Dons boost title chance

BADMINTON:

UNBEATEN Dons boosted their title hopes in Division 1 of the Oldham and Rochdale Badminton League with a 15-0 win at Saddleworth A, where Pete Ramsden, Neil Tuersely, David Johnson and Martin Spencer were in top form.

They also recorded a 13-2 win over Lydgate, despite an early 21-19 success for Andy Nichols and Graham Broadley for their rivals. Wins from Dave Fox and Martin Spencer (21-9) and Nick Weston and Neil Tuersley (21-8) contributed to a comfortable victory for Dons.

Having lost touch with the top teams recently, Tara were looking to close the gap a little when Alpha A were the visitors. However, things didn’t start well for Tara, with Alpha winning four of the first five games, including a 21-10 from Paul Baker and Peter Ashworth.

Tara tried to stay in touch with two wins from Colin Dunn and Tony Weston (21-13, 21-17) but Alpha maintained the momentum, Danny Mills and Baker winning all three of their games for a final 10-5 success for Alpha.

Alpha A further strengthened their place at the top of the table with a comfortable 15-0 win against Lancashire Racquets B.

In Division 2, Alpha B and Spotland contested a hard-fought match. Alpha started well, with wins from Gary Walker and Damian Conway (21-15) and Peter Ashworth and Dave Dunn (21-15) helping set up a 3-1 lead.

Spotland then fought back, with Ian Wiener and Martin Noble (21-16) and Kiran Tangirala and Chetan Reddy (21–15) edging them 4-3 ahead.

The lead continued to change hands and entering the final game the match was level 7-7. Spotland emerged triumphant, thanks to a 21-14 win from Wiener and Noble.

Balderstone have been looking much stronger recently, thanks to a couple of new players. They were always on top against Saddleworth B and 21-8 wins from Brian Dearden and Tony Kelly and Rod Collins and Ray Bibby contributed to a 15-0 victory.

In the Team Handicap quarter-finals, there were wins for Alpha B against Spotland, Hollingworth against MMCBC, Balderstone against Saddleworth B and Springhill against Northern Flight.

The semi-finals are Alpha B v Balderstone and Hollingworth v Springhill.