2nd Ahoghill Company Section competed in the first round of this year's national table tennis competition, as three boys took on members of 1st Greenisland last night.
Leaders Jonnie and Tommy met with the boys at the church hall around 6.30pm, before travelling to 1st Greenisland.
On arrival we were greeted by Eric Chalmers, captain of 1st Greenisland, and escorted upstairs to their tables. After introductions and a brief overview of the rules, the matches got underway. Each of our boys would play against each of Greenisland’s team once, meaning the round consisted of nine matches overall. Each match was the best of five sets, with a score of eleven needed to win a set.
Ahoghill got off to a mixed start; John won his opening match 3-1, unfortunately Dave and Harry were defeated 1-3 and 0-3 respectively. This left the overall score at 2-1 to Greenisland.
The next group of matches produced a similar outcome of one win and two defeats . Harry and John both suffered 0-3 losses, while Dave got into his stride with a 3-2 win. This left the score at 4-2 in Greenisland’s favour.
Despite our restrained performances, we were still in contention going into the final group of matches. Victories in our final three matches would be enough to take us through to next round of the competition.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, as Harry and John were again beaten 3-0, dashing any hopes of progressing. Dave faired better in his match, and forced play down to the final set. He was eventually defeated 2-3, in what proved to be a tense closing match. This meant 1st Greenisland progressed with an overall score of 7-2.
After leaving 1st Greenisland, we treated the boys with something to eat from McDonald’s in Carrickfergus. Despite the defeat, it was a good night for the boys and leaders alike. The road trip and fast food may have provided as much enjoyment as the table tennis itself.
| 1st Greenisland | v | 2nd Ahoghill | ||
| Games Won | Round 1 | Games Won | ||
| 1 | v | 3 | 1 | |
| 1 | 3 | v | 1 | |
| 2 | 3 | v | 0 | |
| Round 2 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | v | 0 | |
| 4 | 3 | v | 0 | |
| 2 | v | 3 | 2 | |
| Round 3 | ||||
| 5 | 3 | v | 0 | |
| 6 | 3 | v | 0 | |
| 7 | 3 | v | 2 | |
| Final Score | ||||
| 7 | – | 2 | ||
