Many positives for Guernsey's juniors - Bailiwick Express News Guernsey

Jersey took the main honours at this season’s Channel Islands Junior Top 12, but Guernsey’s young players took many positives away on a morning of high-quality match play.

After intriguing qualification events held on both islands, four players entered the Guernsey Table Tennis Association centre tied in the lead with five wins out of a possible six.

With six matches to be played on the day, each against players from the other island, it was hard to predict a winner.

The first round proved how competitive the matches would be, as Guernsey’s top qualifier Barney Groves stormed into a 2-0 lead against Jonty Porter. The young Caesarean battled back well in the next two games, though Groves was unlucky as various net cords and mishit winners went his opponent’s way at crucial times, including at match point in game four. Porter showed good composure to seal the win in the final set to deliver the first upset of the morning.

Pictured: Barney Groves.

On the next table, Oskar Cleal (pictured top) started strongly to overcome Kevan Moreira in five sets, with his cross-court backhands firing particularly well. Groves recomposed himself to also defeat Moreira as well as the dangerous Oscar Karwowski, while Cleal claimed an excellent win over Jersey’s experienced 18-year-old John Le Fondre.

Ultimately Jersey’s top two of Callum Allaway and Theo De Poerck were too strong on the day, and though Groves took a set end from each, a combination of strong serving and positive stroke play ensured they finished as the leading pair. Le Fondre and Karwowski made it a top four for Jersey as Cleal and Groves had to settle for 5^th and 6^th respectively.

Other highlights for the Sarnians include strong wins for Micah Cohen and Ollie Sparks over Moreira, while 12-year-old Luke Evans showed some sparkling attacking play against familiar age-group rival Porter in a 3-1 victory.

It won’t be long before the Channel Island rivalries are resumed as eight junior and cadet players, along with a men’s and women’s team travel to the biennial Home Nations tournament in Dublin, which starts on Friday.