THE second round of the Malvern Table Tennis League Handicap Competition saw a number of matches ending in very close finishes.

The closest was at Broadheath when the Belters eased home by just two points against Crackpots B. The mainstay for the winners was Brett Brining who gained comfortable victories over all of his opponents. For Crackpots the star performer was Ted Cates who beat Dave Elliot 15-13, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10 and then went on to take points off Roger Bates and also to take a game off Brett.

Wombats will have been relieved to have gained an eight point victory over their division three opponents Manor Park Allsorts. Tony Birch, Steve Glazzard and Steve Baker were pushed all the way by the Allsorts team for whom Alex Lindner showed a lot of promise.

Express 25 found obdurate opponents in Crackpots E who battled hard throughout the evening to run out victors by 14 points. The two crucial moments in the evening were when Colin Dolding beat Ray Page 11-5 in their final game and when Dave Steen managed to take two points off Dave Woodyatt in a 12-14, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11 scoreline.

A fine team effort by Poolbrook Juniors was good enough to see them beat third division high-fliers Manor Park Maulers by 15 points. In the opener Matt Lang beat Don James 12-10, 11-7, 12-10, 15-13 and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the contest. Maulers went close but were just edged-out of the competition at the end of the evening, which was enjoyed by all the players.

The only one-sided match was, surprisingly, that between third division rivals Abbeydowne and X-Police. Abbeydowne won with ease thanks to an impressive start to the evening by Bill Lucas, Peter Denniss and Roy Holland. The later stages of the match were evenly contested but it was all too late for X-Police.

In the Secondary Competition Manor Park Juniors made a good effort to claw back a 300 point handicap given to Dukes Way Dynamos but failed by just 31 points. The turning point was an impressive display by Collette James who beat the Juniors' Ben Salisbury 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8.

Manor Park Pumas progressed into the quarter-finals after a hard- fought victory over Bromyard Logics by a 35-point margin. For the Logics, John Hunt beat Jon Duke 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-8 and Derek Craddock will have been pleased with the 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6 scoreline against Nick Price.

Manor Park Crackpots always seem to reserve their best form for the handicap competition. In their convincing victory over Magpies it looks as though Stan Ginn, Richard Cullis and Ed Palmer are at it again. The outstanding performance of the evening was when Richard Cullis beat Derek Reynolds 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9.

Scores: Wombats 442, Manor Park Allsorts (280) 434; Poolbrook Juniors 433, Manor Park Maulers (150) 418; Broadheath Belters 396, Crackpots B (75) 394; Abbeydowne (45) 437, X-Police 355; Express 25 411, Crackpots E (155) 425.

Secondary competition: Manor Park Pumas 406, Bromyard Logics (60) 361; Dukes Way Dynamos (300) 465, Manor Park Juniors 434; Manor Park Crackpots (265) 516, Magpies 422.

The draw for the quarter finals will take place on Sunday (February 20).