Ellesmere A beat Lostock A to win the Bolton Sports Federation Tennis League’s Cecil Cup at Holcombe Brook.

The competition is played on a handicap basis and Lostock received a 12.5 game advantage by virtue of their lower placing in the Division One table.

The first round of matches suggested the contest was going to be tight as Antonia Heap and Ian Blinkhorn for Lostock recorded a 6-2 victory over Ashlea Hodgkinson and Chris Cain.

There was a good contest between Lostock’s Steph Gill and Arfat Khan and Ellesmere’s Sade Olijade and Roger Draper - the latter winning it 6-2 but the set was much closer than the result would suggest. The third set went in Ellesmere’s favour 6-1 leaving them on target to overcome the handicap.

The second round of sets saw Ellesmere steam ahead with an aggregate score of 17-7, giving them a lead of 2.5 games once the handicap was taken into account.

Lostock were not finished, though, and put up a spirited fightback in the final round of matches. Once Cat Jameson and Hamza Kotwal had won their set 6-4, the match depended upon the outcome of the last set on court.

This was close in the early stages but Ellesmere’s Emma Standish and Steve Bates came through 6-3 to give a final result of 47-42.5 to Ellesmere A as they lifted the cup.

Teams: Ellesmere A - Emma Standish/Steve Bates, Sade Olijade/Roger Draper, Ashlea Hodgkinson/Chris Cain; Lostock A - Steph Gill/Arfat Khan, Antonia Heap/Ian Blinkhorn, Cat Jameson/ Hamza Kotwal.