Week 6 News
Perseverance has proved to be the name of the game for Bolton Lads & Girls Club in the Bolton Badminton League.
The Spa Road club has endured several seasons when its teams have been propping up the league in the bottom section with no hope of silverware in sight. To members’ and organisers’ credit, they have continued their fight to fulfil all their fixtures creditably and earned themselves a reputation as battlers.
Now, however, they appear to be reaping the benefits. The club’s A and B teams are both in D Section but the A team currently head the league on 10 points with only one match lost and the B team are keeping away from the bottom two places.
The A team’s latest two fixtures have resulted in positive wins to 4 and 2, the former against Metro C and the latter away to DL Farnworth D where Lads Club’s top mixed couple Meyuni Alguma and Shezhad Khan were on particularly fine form.
Moorside B, however, pose the most dangerous challenge to their promotion hopes so far – beating them 12-6 in their first encounter of the season. The teams meet next in January in what could be a crucial clash for both.
This is, however, a tight section as the clash between mid-table Metro B and bottom-placed BLGC B showed. The first match of the night went 22-20 for away team Metro and several games went to 18 with good performances from home second couple Charlotte Hinsley and Inyatie Ali.
They could not, however, stop Metro from marching forwards to a 7-3 lead after the mixed and capitalising on it in the men’s and ladies’ with third couple Chris Everitt and Peter Holden providing underpinning strength for a 14-4 win.
Bury heads the league with Forrest A closest and Markland Hill’s A and B teams at their heels, while DL Farnworth A are at the top of B Section – just ahead of Deane A and Hawkshaw C on the same points.
Hawkshaw C’s latest clash was home against Sharples B when visiting second couple Eileen Beeney and David Saunders snatched the opening two games and their top couple split the next two.
The home side, however, settled down to take a 7-3 lead after the mixed. The top ladies’ set was shared before Hawkshaw’s Steve Ramsbottom and R Knighton took both top men’s to ensure 10 games and both points. The match finished 14-4 to give Hawkshaw another step towards the Section title.