LAST season's Sunderland and District Table Tennis League Division One champions Thompson Insurance A are in ominous form going into the new year.
It seemed next season that the club was suffering from some nervousness when it came to challenging for the title. The club let down their fans and the pundits by finishing in 6th spot, finishing a full 17 points behind defending champs Primiero Agosto. A big headache was an inability to kill off games as the club drew 10 times out of 28 matches. The cup proved to be a different matter altogether. A pairing with old rivals Petro Atletico was tricky enough but the club thrilled their fans with a tenacious penalty shootout win. Then they disposed of surprise 2nd level Academica Soyo 1-0 to reach the Semifinal only to completely demolish Independente Tombwa 4-0 in the process. However, as so often in the past, the club just failed to go that extra yard as they let Sagranda Esperanca take the Cup from their grasp with a 1-0 defeat, in front of 3000 spectators.Season 1994 was a disappointment for the club, as they failed to mount a credible challenge for the title and faded away to mid-table obscurity, the low point being home and away defeats to old nemesis E.K.A. In the cup too, Aviacao failed to make it through to the final, losing their semi-final 2-0 to defending champions Petro Atletico. Things could only look up for the club.Ho is fresh from a superb runner-up finish in the Aussie Millions $10,500 8-Game Mixed title, so she's tournament fit and ready to take on the competition. Along with the $50,000 guaranteed prize money , players will vie for the prestige that comes with sending Ho packing, and a not too shabby Bounty of $300 in tournament dollars . Satellites are also running for Ho's Pro Bounty event, starting from as low as $10 1 .Breakup: Titles: 7 (4 as Atletico Luanda pre-independence)Their first season in the top flight though was an unqualified success. They finished runners-up in the league to Primiero Agosto, edging out Petro Atletico on goal difference, having finished with 40 points for the season.Notable victories over Deportivo Nocal, Desportivo Eka and Sporting Benguela paved the way for their impressive display.The club were not too much disheartened by their near misses. The first season of the new millenium saw the club edge their way to 2nd spot, albeit a massive 19 points off the pace, Petro Atletico taking yet another title.Home and away defeats to the champions undermined their cause. In the Cup, Aviacao disposed of Progresso Sambizanga easily 2-0 in the 2nd round but to their huge disappointment, lost out on penalties to Sporting Bie after a 1-1 normal time score.The club couldnt remain down for too long though. They bounced back in 1998 to claim 3rd place again in the league behind perpetual rivals Primiero (who won the championship) and Petro Atletico. The gap between them and the champions though was a staggering 12 points.The characterizing point of their season was their lack of consistency and poor matches against their direct rivals for the title. Brilliant one week and mediocre the next. The club also failed to reach the Cup quarterfinals that year.Frank Booth added the crucial seventh victory against Hilton to secure maximum points.West CA A recorded an excellent 7-3 victory against St Gabriels A. Dave Robson remained unbeaten in singles for St Gabriels, but that was all the home side could manage.The next season didnt bring any silverware, the club failed to defend their Cup title and failed to challenge for the Girabola title.The season after that, 1997, the 6th in the top flight, saw another disappointing campaign, the club finishing in their worst ever position of 8th. The club had to look nervously below them for the bottom 3 sides not to catch them.They did however, reach the Cup semifinal, where they lost to Primiero Agosto 2-1.For further media information, please contact: Kathryn Farrell PR Manager Email Contact Cell: 506 8323 5991
WINS Andy Wilkinson
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