Eagles Nicked.

West Midlands Police A  5  – Colebridge Eagles  5  . Monday December 10th 2012. Match report by Mike Evetts. 

To some Chelmsley Wood police station may be a frigid megalomaniacally scaled negation of the familiar urban aesthetic , to others it may simply be a base for their place of work , in either respect it played host to a compelling table tennis match on Monday evening , in a contest which swung in favour of the visitors , before veering back in the opposite direction.

The Police gymnasium venue , whilst not enjoying the table specific lighting which makes Colebridge such a pleasure to play in , does boast ample space and good flooring , and the policeman exercising to a Balearic Euro beat on the treadmill immediately to the rear of the athletic facility certainly ensured a unique ambience to this Division Two clash.

Dean Hicks played some of the most positive table tennis this correspondent has witnessed for many seasons to defeat Paul Ducros , using good footwork to play powerful forehands from acute angles to ensure the powerful top spinner was the loser for the only time in a singles contest on the night. Ducros defeated both Bernard Oliver and Mike Evetts , though on each occasion it required the maximum number of sets to ensure victory.

Bernard Oliver , still a contender for individual honours in Division Two , will consider himself out of the reckoning , after only bagging one scalp , that of Dave Ameghino , for only the second time this season.

Mike Evetts played his part , after defeating both Dean Opbroek and Dave Ameghino , and just falling to Paul Ducros in five sets.

A match which does not start until 19.40 is never destined to finish during regular licensing hours , and so it proved , with the competition concluding at a little after 23.00.

An entertainingly close encounter , and the pleasingly Spartan selection of malted biscuits were a fine counterpoint to the festive over indulgent extravagance which is just a couple of weeks away.