FORREST A claimed a place in the semi-finals of the Jane Fletcher Cup after a narrow 379-373 victory over Westhoughton B.

Forrest, third-placed in Section A, gave their second-placed Section B opponents a handicap of 125.

Westhoughton’s first couple, Lisa Wintle and Chris King claimed 12 points in each of their opening games against Paula Wright and Will Wiseman.

Playing second for Westhoughton, Jackie Roberts and Shaun Chadwick added more points to their tally over two games, claiming 16 and 12 respectively against Chris Mealor and Christine Seddon.

The third couples to meet shared the spoils, with Forrest’s Carolyn Wood and Adam White winning the first game 21-19. Westhoughton’s Mandy Gow and Stephen Dixon then claimed the second 24-22, adding a healthy amount to their total.

The first couples’ games also went to Forrest with Mealor and Seddon winning 21-11, 21-18. It was not plain sailing though, with Wintle and King showing good resistance and adding to their growing points tally.

Forrest also won both games when the second couples played, Wright and Wiseman winning both 21-11.

Going into the level doubles Forrest were leading 211-146 with everything to play for.

Forrest ladies won both sets of level doubles comfortably but the results points tally was still competitive.

Their men also managed to win both sets but Westhoughton’s third man, Dixon, and his team-mates provided tougher competition managing 66 points in total.

Neither team wilted under the pressure but when the envelope revealed the handicap it sealed a six-point victory.

In the Robert Cup, the draw proved unfortunate for Moorside C as they took on their club-mates and Section D leaders Moorside B for a place in the semi-final.

The B team won the match 366-314 with a handicap of 75 not enough for the C team who are seventh in the same division.

The C team made a good start, with Lillian Croston and Rob Farer winning the second game 21-15 after falling to a narrow 22-20 defeat in the opening match against Rhian Vickers and Stuart Hall.

However, the B team hit back with Pam Livesley and Andrew Yates winning their games against Denise Fortune and Graham Culf.

The C team improved their chances when the third couples played, the B team’s Laura Goff and Jamie Belton winning the first 21-9, and Jane Whelan and Stephen Barton taking the second 19-21 for Moorside C.

After this, Moorside B established their superiority, winning 84-46 over four mixed games, putting them 203-124 ahead overall.

Despite a stubborn resistance from the C team including a 21-16 victory for Whelan and Fortune against Goff and Vickers, Moorside B won all of the remaining games to seal their place in the Robert Cup semi-final.