5
0
2
3
13
37
13
Thwaites
4
0
1
3
11
29
11
St Pat's B
3
0
0
3
1
29
1
DIVISION TWO
P
W
D
L
SF
SA
Pts
Parkview FP
4
3
1
0
33
7
33
St Pat's C
4
3
0
1
28
12
28
Ponderosa
3
2
0
1
20
10
20
Thwaites A
2
2
0
0
19
1
19
St Pat's D
4
2
0
2
18
22
18
Halifax Plc
4
1
1
2
18
22
18
Furness CC Jrs A
3
2
0
1
17
13
17
St Pat's E
5
1
0
4
10
40
10
HP Thunderbats
4
0
0
4
9
31
9
HP T2B
3
1
0
2
8
22
8
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