In Division 4 of the Sheffield and District Winter League, Moorgate C made the two and a half hour round trip to play Buxton B in a relegation four pointer; and the match was a real epic that went down to the last few points of the final rubber.
Both John McGleave/Paul Wilman and Carol Himsworth/Maddie Busby lost their first sets, but recovered to take the second set and force a championship tie break; with both matches resulting in a 10-8 win (Moorgate taking the mens and Buxton the ladies).
The mixed doubles saw the trend continue with Carol and Paul also coming out on top by a 10-8 scoreline in the championship tie break. But the match was drifting away when John and Maddie found themselves down by a set and 5-3. However, having saved two match points, they then went on to take the second set 7-5 to yet again take the match to a championship tie break. Although neither couple was aware of the exact situation, it turned out that the winner of the tie break would clinch the overall victory for their team.
Having raced into a 6-1 lead, John and Maddie were then pulled back to an 8-7 lead; but managed to secure the next two points to give the team a vital 3-1 win. This set up a potential winner-takes-all clash against the same opposition in a fortnight's time.
Meanwhile Moorgate B also faced a vital Division 3 fixture in their fight against relegation, as they entertained Graves B; in yet another match that went down to the wire.
Mark Busby and Brian Walker had a reasonably comfortable straight sets win; but an unexpectedly heavy defeat for Debbie Johnson and Wendy Whelan gave Graves the edge going into the mixed doubles.
Brian and Debbie made a good start, but were swept away in the second set; before recovering their poise to win the championship tie break. However Mark and Wendy lost in straight sets to give Graves the win on sets count back.
Next, in Division 1, Moorgate A travelled to face Welbeck A in a secind versus third battle. The team was looking to reignite their faint title hopes, with Megan Cinco coming in as a last minute replacement to partner fellow teenager Emily Busby to a surprisingly easy win. Whilst Glyn Smith and Dave Mangham also recorded a comfortable win to give Moorgate a 2-0 lead.
In the Mixed Doubles rubber, Glyn and Emily were largely untroubled which meant that, despite a loss for Dave and Megan in a tight match, Moorgate came out with a 3-1 win. All of which sets up an exciting finish, with the top four clubs having a series of matches coming up against each other in the final few weeks of the season.
There are still attractive membership offers for new members and details can be found on the club's website at clubspark.lta.org.uk/RotherhamMoorgateLTC.