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It was a difficult start for Guernsey’s squads in the first round of this season’s British Clubs Leagues.
Playing in a familiar venue in Halton, the Guernsey ‘A’ team compete in National League A, the third division of the revamped league structure.
They were defeated against some strong opposition.
The team of Joshua Stacey, Ben Foss, Ryan Bichard and reserves Andy Gill and Jamie Ferbrache started off with an 8 -1 loss to Draycott 1, although there were some creditable performances against high class opposition.
Stacey gained the only win, beating Adam Feargrieve, ranked 155 in England. Foss put in a good showing but narrowly missed out against David Arrowsmith 3-2 and 42nd-ranked Artur Veeck Caltabiano 3-1.
The second match of the day also ended 8-1 against the Sarnians as they faced East Midlands TTC 1. Foss gained the solitary win with a 3-2 battle over mainland-based Caesarean Luke Greenfield, triumphing 13-11 in the fifth game.
Sunday morning started with a marginally better result, going down 7-2 to North Ayrshire 2, this time Foss and Stacey each claimed wins. The former overcame Nathan Hogg, while Stacey played well to earn a straight sets victory over David Hay. There were also narrow losses for the Sarnians in the doubles contest as well as Foss’s individual match against Chris Main where he lost deuce in the fifth game, showing that the team have a chance of taking points in the reverse fixture later in the season.
The weekend concluded with an 8-1 defeat against Allied TTC, this time Ryan Bichard with the win against Olivier Barthelemy.
The Guernsey ‘B’ team consisted of Joe Bourgaize, Matt Casey and Sam Clark as well as Ferbrache and Gill. They also got off to a tricky start with an 8-1 loss to Ward Road Warriors Dundee, the league newcomers clearly have strength in depth as they won six of the rubbers in straight sets, although Bourgaize did well to defeat Callum Riddoch.
A close match followed as they lost to Birmingham TTA 1 by a score of 6-3. The Sarnians raced into a 3-1 lead with Ferbrache, Casey and Clark all claiming victories, but Birmingham’s experienced Ed Lynn proved too strong and the last three rubbers were all lost on the deciding set, proving that there is little to separate the teams.
Sunday brought a 7-2 loss to Aberdeen & District with Matt Casey doing well to defeat Andrew McRae, before the team went down to the Isle of Man 6-3, Bourgaize, Gill and Clark with the wins.
While both teams returned winless, they will be looking to rectify this during the next round of matches on 16th and 17th November.
Guernsey A results -https://british.ttleagues.com/league/2290/division/6567
Guernsey B results -https://british.ttleagues.com/league/2290/division/6573
Pictured top: Ryan Bichard and Ben Foss competing in the Island Championships earlier this year. GTTA.
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