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Ellis full of praise for Suffolk's young Saxons
Suffolk Saxons captain Andy Ellis wasquick to praise his young teammates as they pulled off a stunning 4-1 win overSurrey Smashers – their first ever victory in the AJ Bell National BadmintonLeague – as the perfect response to their debut defeat in Birmingham.
It didn't get off tothe best start for Suffolk Saxons as opening mixed doubles pair Sean Vendy andZoe King , playing together for the first time, lost 3-1 to Rio 2016 Olympians Chris Langridge and Gabby Adcock .
But the determinationand grit shown by the youngsters appeared to set the tone for the evening andspur on the rest of their team, as Suffolk Saxons went on to clinch fourconsecutive event victories in front of a rapturous home crowd, dubbed one ofthe noisest in the AJ Bell NBL.
Making her AJ BellNBL debut, Julie Finne-Ipsen defeated Line Kjaersfeldt – who represented Denmarkin Rio – 3-1 before Joel Douse edged the fixture into Suffolk Saxons' favourwith a 3-1 win over Sam Parsons , who now has won just once in 10 outtings.
Victory was sealedfor the hosts with Finne-Ipsen and Sarah Walker 's 3-1 women's doubles defeat ofAdcock and Sophie Brown , before Ellis and Vendy wrapped up proceedings with adominant 3-1 win over Olympic bronze medallist Langridge and Tom Wolfenden .
“Getting a first winon the board is great for the team and a good confidence boost for everyone,”said Ellis.
“Credit goes to Sean Vendy becausehe played twice tonight and nearly upset Chris Langridge and Gabby Adcock inthe mixed doubles.
We're looking to blood youngerplayers and I think they have all performed exceptionally well tonight.
“For Zoe King, thismight be the confidence boost she needs to decide to be a full-time player inthe future. She and Sean nearly saw off a world-class pair tonight and theyshould both be so proud of that.
“Their performance atthe start gave the team a boost so hats off to them.”
“If everyone is playing well, we could beatteams 5-0 or 4-1, but we'll regroup ahead of the fixture against University ofNottingham Badminton and we'll see what happens.”
TICKETS | CLICK HERE to book the edge of your seat for Match-night as Suffolk Saxons travel to Loughborough Lightning on 28 November.
