Vale Badminton Club

Ladies win 9-0 . . . . . . . . .  enough said!

The Vale had concerns about this match. It would appear that gaining promotion at the end of last season was not without its sacrifices with some of the team giving more than their bodies can take.

Others have been poached and some have gone back where they belong, having visited the lower ranks for a season and deciding it was so awful that it was worth eating salad and doing some running to get back in the A team… (you know who you are!)

So with a new team and a real mix up of partnerships the Vale B found themselves on the brink of their first match at a new level. The Team Captain did nothing to help settle any nerves by going over on his ankle and putting himself out just a week before the opening game… He did take the Captain’s role well though and despite being injured did come down to lend support and give advice from the side lines!

So in true Vale style a visit to the bargain bucket that is the C team was called for. Of course the realty is our C team is a force to be reckoned with and there’s plenty of talent to choose from.

Stepping on to the court the teams were as follows:

• Nige & Matt (1sts)
• Glynn & Andy (2nds)
• Nathan and Len (3rds)

Brilliant to see Nathan back on court and of course always a pleasure to see the wily old fox that is Len (half man half support bandage).

Matt and Nige haven’t played together for a long time and they looked shaky against a very strong opposition 1st pair.

Taking it to 3 they had a fantastic rally to finish. A thundering smash from half court by Matt was picked up from behind the back by the opposition for Nige to drive it flat and hard forcing the error and sealing the win.

Glynn and Andy looked like they’d been playing together all season and despatched the 2nds with no fuss. The combination of Andy’s front play and Glynn’s back court play looked formidable.

Luckily for the 3rds the visiting team failed to notice that one player is made up of elastic supports and the other has knees made of porridge. Nathan and Len gelling well and finishing it in 2.

The next round went much the same way and the visiting 1st pair pushed it to 3 only to have Andy’s ‘quicker than the human eye’ tricks at the net and Glynn’s incredibly consistent use of the frame proving too much.

Nige and Matt were now looking more confident and a contender for shot of the season from Matt helped see them finish off the visiting 3rd pair in 2.

Unfortunately Nathan and Len couldn’t get the better of the 1sts in the final game but it didn’t really matter. The Vale secured the win 7-2.

The Arches were a really nice team to play and there was plenty of good sportsmanship from both sides too.

Well done Vale!

After only 1 day’s break since the previous match, there were some stiff muscles, but the teams soon got into the match. Glyn and Alison were playing as 1sts and won against their 1sts in 2 straight games, losing after 3 to their 2nds and winning again in 2 straight games against their 3rds.

Nothing to do with the matching fluorescent pink T shirts they both were wearing! That said, Chris wore pink too, and she and Nathan beat their 3rds in 2 straight games, but were unable to hold out against their 1sts after taking the 2nd game convincingly.

Again, Matt and Jayne put in a really great effort with some very close games but couldn’t quite take them.

Perhaps the games we won were  down to the pink T shirts! I think I’ll ask the whole team to wear them for the next match!

Brilliant effort by all, close loss at 6 – 3

First match of the season for the mixed B team. Unfortunately, an 8 -1 loss, but the scores didn’t reflect the effort that was put in by everyone.

Glyn and Sarah put up a really good fight going to 3 against their 1st and 2nd pairs. Matt and Jayne also made a fabulous effort, going to 3 against the 2nd and the 3rds.

Nathan and Chris took the only winner, not being able to take the 2nds or 3rds, but wining after 3 games against their 1sts!

A really good match, with a score line that didn’t reflect the effort or closeness of some of the games. Looking forward to the next match!

Mixed A home to Heath A re-arranged from 9th October 2011 to 6th March 2012.
Rebels have withdrawn from the league so Men’s A matches against them are cancelled.
Mixed B game scheduled for 1st Feb 2012 – postponed.  New date to be confirmed.
Men’s C match Mon 28th Nov now re-arranged for Mon 5th Dec.

Hi all, quick note to say Sunday 9th’s mixed match is cancelled and there is no club night as we have no courts.

Thanks.