Commanding county win in badminton
Shetland defeated Caithness 10-2 in the last badminton inter-county of the season at Clickimin.
After a win in last season’s away fixture, with several top players missing, hopes were high that the team could repeat the result.
Three players made their A county debuts against Orkney earlier this season and all three were again selected to play against Caithness. Ross Keith and Stuart Sineath had combined well in their first county together and once again they gave the home side a good start when they saw off Davy Swanson and youngster Peter Sangster in two sets.
Diana Jamieson was not so fortunate and she missed out on her second appearance in the A team when she became sick the day before. This gave B team stalwart Loraine Anderson an opportunity to play in the A team with her Whalsay team-mate Louise Hutchison and they were involved in a long, exciting three-setter against two of Caithness’s up-and-coming players, Donna Majilton and Michelle Cowie. Unfortunately for Shetland it was the visitors who came out on top 16-21, 23-21, 18-21 to bring the teams level.
After the early setback the Shetland team took complete control and only lost one more level doubles match. Anne Wood and Audrey Leask won easily while the Keith twins Graham and Gordon also won their match in two sets, albeit after taking it just a little too easy towards the end of the first.
Zoe Anderson and Morag Fox faced strong opposition in Carole Mowat and Casey Sangster but combined well to win 21-14, 21-17. Caithness earned their only other win of the night when Mark Mackay and Sam Campbell won the first men’s clash with Colin Grant and Jason Jamieson. The overall match score after the level doubles was Shetland 4, Caithness 2.
Unfortunately for Caithness there were to be no more successes. The home side completely dominated the mixed doubles with four of the wins in straight sets. It looked like Caithness might win the match at sixth mixed when Loraine and Stuart lost the first set against Donna and Peter but they found their feet just in time and turned the match round to win 19-21, 21-16, 21-10.
By far the best match was at first mixed. Zoe and Gordon lost a thrilling first set against Casey and Mark but both the home players seemed to be up for the fight even though the inter-county was well won by this time. Many long rallies ensued in sets two and three and eventually the Shetland pair ensured the evening ended on a high.
A spokesman for Shetland Badminton Association said they would like to thank main sponsors John Leask & Son for the continued support and Clickimin for the excellent facilities and after-match catering.
