A league first for 30 years
WEST End Park continue their impressive start in the first division as they extended their perfect winning record to four wins without loss in the Master Lock & Safe Southport and District Badminton League.
Their comfortable 7-1 win over strugglers Victoria Hall II keeps them ahead of a hungry chasing pack that West End Park will be facing in the next couple of weeks.
Leading the charge is defending champions Mawdesley, who put their mark down and proved to everyone why they remain to be the best team in the league.
They took down title contenders Churchtown 6-2 in a performance that will surely make it only a matter of time before they topple West End Park off their perch.
Not far behind them are Woodvale, they quickly saw off their own second team in white-wash fashion 8-0.
Meanwhile in the bottom half of the table, Churchtown II produced a strong result in their 7-1 win over Southport. That result has moved them to sixth place in the table.
In the second division, Ormskirk and Tarleton’s first teams continue to pull away from the chasing pack as they both maintain their 100% records.
While Tarleton brushed aside bottom team West End Park II 7-1, Ormskirk were forced to battle hard in their thrilling 5-3 win against a Southport II side who have yet to record a win.
Those results mean that Ormskirk and Tarleton’s clash next week will see at least one team’s perfect record disappear.
Meanwhile, Hesketh Bank produced an impressive display to topple Mawdesley’s second team 5-3 and put themselves firmly in the top half of the table. Keeping pace with them are Burscough Pioneers as they saw off Woodvale’s third team 6-2.
Sadly for Southport III, they suffered a tough 5-3 loss to Formby, who themselves recorded their first win of the season to move out of the relegation zone.
Division three continues to be all about Crosby, as their first team made quick work of winless Tarleton III as their 7-1 win maintains their three-point gap from their nearest challengers.
That title goes to Tarleton II, who continue their strong unbeaten start to the season after recording a 6-2 win over Southsands II.
In a division where draws look to be quite common, securing three points looks to be more important than ever.
Making the most of their opportunities were Burscough Pioneers II and Ormskirk II.
They both collected vital 5-3 wins over Woodvale IV and St. Cuthberts respectively.
Southport IV sent a further message to the rest of their rivals, as their 6-2 win over bottom half side Formby II sees them ruling the fourth division roost for a further week.
There was a Woodvale contest. Prevailing in the end was their fifth team who ousted their sixth team 7-1 and move into third place.
At the opposite end of the table, the woes continue for St. Cuthberts II and West End Park III.
Their defeats to Ormskirk III and Southsands III keeps them winless for the season.
Division five remains to be the most competitive division in the league. With every team on the board with at least a point and no perfect winning records to be seen, you would naturally expect a few shock results along the way. Sadly this week, it all went to form.
Wins for four of the top five further extends a gap between the top and bottom halves.
St. Cuthberts III maintain their twopoint gap over second place side Tarleton IV despite both sides recording perfect 8-0 wins against Ormskirk IV and Southport VI respectively, who both remain winless.
Behind Tarleton only on set different are both Burscough Pioneers III and Woodvale VII, who clashed this week.
Taking the share of the spoils were Burscough, who produced an impressive performance to defeat Woodvale 7-1.
Also coming out as winners this week were Southport V, as they defeat Formby Methodist 6-2.
It was a successful week for Hesketh Bank II, who recorded their first win of the season as they secured a 6-2 win over Mawdesley V.
Meanwhile in the sixth division, the clash of the top two is almost upon us as Churchtown’s 6-2 win over Southsands IV sees both sides perfect starts to the season at stake.
With Crosby on a rest week, Churchtown’s win saw them take sole control of the division.
With both sides already creating a comfortable gap from the chasing pack, the sixth division could be the first to be settled for both promotion and relegation.
At the bottom end, it is a fourth straight loss for both St. Cuthberts IV and Southport VIII.
They both suffered 7-1 defeats at the hands of mid-table sides Southport VII and Hesketh Bank III respectively.
Elsewhere, Woodvale VIII grow from strength to strength as their 6-2 win at Burscough Pioneers IV gives them their second win of the campaign.
In the league’s seventh division, it was smiles all-round for Formby III and Southsands V.
While Formby cruised to an 8-0 win over bottom side West End Park IV, it was a much tighter affair for Southsands V. They were made to work hard in their 5-3 win over Woodvale IX.
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. Also, make sure you like the league’s official Facebook page. IN Division One of the Southport and Formby Quiz League, Zetland maintained their 100 per cent record with a hard - fought 45-42 victory over Casablanca with good scoring from Harry Owen and Derek Ainsworth, both 15, and Bill Thomas 14, Dave Dutton 13 and Chris Sumner 10 leading for the visitors.
Also on the Monday questions, Fishermen’s Rest proved too strong for Shifting Sands in winning 37-27 led by Phil Lally and Dave Tarr, both 11 and Steve Murphy 10 with Jack Gardner 13 leading for Sands.
The Tuesday questions descended into obscurity in the last two rounds with six of the eight questions being unanswered by all four sides and producing a 12-0 scoreline in round four in favour of Wings in their match with Devonshire Club, something which has not happened in a league match for perhaps 30 years.
Wings won the match 51-26 with good scoring from Bob Parry 15, Maurice Wright 14 and Tom Farley and Keith Mulhearn, both 11. Formby Sports took full advantage of their opponents E Street Band being a player short in winning 41-35 led by Sheila Tickle 15 and
Keith Gowans 10 with Alan Wright 18 and Dave Twigge 11 leading for the visitors.
In Division Two,
Exams continued their 100 per cent run with narrow 28-25 victory at ExPats with Exams’ Dermot Williams 10 being the only player to achieve double figures.
Also on the Tuesday questions, Vikings fared better with a 39-29 victory over MPs led by Roy Shannon 18 and Bob Ellis 10 with Ann Evans 14 leading for the away side. On the Monday questions, Quads were behind for seven rounds at Formby Pavilion but won the last 6-2 to snatch a 34-33 victory led by Tony Duffey 15 with Ged Gallagher 10 leading for the Formby side.