Churchtown pull away for win as new teams ready for season

THE summer is over, and it’s back to the sport halls and church halls of Southport, as the Master Lock & Safe Southport and District Badminton League returns for its 87th season.

For better or worse, it has been a busy summer for several clubs with many off-season changes.

The most notable changes have been Crosby bringing in a third team, Churchtown giving birth to a seventh team, Formby dropping their third team, St. Cuthberts letting their fifth team go and Southsands having to lose their sixth team at the last minute.

The opening week saw the new teams face-off.

It ended with Churchtown coming out victorious in their 6-2 win over Crosby.

After a pretty even mixed doubles, Churchtown pulled away in the second half of the contest with comfortable wins in both men’s doubles and the first of the two women’s doubles match.

The second women’s doubles contest was a much tighter affair.

But Churchtown’s Wang Joo Allen and Nicola Marchbank showed great nerve to prevail 21-10, 12-21, 21-15.

In the only other match from this division, Woodvale IX fought well to produce a 6-2 win at Southport VIII.

Elsewhere in the league, it was a good start to the season for first division champions Victoria Hall, as they saw off Churchtown’s second team 7-1.

However, they were made to work for it as both men’s doubles matches were taken to three sets.

But the strength of Victoria Hall’s men prevailed and could prove to be a vital warm-up before matches against their title rivals later on in the season.

One team that would fit into that bracket, is Churchtown’s first team.

With their last first division title coming back in 2016, wins against the teams likely to end up around them will be more important than ever to step their drought.

Their opening match was near perfect as they fought off last season’s second division champions Ormskirk 8-0 with only losing one set throughout the entire contest.

After missing out on a third consecutive title last season, Mawdesley will be looking to bounce back and climb back to the top.

After a slight scare in their opening bout, Mawdesley came through 6-2 against West End Park.

As for the final of the ‘big four’ sides, Woodvale brushed aside newly promoted Southport II 7-1. After finishing second and five points off winners Victoria Hall, Woodvale will be aiming to relive their title winning years of 2013 and 2015.

Elsewhere, Southport gave a good account of themselves in the race to be ‘the best of the rest’ in division one after coming through 6-2 against a Woodvale II team who will be aiming to survive another year in the top flight.

The favourites in division two look to be Victoria Hall II, who will be looking to make a swift return back to the top after being relegated last season.

They opened their campaign with a strong 7-1 win over a Woodvale III side who have had a lot of changes during the off-season.

After missing out on promotion by the narrowest of margins last season, it was a disappointing start for Tarleton’s first team.

They suffered a 6-2 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Churchtown III.

With many strong additions to their club, we may have seen the early signs of a consecutive promotion push.

It was wins all-round for the promoted sides in division two, as third division champions Crosby came through a very experienced Mawdesley II side in convincing fashion 7-1.

Another side that may have a legitimate chance at promotion, is Burscough Pioneers. Their first team took down Hesketh Bank in whitewash fashion 8-0.

Predicting who’s going up in division three would be a brave move, as it looks unclear at the start of the season as to who could take control.

Early indications could point towards Tarleton II, as they look to do one better than last season’s third place finish.

Their opening match saw them come through in comfortable fashion with a 7-1 win over fourth division champions Woodvale V.

Ormskirk II produced a positive response after last season’s escape from relegation with a commanding 7-1 win at Southport IV, who have recently joined this division after promotion last season.

Meanwhile, Woodvale IV battled hard to win 5-3 against the recently relegated Southport III.

There was an upset in division four as fifth division champions Southport V managed to win 5-3 against a strong and solid St. Cuthberts first team consisting of players with years of experience in higher divisions.

A three-set win by Kyle Lavender and Hilary Hosker over Tom Pattison and Anne Girdler gave Southport the confidence they needed to take a 3-1 lead after the mixed doubles.

Wins in both of the men’s doubles prevented any sort of comeback, despite a strong showing by St. Cuthberts’ ladies.

Life in division four could be a happy one for Tarleton III who finished bottom in division three last season.

Their 7-1 victory over Hesketh Bank II has put this team in good stead for the rest of the season.

In other division four action, Churchtown IV quickly saw off Mawdesley’s fourth team 7-1 and St. Cuthberts II secured an important two points in their winning draw over Woodvale VI, who finished one point ahead of their opponents last season.

In the fifth division, Southsands III came out of the blocks quickly with a strong and solid performance to oust St. Cuthberts’ third team 7-1.

It went to form for Tarleton IV who defeated Woodvale VII. Their 6-2 win showed early signs of them having promotion on their minds.

Two teams that could upset the form book are the promoted sides from division six, in the form of Crosby II and Churchtown V.

An 8-0 win over Ormskirk IV and a 6-2 victory against Burscough Pioneers III respectively could see the race for promotion to become the most competitive in the entire league. Meanwhile, Mawdesley V secured an important 5-3 win against a West End Park III side that is currently on a losing run that has been going for over a season.

Division six could very well be all about Churchtown V. After a dominant previous season to cruise to the seventh division title, this season could prove to bode well for them after their opening 8-0 win over Southport VII.

One team that could put a block in their path, is Woodvale VIII.

They recorded a strong 7-1 win against St. Cuthberts IV, in what was the opening match at St. Cuthberts’ brand new venue of Dunes Leisure Centre.

For more on the latest news and latest 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.