EDDIE ALLEN had to defeat his son on the way to the semi-finals of the Kent county pairs tournament.

The family showdown was set up when the Oyster club hosted the last 32 of the tournament, and two pairs from the host club met in the last 16.

Oyster’s Ben Izzard and Ron Clee had already lost at the first hurdle, going down two sets to one in their opening match.

Two Oyster pairs made it through, Eddie Allen and David Holmes, and Grant Allen and David Ferguson, but then met each other.

The game was hotly contested, with Eddie Allen and Holmes winning the first set, then Grant and Ferguson fighting back to win the second.

The deciding set was something of an anti-climax as Holmes and Eddie Allen scored a maximum four and ended 7-2 winners.

Holmes and Allen then had to play Gordon Charlton and Allen Robinson from Folkestone in the quarter final in a match that turned out to be a classic.

The home side eventually won in the deciding set, 7-6. The pair will now play in the semi finals on the weekend of March 22 and 23.

David Holmes has already qualified for the semi-final of the Kent singles and of the mixed pairs, with Sian Gordon, after beating clubmates Roger and Chris Benneworth in the quarter-final 22-5