SECTION A's Hawkshaw just about got the better of Section B high-flyers Westhoughton B in the second round of the Jane Fletcher Cup handicap tournament.

Second-placed Hawkshaw knew they would have a fight on their hands against the team currently lying third in the division below, and that is the way it proved with the Bury side edging the result 378-367.

While the higher-placed side won all the games on the night, Westhoughton almost got enough points in defeat to run them close.

Hawkshaw's Steph Dawid-Palugh and Matt Green got their team off to a fine start with big 21-4, 21-5wins against Gill Moar and Shaun Chadwick.

Suzannah Penny and Nathan Whitehead then won equally comfortably 21-7, 21-5, against Westhoughton’s Lisa Wintle and John Cole.

But with the handicap bound to be a big one, Westhoughton were adding to their points tally and knew they would still be in the game.

Claire Edmondson and Rich Smith, playing third for Hawkshaw, claimed their games 21-10, 21-5 against Mandy Gow and Stephen Dixon.

When the teams’ first couples met Dawid-Palugh and Green took both these games 21-2, 21-6, from Wintle and Cole.

When the second couples played although Hawkshaw’s Penny and Whitehead won 21-14, 21-15, against Moar and Chadwick, the Westhoughton camp’s morale would have been boosted by the points they scored.

Westhoughton finished with 142 points but when the envelope was opened it revealed a 225 handicap for Westhoughton which left them just 12 points short of victory.

The lower-placed side emerged victorious in the Robert Cup clash between Roe Green and Markland Hill E.

However, despite being a division apart, the number of positions between the two in the overall league structure is not too many with Markland Hill top of D Section and their opponents 10th in C Section.

Markland Hill’s Lucy Ault and Jordan Halsall won the opening games 21-18, 21-14, against Roe Green’s first couple, Debs Batchelor and Aide Beardow.

Playing second couple for Roe Green, Sandra Fiddler and Jack Armstrong reciprocated by winning both their closely-contested games, 22-20, 21-19 against Shannon McClarence and Brad Gibson.

Markland Hill also took both games when the third couples met, Alana McClarence and Scott Gibson winning 21-18, 21-15 against Sheila Swindells and James Spiers.

Although Markland Hill had dropped only three games during the match, it is all about collecting points in the handicap games and Roe Green had continued to chip away and gain valuable points. But had they stacked up enough?

When the envelope was opened it revealed a scratch handicap for both teams and Markland Hill were 371-305.

Results

Jane Fletcher Cup: Markland Hill A 372 Hawkshaw B 459, Markland Hill D 389 Forrest C 330, Forrest A 378 Sharples B 394.

Robert Cup: Farnworth D 458, Moorside A 378, Westhoughton E 524 GMT 354.