Date: May 16, 2011
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Metropolitan Pennants – Simpson Cup Rd 1 results

Royal Adelaide captain Brad Moules was amongst the winners in Sunday&aposs opening round of the Simpson Cup Kooyonga have caused the biggest upset in round one of the SImpson Cup, defeating defending champions Tea Tree Gully in a closely fought contest at Flagstaff Hill. Kooyonga closed out a tight 4-3 win over Tea Tree Gully while The Grange, Royal Adelaide and Flagstaff Hill were the other winners from the opening round. Kooyonga&aposs Geoff Brennan was solid in defeating TTG&aposs Rudi DuPloy 3&2 to get his side off to the perfect start, while Charles Shaw also showed good form in defeating Zak Fuller 3&2. Sam Gava and Danny Speirs held firm in squaring their matches against TTG&aposs Jacin Cook and Brett Crosby respectively, ensuring that the final result hinged on the penaltimate match of the day between Kooyonga&aposs Tim Baker and TTG&aposs former Australian test cricket representative Greg Blewett. In another tight contest, it was Baker who emerged triumphant 2&1, leaving TTG captain Chris Austin to add some respectability to the score with a tough 1-up victory over Kooyonga&aposs Heath Riches in the last match of the day. The Grange sit top of the Simpson Cup table after round one, following a 7-0 demolition of Glenelg, while Flagstaff Hill defeated Blackwood 4 1/2 – 2 1/2 and Royal Adelaide defeated Thaxted Park by the same score. The experienced Grange side were dominant across the board with Justin Crowder (5&4 over Nick Roper), Jack Williams (5&3 over Lachlan Booth) and Alex Hendrick (5&4 over Ben Hollis) being particularly impressive. The game s tightest contest came in the penultimate match, with Grange&aposs Chris Brown defeating Glenelg&aposs Moe Nagi 1-up. Flagstaff Hill will be delighted with their first up 4 1/2 – 2 1/2 win over Blackwood, with David Hiern, Shane Cotton, Michal Radibratovic, James Coulson and Scott Ready closing out the contest early, with all players taking points from the first five games. Blackwood can take some consolation from the result however with top seeds Andy Humphries and Daniel Loveridge accounting for Flagstaff&aposs Jacob Sewell and Jared Roxby in the final two matches. Royal Adelaide will be another side pleased with their first up efforts, in a match highlighted by Matt Overall&aposs dominate 6&4 win over Thaxted&aposs Matt Rolton. With Jake Austin and Henry Perks also taking points in earlier matches, it was left to SA Amateur champion Brad Moules to see Royal Adelaide home with a hard fought 1-up win over Thaxted&aposs Ben Ash. As predicted, Thaxted Park showed that they are more than capable of causing the odd upset this season, with wins to Ben Leske and Matt Hey highlighting the side&aposs potential. Next week s round two matches are held at Tea Tree Gully with the host side set for what promises to be a tightly fought match against The Grange, Glenelg looking for their first win of the season against Kooyonga and Thaxted Park taking on Blackwood. The match of the round however promises to be between Royal Adelaide and Flagstaff Hill. For all results, tables and draws, click here for the Pennant events page. Round 2 – 22 May at Tea Tree Gully 1st Tee 11.15 am Tea Tree Gully v Grange 10th Tee 11.15 am Glenelg v Kooyonga 1st Tee 12.10 pm Royal Adelaide v Flagstaff Hill 10th Tee 12.10 pm Thaxted Park v Blackwood