Guernsey’s return to British National League action this weekend proved to be challenging.
Action from National C1, the 5th tier of the Senior British Club League pyramid saw a weekend where no points were gained from the matches contested at the Halton Table Tennis Club in Widnes, Chesire.
The outcome of the matches sees the Sarnian side rooted to the bottom of the eight-strong table, with just six fixtures left to play.
The team competing this weekend saw returns for Matthew Casey, Joseph Bourgaize and Connor Powell, who had all competed in the opening fixtures of the season back in September, whilst they were joined by Sam Clark, making his debut for this campaign.
Despite the difficult run of results, the weekend could have turned out differently, had the fate of the opening clash gone the other way. The match in question was against 4th placed side Pudsey and it saw the strongest showing of the weekend from the Guernsey side, a narrow 5-4 defeat incurred.
Casey got off to the best possible start when he dispatched Bradley Landau 3-0 in the match opener, whilst Joseph Bourgaize beat Jack Kelly in straight sets, Powell ending the fixture strongly courtesy of a 4-set win over Luke Speight. Whistlers’ team-mates Casey and Bourgaize did well to battle past Landau and Amy Marriott in 5 sets in the doubles clash, however unfortunately the pivotal 5th rubber proved elusive, with a couple of crucial 5 set defeats proving costly. Bourgaize led England’s 13th best Under 21 Woman Marriott 2-1, however the Pudsey star navigated the final 2 sets 11-8, 11-7. Powell on the other hand did well to restore parity at 2-2 with Kelly, having lost the opening 2 sets, however Kelly did just enough to edge the deciding leg 11-9.
The remaining fixture on Saturday was against a 2nd placed Albert TTC side and a 7-2 defeat was incurred. Casey once more won his opening match in straight sets after dispatching Andrew Davies, whilst Bourgaize fought back from 2-1 down to defeat Valdos Semiotas in 5 sets. Clark played some strong table tennis despite defeat, including a narrow 5 set defeat to Davies in a match which he had led 2-0.
Sunday’s action kicked off with a match against 3rd placed side Halifax 1 and a heavy 8-1 defeat was inflicted. Clark continued his good form, and this resulted in a 5-set win over Lewis Palmer in a match which he had trailed 2-1 in. The Halifax players were too strong in the end, and they restricted the Guernsey side to just 2 other legs, won by Casey and Bourgaize, respectively.
The final match of the weekend was with 6th placed side Crewe Central and a disappointing 7-2 defeat was the outcome. Casey picked up his third singles win of the weekend and his best due to a super straight sets win over one of the highest ranked players in the Division, England number 191 Christian Hine. Clark continued his good run of matches with a 4-set win over Lucas Clarke.
The next action is scheduled for 17 January 2026, with the remaining 4 fixtures to be contested at the end of March.