It’s been hard to stomach for our two league division one teams, as we watched helplessly on Tuesday (2nd) when Alsager beat Macclesfield to clinch the league title with 18pts on a tie break with 8 wins compared to our “A” team’s 18pts with 7 wins. Spare a thought for our over-achieving Bees who finished 3rd with 17pts which was enough for the champions last year, and with better board scores than either of the top two !
Martin Burns has already reported on the “A” team’s exploits last week and now it is the turn of Bees captain, David Hulme. It’s never good to gain points when matches are defaulted so it was a deflating finish to the season when Fenton “A” conceded their final 3 matches on 21st March. This does not detract from a superb season for the Bees, where Carmel Barwick and Simon Layhe were ever present and often punching above their weight on top boards. Lee Farrington finished the season with a flourish despite limited chances to play and Martin Frisher played with distinction this season in more matches than several previous seasons combined. There were excellent cameos from Cyrus Pereira, David Lambton and Gintare (Gee) Cross. All in all a most enjoyable season, with the captain reflecting back on the first match where he lost in a strong position against our “A” team leading to a drawn result. If only either one of our teams had won that match instead of drawing they would now be champions. Ifs, buts and may be-s which no doubt apply to all teams. Finally thanks to all of the team members who make it such a pleasure to compete together.