WESTHOUGHTON E narrowly got the better of Moorside D in a thrilling encounter in the Bolton Badminton League C Section.

The match went down to the final pair of games which Geoff Everitt and Andrew Nowell won convincingly to seal victory for their team.

Hosts Westhoughton, who started the game eighth in the section, got off to a flying start when Louise Vernon and Bernard Littlewood won the opening games, 21-10, 21-19, against Jane Ashcroft and Graham Culf.

Second-bottom Moorside’s first couple, Judith Parker and Tom Shaw, levelled the score when they claimed the second pair of games, 21-13, 21-14, against Emily Shepherd and Andrew Nowell.

The match, which see-sawed throughout, tilted back in Westhoughton’s favour when the third couples met.

It was a real family affair with father and daughter Geoff and Chloe Everitt winning 21-19 and 21-18 against another father-and-daughter, Geoff and Abi Sewart.

Moorside hit back when Parker and Shaw took both games against Vernon and Littlewood in the clash of the first couples – the first a nailbiting 28-26, and the second a far more comfortable 21-9.

It was Westhoughton’s turn to win next, and they made no mistake when Shepherd and Nowell resoundingly took both games, 21-4, 21-5, against Ashcroft and Culf.

Going into the level doubles Westhoughton were just ahead 6-4, however Moorside’s determined Sewart and Parker claimed the first pair of ladies’ games 21-11, 21-7, against Everitt and Vernon, to even the score.

Westhoughton’s men, Everitt and Littlewood, then edged their team ahead again when they won the first pair of games 21-12, 21-5, against Sewart and Shaw.

Then, keeping with the theme of taking it in turns to win, Moorside ladies' Sewart and Ashcroft evened the score with 21-7, 21-15 victories over Everitt and Shepherd.

So it all came down to the final pair of men’s games, and Everitt and Nowell took them 21-6, 21-10 against Sewart and Culf to claim the close-fought match victory.