by Jackie Thorley

STAFFORDSHIRE'S men and women both failed to stave off relegation in the LTA Winter County Cup after a catalogue of missed chances.

Any promotion hopes were crushed in the opening stages and the sides were left to battle for mid-table slots.

They suffered early setbacks in their campaigns, with the men succumbing to a bruising 8-1 Group 4A defeat at the hands of Nottinghamshire, while the women lost 5-4 to Group 4B opponents Durham and Cleveland.

The early blow derailed Staffs men's push for a double promotion at Tipton.

They trailed 4-0 against Somerset on the second day and despite rallying to level the match with wins from Craig Leese (Draycott) and Chris Priddle (Sutton) and doubles pairings Leese and Priddle, plus Stuart Twigg (Wolverhampton) and Richard Brindley, the team were defeated 5-4.

Staffs suffered a setback in their last encounter against Northumberland when Stafford player James Henderson pulled out with a shoulder injury.

Darcy Crawford (Wolverhampton) and Kirk Woodall (Stourbridge) won their singles, while Leese and Priddle's doubles success was mirrored by Twigg and Brindley.

But it was the northern outfit who claimed the tie 5-4 and Staffs were left to rue squandered chances throughout the tournament, as just one more game would have kept them off the basement.

"We seem to yo-yo between Groups 4 and 5 with the current squad of players, so it would have been great to stay," said manager Stuart Twigg.

"It was a story of matches lost from winnable positions, which is really disappointing.

"When you lose heavily to a good team it's easier to take, but to lose matches you could have won is really tough.

"In the end we were equal on sets, but lost by one game."

Nationally ranked Amy Sargeant (Tipton) spearheaded the women's team and secured victories in all her singles.

Cassidy Crawford (Wolverhampton) and Emily Southall (Tipton) were also in winning form as they clinched their singles and teamed-up to capture a doubles against Durham, although Staffs lost the curtain-raiser.

The in-form trio notched up further singles wins against North Wales, but their team-mates were unable to match their success as Staffs toppled 6-3.

Making her debut in the senior county side, Basford youngster Amy Ellis bagged a singles win against Lincolnshire. The 14-year-old Newcastle-under-Lyme School student then partnered Katie Eaton (Stourbridge) to claim a doubles success, while Sargeant and Southall delivered again, but Crawford was forced to retire through illness.

Staffs needed one more rubber, but Eaton's three-set tussle ended in misery and the 5-4 defeat condemned them to relegation.

"We're disappointed because we only needed another rubber," said 19-year-old skipper, Emma Hingley (Wolverhampton).

"But we did really well considering Cass (Crawford) had to pull out and we were also missing some players.2

Also in the line-up were Elli Share and Lydia Sui.