Foss wins see-saw final to claim another major title
BEN FOSS picked up where he left off as the table tennis season resumed in earnest when he claimed his maiden Lions Spot for Sport title.
The Lions A player was top seed by virtue of leading the way in the Doric Insurance Division One and is showing strong form before the Island Championships commence in a few weeks’ time.
The new three-player round robin stage saw the seeded players progress as expected, despite some obvious rustiness following the eight weeks of no action.
Indeed, it was a similar story up to the quarter-finals, with only fourth seed Jez Powell being troubled by the much-improved Second Division player, Nye Matthew.
The semi-finals paired Foss with Josh Stacey and although Stacey edged the first game 16-14, he could not find any rhythm and his younger opponent took control to win the next three ends.
On the adjacent table, Lawrence Stacey had looked sharp all night and took a two-game lead against Phil Ogier.
However, the veteran found a second wind and produced some vintage defensive play and counter-attacking forehands, with Stacey shell-shocked as his opponent rattled through the games to make it 2-2 for the loss of only six points.
Ultimately Stacey took some time to re-compose himself and cut out the unforced errors to take the fifth game 11-5.
After that cracking semi-final, the final did not disappoint the crowd with some entertaining and skilful rallies.
Foss took the first end, but Stacey controlled the game well to go 2-1 ahead before Foss rallied back in the fourth. Stacey then appeared to take control of the deciding game but could not find a finish and Foss showed excellent mental resolve to out-spin his opponent and from 8-5 behind, won six consecutive points to take the game, match and his first Spot for Sport title.
