Leaders locked in for promotion in league
WEEK 12 in the Master Lock & Safe Southport and District Badminton League saw many of the promotion contenders further cement their spots with many impressive wins.
This included first division leaders Victoria Hall, who continue to extend their near-perfect record and make it eleven wins out of twelve for the season an 8-0 whitewash victory over their own second team.
That win maintains their five point gap from nearest rivals Woodvale.
As for Victoria Hall II, they remain in the relegation, five points off safety and fewer winnable matches left in their fixture list.
Woodvale keep their title hopes alive after a well fought 5-3 win over long-time rivals Churchtown.
That result opened the door for current champions Mawdesley to overtake Churchtown into third.
They achieved that in the best way possible with a dominant 8-0 win over a Southsands side that remain without a point to their name.
Elsewhere, Southport produced an impressive scalp in their 5-3 win over top-half side West End Park and Churchtown II battled hard to earn a 5-3 victory over Woodvale II.
Tarleton’s first team move into top spot in the second division, after promotion rivals Ormskirk only managed a losing draw against bottom-half side Woodvale III.
As for Tarleton, they made quick work of relegation threatened side Southport III 7-1 to make it a two point lead after second place.
Another side slipping up is Mawdesley II, as their winning draw over strugglers Formby has brought Southport II and Burscough Pioneers back into promotion race.
Southport and Burscough Pioneers’ comfortable wins over bottom side West End Park II and Hesketh Bank respectively has them level in third with Mawdesley II and now four points off second.
In the third division, it was wins all-round for the top three sides in the form of leaders Crosby as well as Churchtown III and Tarleton II.
Crosby made it 11 wins out of 12 with a 7-1 win at top-half side Mawdesley III.
That maintains their six point lead over Churchtown III, who themselves were pushed to the limit in their narrow 5-3 win against Burscough Pioneers II.
Still a further point behind is Tarleton II, who quickly saw off their third team 8-0 who are now another week closer to confirming relegation.
In the bottom half of the table, Woodvale IV further cement their mid-table position with a tight 5-3 win against Ormskirk II and relegation threatened St.
Cuthberts produced a valiant effort in their attempt to avoid the drop in their losing draw effort against Southsands II.
Division four still belongs to Southport IV and Woodvale V, who are a week closer to promotion.
While leaders Southport brushed aside strugglers Southsands III, it was a much nervier week for second place side Woodvale who managed to push themselves over the line in their 5-3 win over midtable side Ormskirk III.
It was a heart-breaking week for bottom side West End Park III, who came close to collecting their first points of the season in their 5-3 loss to a Mawdesley IV side who maintain their two point gap from a promotion gap.
It was a big week for Woodvale VI who managed to collect two points for their efforts in a winning draw against fourth place side Churchtown IV to move further away from relegation troubles. Elsewhere, Formby II came out victorious 5-3 in an entertaining contest against St Cuthberts II.
The race for promotion in division five continues to be as unpredictable as it was from the start of the season as four points separate the top four sides.
Currently ruling the roost are Southport V, who produced a strong and solid performance in defeating bottom half side Mawdesley’s fifth team 6-2.
It was a bad week for Woodvale VII, who lost their promotion spot in their surprising 7-1 defeat to Hesketh Bank II.
That result opened the door for St Cuthberts III, who capitalised on this opportunity and moved into the second promotion spot after a surprisingly narrow 5-3 win against strugglers Southport VI.
In other fifth division action, Burscough Pioneers III came out of Ormskirk with a 5-3 victory against their fourth team and Tarleton IV white-washed bottom side Formby Methodist 8-0.
In division six, the two promotion spots look to almost be sealed as Churchtown V and Crosby II now move 10 points clear from the rest of the field.
It was another dominant week for the top two sides as they took care of St Cuthberts IV and Hesketh Bank III respectively.
At the opposite end of the table, Southport VII more or less secured their safety from relegation after conjuring an impressive 7-1 win over Burscough Pioneers IV to move nine points clear over the bottom two. Also,
Woodvale VIII took care of Southport’s eighth team 7-1 who remain without a point to their name.
In the league’s bottom division, Southsands VI upset their clubs hierarchy as they managed to pull off a winning draw against their own fifth team to keep their slim promotion hopes alive.
At the top, leaders Churchtown VI produced their seventh win of the season in their 8-0 win over West End Park IV in a battle of top versus bottom.
The only other result this week saw Formby III do enough to defeat Woodvale IX 5-3.
For more info as well as the latest news, results and league tables, be sure to check out the league’s official website, www. southportbadminton.com and make sure you like the league’s official Facebook page.