28/01/2020
Division 1
Kingfisher A looked to be romping to an easy victory when they lead 9-3 after the levels. But when Pilling A won the first 4 mixed games to cut their lead to 9-7 the match became much more interesting. In the next 2 sets both teams won a pair to take the score to 11-9 . The last 4 games however, all went comfortably to Kingfisher to give them a relieved 15-9 win. Mr Reliable Andy Davis won 6 for Pilling and Jess Logue also won 6 for the winners. Kingfisher firmly established in 3rd whilst Pilling's bonus point means they are likely to finish the season in 5th.
Despite some close games, the last match of the week saw Hesketh A lose 23-1 to Albany A with only a mens doubles from Richard Percival and Andy Manson going Hesketh’s way. Captain Jenny Stothard was statistically the best player. Albany cemented in 4th and Hesketh rooted at the foot of the table but still fighting hard.
Division 3
Champions elect Stanley A overcame some stubborn resistance from Kingfisher C to win 19-5. Leading 10-2 after the levels, Stanley dropped just 3 mixed games to give them another impressive win. For the second consecutive match Angela Longstaff was the POTM after another 8 wins including a 28-26 marathon game. Spare a thought for Adam Cowell who was involved in all of Kingfisher's wins as he won 5 games on the night including 3 games with mixed partner Debby Oddy ! Kingfisher will finish the season in mid table - a great performance after finishing bottom last season! Stanley need to win their final 2 matches to keep their 100% record!
In a rearranged match Ribby Hall A beat their B team by an expected 18-6 to keep their top 2 ambition alive. The A team easily won the levels 10-2 and consolidated that with another 8 mixed games. Emma Nickson won 4 ladies and Graham Bielby won 4 mens then together they then won their 4 mixed to be joint best players. Julie Lalouette was the B team's best player after winning 4 games. The A team know that 1 more win from their last 2 should ensure promotion whilst the B team are still fighting hard at the opposite end of the table.
Ribby Hall B played their 2nd game of the week this time versus Lids B. Although they lost again, they fought hard and were able to gain a very welcome point. Despite going behind in the levels 5-7 they managed to tie the score at 9-9. At this point Lids upped
their game to win the final 6 games for a final victory of 15-9 which doesn't reflect the close games. George Green won 7 for Lids and Melissa Jones played well to win 5 for Ribby. The 3 points for Lids keeps them in third, with maybe an outside chance of catching Ribby A.
Levels
Warton A & Fleetwood continue to dominate the division after both recorded 14-2 wins against Bloomfield and Warton B respectively. Nathan Bunting from Warton A and Fleetwood's Ant Cross both top scored with 8 whilst Jordan Taylor-Millington from Bloomfield and Giles Uppard from Warton B managed to win 2 games in their matches. Warton A and Fleetwood heading for a showdown to decide who will win the title, when they meet in their final match! Fleetwood, 2 points behind, lost to Warton A earlier in the season and so will need a win to catch Warton on points meaning games won would then become the decisive factor!
