IN the Lower Divisions Knock-out Cup, last season’s beaten finalists Reading FC A look in the mood to capture the trophy following an impressive 9-0 demolition of Our Lady of Peace F.

A weakened Sonning Common & Peppard F suffered a similar fate at home to Springfield B, while Sonning Sports B lost 8-1 to Springfield D, where seven sets required a third-game decider, of which six were won at either deuce or 9-11.

It was also 8-1 to Reading FC B against Kingfisher L, while Saiyan Brothers eased past Sonning Common & Peppard G 7-2.

The ‘youngsters’ from Curzon won 7-2 against Our Lady of Peace E and Tidmarsh E overcame Springfield C 6-3.

Milestone C squeezed past Kingfisher K 5-4 in the closest game.

In the Team Handicap competition there were comprehensive 8-1 wins for Reading FC A and Sonning Sports against Tidmarsh C and Pangbourne WMC respectively.

Saiyan Brothers also posted an impressive 8-1 victory over Milestone B, new signing Emma Blachford matching Vidhu Ravinath’s maximum.

Tidmarsh E overcame Kingfisher H 7-2, and in the battle of two of the Sonning Common & Peppard teams, it was the G team who came out on top after reeling off the last six sets to beat the C team, Gerry Bacon with the important maximum, while Derek Maltby enjoyed two wins.

An impressive maximum from Sonning Common & Peppard B’s Nigel Maltby was not enough to prevent holders Our Lady of Peace B from progressing 5-4, and Kingfisher K's John Simpson suffered the same fate as they lost to Sonning Common & Peppard E by the same margin.

Darek Kaminski secured a maximum in Our Lady Of Peace E’s 5-4 victory, while Tony Hayden’s maximum for Milestone C was achieved without dropping a game. Both sides edged through 5-4, which was matched by Tidmarsh B, who overcame a 4-2 deficit against Kingfisher L.

Kingfisher G captain John Liddle edged past Springfield C’s Alan Goold 21-18, 21-23, 21-18 to snatch a 5-4 win for his side.

In Division Three, Sonning Sports A held off a two-man Kingfisher G side to win 7-3, Paul Savage winning twice and Bob Woodmansee picking up a single.

A Bacon maximum and two apiece from Julian James and Mike Casserely saw Sonning Common & Peppard G win their top-of-the-table clash with Springfield C 7-3 in Division Five, Bacon remaining unbeaten.