Match Secretary's Report 13th January 2009
Leicestershire 2nd 5 v Staffordshire 1st 10
A short drive across country saw Leicestershire’s 2nd team contesting a very important match against Staffordshire on Sunday 11th January with both teams rooted at the foot of the league table. Staffordshire boasting very strong ladies proved to be much too strong on the day winning all their games with the exception of one mixed. The men managed to win one singles and three level doubles games but this was not enough to even salvage a point. Highlight of the day was the partnership of Andrew Clanchy and Phil Manners playing for the first time together producing badminton of the highest order with both players going unbeaten on the day.
The three remaining matches left are now of paramount importance with the next match being played against league leaders Northamptonshire.
Well done everyone especially the ladies who fought very hard for no reward which can be soul destroying on the day. The whole team are battlers and they will continue to give of their best to try and stay in Division 1.
Team:- Andrew Clanchy; Chris Raw; Will Westwood; Phil Manners; Amie Hoult; Hayley Deas; Holly Mee and Claire Craven
Player of the Day goes to Andrew Clanchy – Well done Andrew!
David Clanchy
LBA Match Secretary
Match Secretary's Report 19th December 2008
Leicestershire 3rd 9 v Suffolk 2nd 6
Leicestershire’s 3rd team continued its excellent run of form following Sunday’s victory over Suffolk. After a long boring drive the team arrived in Ipswich to play this difficult game against a side that has a habit of causing surprises at their home venue. The win was all down to the girls who played superb badminton on the day. David Forryan who was suffering slightly with tonsillitis played his normal 120% committed game and was extremely unlucky to lose his singles after such a valiant effort. Gary Allan’s form looked very good with a win in the level doubles and a great win in the mixed playing with Jill Stanley. Both Simon Woodhouse and Phil Manners returned to the fold following injuries and it took their opening doubles game before they were able to show any form. However, they were able to recover magnificently in their remaining doubles game and mixed games with the type of polished performance we all expect.
We could use the expression of Here Come the Girls to describe Sunday’s performance because without them the team would have suffered a severe beating, they were all magnificent. It would be difficult and unfair to list any particular performance because they dominated every part of the game. Their biggest difficulty was to maintain concentration and not switch off. It is a long time since a\ match report was submitted and the girls stole the limelight.
Well done everyone it was an enjoyable day to watch badminton.
Team players:- David Forryan; Gary Allan; Simon Woodhouse; Phil Manners; Chelsey White; Britanie White; Jill Stanley and Kirsty Askew.
Player of the Day goes to Chelsey White – Well done Chelsey!
David Clanchy
LBA Match Secretary