Week 13 News

At the Bolton Badminton League’s halfway stage Bury keep their two-point lead  in A Section and look confident of repeating last season’s championship success.

Markland Hill A are nearest challengers but Hawkshaw A have increased their points’ tally to take third spot, underlining their determination with a 18-0 win over Forrest C.

DL Farnworth A remain at the head of B Section although Oakgate B have pushed Deane A into third place, beating DL Farnworth B with a useful 13-5 scoreline.

At the other end of the section, Westhoughton A notched up a handy win over relegation rivals Sharples B. The mixed games see-sawed to emphasise the closeness of these two teams – the third couple’s first clash resulted in 26-24 – with only Sharples’ top couple Louise Enderby and David Saunders making their mark.

Westhoughton’s strength in the men’s and ladies, though, ensured they almost swept the board for a 14-4 win.

Forrest D continue their domination of C Section with Metro A the nearest threat. Metro didn’t have things all their own way, however, when they visited  Smithills A who are in the second half of the table.

Smithills’top couple Linda Singh and Malcolm Rolfe took the opening game before Carole Cooper and David Smith pulled one back. By the end of the mixed, however, it was Smithills who were in the lead 6-4.

Metro’s top ladies Barbara Butterworth and Joanne Holden battled to take the first ladies’ game 22-20 from Linda Singh and Diane Leigh, and then repeated the same scoreline in the second. And after the top men’s set was shared, Metro cleaned up the final four games to take the highly competitive match 11-7.

Westhoughton C retain their unbeaten grip on D Section with Moorside B and Bolton Lads & Girls A hot on their heels. Westhoughton, without Alison Muddiman but with useful experienced player Mandy Malloy, emphasised their superiority in this section with a 17-1 win over Smithills B.

Moorside B beat their own club’s D team 18-0 in a match where the D team’s No.1 man Stewart Hall gave a particularly creditable performance.

Bolton Lads & Girls B put up a tough fight against Metro C, four places above them in this section. The first match of the night went to 20-22 with Kirsty Patterson and Lee Bailey just losing out to Delia Topping and Derek Bold before taking the second.

Metro top couple Chris Everett and Mike Ollerton took all four of their games convincingly to push Metro’s score to 9-1 after the mixed . Lads and Girls continued  to push them, taking four of the men’s and ladies’ games, but couldn’t stop Metro emerging 15-3 winners.