After two consecutive defeats in Division 3b, Carlton’s Second Men were hoping for a quick return to winning ways in their final game of the season. Though promotion was no longer possible, there was always pride to play for!
The start of the match was delayed by some forty minutes thanks to a power-cut in Carlton. Thankfully, both teams managed to hide in reception at Carlton Forum long enough to see power restored and the match get the go ahead.
Starting slowly, Chris & Phan dropped their first game against Phoenixwood’s first pair in three rubbers. It took John and the returning Martin to power through their first game to even the score up at 1-1, and from that point Carlton never looked back.
Glenn & Aidan took their first game in 2 to push Carlton into the lead, and we then saw Martin & John defeat Phoenixwood’s first pairing – taking the first rubber to just 11 – to see the match 3-1 in Carlton’s favour. It was particularly good to see Martin back on court and in the thick of the action after being away from competitive badminton for a few weeks – his return also seeing a return to winning ways for Carlton.
Another impressive win for Glenn & Aidan in two straight rubbers saw Chris & Phan set up to potentially take the match with the score poised at 4-1. However, with things never quite turning out the way expected, they contrived to lose the first rubber 19-21 to Phoenixwood’s third pairing. Finally stung into some form of action (if for nothing other than the fact that Chris was older than the Phoenixwood pairing combined) they took the next two 21-16 to see the win out.
Even with the match over, Carlton didn’t let up with Phoenixwood – Glenn & Aidan with a fine win against Phoenixwood’s first in 3 – the second rubber only going against the Carlton pair at 22-24, and Martin & John pushing through to take all their games in two.
Ending the season on a positive win bodes well for the future of Carlton’s Second Men. With young players – like the ever impressive Aidan, Matt & Phan – and the more experienced, the future looks bright for the second team.