FORREST A edged to a thrilling 10-8 victory over Markland Hill B in a thrilling Bolton Badminton League A Section game that went to the wire.

Fourth-placed Forrest, who are one place and one point behind Markland Hill B with two games in hand, drew first blood in a hard-fought game when their first couple, Christine Seddon and Chris Mealor, beat Bev Hamblett and David Saunders 21-18, 21-10.

The second pair of games was shared when Markland's Julie Lowe and Bill Hamblett won the first 21-17 before Paula Wright and Ron Welsh claimed the second 21-18.

The third couples' games were also shared, Markland Hill's Nicola Hill and Alan Crowe winning the first 21-16 and Carolyn Wood and Kirk Pendlebury taking the second 21-19.

Forrest increased their lead when Seddon and Mealor won their first couples' games 21-18, 21-19 against Lowe and Hamblett.

Markland Hill stormed back, winning the next five games to give themselves a 7-6 lead going into the second game of the first pair of men’s only to see their winning sequence halted by Pendlebury and Mealer with a gritty 21-16 win in the second.

And the pendulum swung back Forrest's way in a compelling match with Wood and Wright taking the second pair of ladies’ games 21-12 and a nailbiting 22-20.

Forrest were now 9-7 ahead and needed just one more win to secure the match, and it was won in a fittingly close game which ended 21-19 to Pendlebury and Welsh.

In C Section, second-bottom Roe Green left it late to make third-placed Moorside A fight for an 11-7 win.

Home side Moorside were in cruise control early on with Judith Standish and Matt Barton comfortably beating Laura Moar and Jack Armstrong 21-12, 21-12, and Sue Beamer and Andrew Taylor also having little trouble on their way to 21-9, 21-10 wins against Debbie Batchelor and Steve Hepburn.

The third couples' games were shared when Roe Green got their first point on the board when Shiela Swindells and Mark Watts won 21-19 against Lyn Barnard and Steve Gittins who hit back by taking the second 21-17.

Moorside claimed the following four games that could have gone either way giving them an advantage of 9-1 going into the level doubles.

But Roe Green refused to give in and showed great fighting spirit.

Swindells and Batchelor won 21-16, 21-17 in the first pair of ladies’ games against Bernard and Standish, and after Moorside’s Gittins and Burton won 21-17 in the first pair of men’s games, Watts and Hepburn took the second 21-15.

The match had already been lost but Roe Green made the scoreline look more respectable by going on to win three of the final four games.

Other results

A Section: Westhoughton A 12 Markland Hill B 6.

B Section: Westhoughton C 5 Markland Hill C 13, Deane A 12 Sharples A 6.

D Section: Westhoughton E 8 Markland Hill E 10.