Relegation fears are eased in Chichester

GUERNSEY'S men's table tennis team have consolidated their position in Division Three of the British League after a relatively successful weekend in Chichester. Going into the quadruple-header away trip the team were lying third from bottom in a very competitive division, and only one point off the relegation zone.

But after two wins, a draw and a solitary loss, they lie fourth and crucially five points above the relegation zone.

Pete Bretel, the Guernsey and CI champion, is sure the team are safe and that the whole adventure is doing him and his colleagues the power of good.

'It's definitely where we should be. It's county standard.

'It's boosted our concentration levels,' said Bretel, whose own game has come on a bundle in the last 12 months

Guernsey's first match saw them face the team lying one place above them in the league, Harvey Barnets II.

Barnets seemed intent on getting themselves out of relegation trouble by fielding Premier League standard player Eli Barraty.

He opened against Bretel and proved too strong as he dished out a lesson in controlled attacking table tennis.

Phil Ogier did his best to get Guernsey back on track against fast-improving youngster Alim Hirji, but surprisingly Guernsey's number one slipped to a 3-2 defeat after losing the fifth 12-10.

Things were looking ominous for the Sarnians when Scott Romeril seemed to lose concentration at two games up against the experienced Paul Laverty and succumbed 11-9 in the fifth.

Jez Powell stepped up and under pressure produced some excellent attacking play to beat the Barnets number four, Chris Brent, and leave the Guernsey side feeling they had an outside chance of salvaging a draw from the match.

In game five, as expected Baraty pummelled Ogier 3-1, leaving the side needing to win the last three matches to avoid being sucked into a relegation dogfight.

Bretel lifted the mood with a straight games win against Laverty, the former having far too much speed and power for the veteran. The next game pitted Jez Powell against a confident Baraty and despite some good containing play and excellent serving, Powell was defeated and the match lost.

Romeril saved some pride in the dead rubber by issuing a lesson to fellow teenager Brent.

The Guernsey squad's next opponents were ROK Build from Devon, who fielded a weakened side due to the work commitments of their top two players.

Guernsey cruised to a 7-1 win, only Bretel succumbing to pimpled-rubber specialist Sam Bruty.

The big win seemed to inspire confidence in the team and the following morning they came out all guns blazing against title chasers NWF from Hampshire.

A fired-up Ogier got Guernsey off to an excellent start with a comfortable straight sets victory over number two, Danny Lucking.

Bretel was next up against Alex Rorke, a member of the Isle of Wight gold medal Island Games team.

Rorke has proved a banana skin for some of the top players in the division this season and it seemed Bretel might fall foul of the clever defender's retrieving after losing the second game 11-3.

Bretel had other ideas and in the performance of the weekend he showed the attacking consistency that resulted in him ending last season as island champion by battering Rorke 11-8, 11-2 to clinch the win and give the Sarnians an overall 2-0 match lead.

NWF hit back in the third rubber with a 3-0 win for Andy Whitaker over Jez Powell.

Whitaker's speed and accuracy proved too much for a slightly jaded Powell.

Romeril opened his account against the experienced campaigner Stuart Williams whose deceptive style seemed to throw the youngster's timing and temperament as he raced to a 2-0 lead.

Romeril showed he is fast maturing and much less prone to throwing in the towel by levelling at 2-2, but unfortunately Williams got off to a flyer in the decider using spin and placement to force errors. Romeril clawed his way back into the game but was finally edged out 11-7.

Ogier was next up against Rorke.

The Guernsey captain never looked under pressure and the Isle of Wight man became increasingly frustrated at Ogier's deliberate reluctance to impart any spin or speed on the ball. A 3-0 win followed in double quick time to give the Sarnians a slender 3-2 lead and a sniff of victory.

Powell followed with his best win of the weekend in a tight five-setter against Lucking.

His determination to play positive topspin attacking table tennis paid dividends for him and should have given him an insight into how to play if he wants to enjoy more success in this league.

Bretel secured the match win with a reasonably comfortable 3-0 defeat of the tall defender Williams.

NWF salvaged some pride with a tight 3-1 victory for Whitaker over Romeril, but the Hampshire team left the match knowing they had dropped valuable points and their title chance may well be over for this season.

The final match of the weekend saw the Sarnians line up against mid-table side Horsham III.

Ogier opened against Stephane Bonnafous and things were not looking good for the former Guernsey champion at two games and two match-points down.

Ogier was struggling with the slow heavy topspin of his opponent but, having saved the match points and sneaked the game 15-13, he swept through the next two sets to secure what had seemed earlier a very unlikely win.

Bretel was next up against England number 268, Andy Castle.

The match was a good standard of attacking table tennis with both players using their loop to good effect. On this occasion, Bretel lost the vital points and went down in three tight games 9-11, 8-11, 8-11.

Powell then beat the experienced Terry Dean and the Sarnians looked even more confident when Scott Romeril beat Andy Castle three straight with a fine display of controlled aggression and looping.

Ogier then dispatched Wilson 3-1, as frustration set in within the Horsham side.

But with victory in sight the victories dried up.

Powell struggled with Bonnafous, Bretel lost 3-2 to Castle after leading 2-0 and Romeril lost the decider to Dean as Horsham grabbed an unlikely draw.

Guernsey next travel to the British League in January when among others they face title favourites BATTS.

Bretel is unavailable due to work commitments, but the in-form Mark Pipet will be a more than handy replacement at number three.