Division One

Bellanaleck ‘B’ 0-4 Newtownbutler

Last Thursday, January 4 saw the Fermanagh Badminton Division One return to action following the Christmas break.

The match saw Bellanaleck ‘B’ playing their first fixture in the league this season.

In what was a tightly contested match in Bellanaleck the home advantage did not help the side against a strong team from Newtownbutler.

The top set saw Bellanaleck’s Jonny Cathcart and Clive Funston taking on Newtownbutler’s Phillip Hutchinson and David Johnston.

Good test

In what was a good test for the Bellanaleck duo they lost out in two games, being defeated 21-17 and 21-16.

Newtownbutler saw themselves moving into a strong position with a 2-0 lead after Gordon North and Stephen Scott defeated David Latimer and Roger Howe 21-12 and 21-13.

The first round of mixed pairs would have seen Bellanaleck hope to pull back a point from Newtownbutler.

However it wasn’t to be on the night with a seasoned pairing of Hutchinson and North beating Cathcart and Latimer 21-17 and 21-11.

With Newtownbutler now looking for the 4-0 they never let up in the final match with Johnston and Scott defeating Funston and Howe 21-11 and 21-14.

Division Two

Drum 1-3 Newtownbutler

The first Division Two game of the new year saw Drum facing Newtownbutler in Drum.

The first match of the night was Drum’s Erskine Deering and Marcus Stewart taking on Newtownbutler’s Stuart Johnston and Luke Morrison.

Tight affair

In what was a tight affair the Newtownbutler duo managed to come out on top winning both games 21-17.

In the second match of the night Drum’s David Moore and Sandy Mills took on James Elliott and Stewart Wiggins.

Moore and Mills managed to edge the first game 21-18, however this did not diminish the spirits of Elliott and Wiggins who came back to win the next two games 21-17 and 21-19.

At the interval it was Newtownbutler who had stormed into a 2-0 lead.

Deering and Moore were up next against Morrison and Wiggins in a tough contest. The Drum pairing were too strong in the end up taking the games 21-9, 21-18.

The final match of the night was Drum’s chance to claim a draw.

Johnston and Elliott just proved too strong in the end up defeating Marcus Stewart and Sandy Mills 21-15 and 21-16.

Drum 2-2 Florencecourt

Drum were in action for a second night in a row, this time it would be Florencecourt travelling down to the Monaghan village last Friday.

Based on previous results this promised to be a good fixture with both sides playing a good standard of badminton in other leagues.

The first game of the night saw David Moore and David Armstrong facing up against Florencecourt’s Eric Elliott and Gary Thornton.

Narrow win

Both pairings were incredibly evenly matched and had the score line to prove it with Florencecourt narrowly winning the first game 21-19.

The second game proved to be no different going past the wire, this time it would be in Drum’s favour winning the second game 26-24.

The final game of the set continued this legacy.

With both sides tied at 20-20 the game once again had to go into additional points. After an exhausting three games it was Florencecourt who would snatch the first point after beating Moore and Armstrong in the final game 23-21.

In the next match Drum were looking to settle the score and not let the match run away from them.

Darryl McAdoo and Joshua Moore were presented with the task of bringing their team back level against Florencecourt’s John Wallace and Johnny Skuce.

McAdoo and Moore did this in convincing fashion defeating their opponents 21-11 and 21-18.

With the score now tied at 1-1 it was difficult to call who would come out on top in this fixture.

Armstrong and McAdoo were up next against Elliott and Wallace hoping to give their side the advantage.

After the first game it looked as though we might have a repeat of the opening match.

Elliott and Wallace defeated Armstrong and McAdoo 24-22 in the opening game.

However, the second game proved too much for the Drum pair as Florencecourt took it 21-14. Florencecourt had the advantage at 2-1.

The final match of the night saw the Moore father-son pairing take on Thornton and Skuce.

The match finished with the Drum duo winning 21-17, 21-12.

The contest ended with a 2-2, which due to the tight matches, neither side could complain about.