North Cornwall Table Tennis League Division One Knockout Cup final

DEFENDING champions North Hill A retained their title after a 5-2 success over Budehaven A on Thursday night.

The tie was played at North Hill due to issues over finding a neutral venue and a willingness from both parties to get it done before the Christmas break.

However, when the action did get underway it was nip and tuck all the way through.

The cup is held over a doubles format with each player potentially playing six matches in one night, three with each team mate.

The first match saw North Hill’s Iain Oxenham and Shirley Luckhurst take on Aleks Worth and Alistair Prades.

After the ‘visitors’ won the first set 11-5, North Hill turned it around by taking the next two to six and seven respectively.

Budehaven levelled it up but the decider went in the home side’s favour, 11-8.

Arguably the key match of the night was Luckhurst and Mike Briggs against Prades and Sillifant, the two strongest match ups on show.

However, despite Budehaven easing into a 2-0 lead, the experience of the Plymouth League players showed as they changed their style and ground out an impressive comeback, including taking the fourth set 17-15.

The third match up saw Briggs and Oxenham defeat Worth and Sillifant from 2-1 down, and to compound Budehaven’s frustration the fourth was also lost in the fifth set.

Needing a remarkable comeback, Budehaven won the next two with Worth and Sillifant followed by Sillifant and Prades getting the job done, but Briggs and Luckhurst ensured a perfect hat-trick together to take the seventh match and with it the title.

The two meet in a pivotal league match at North Hill on January 2. Budehaven lead by six points having played a fixture more.