Carlisle badminton star Lauren Smith has every faith her Team Derby side can go all the way to the AJ Bell National Badminton League Championship Final after they toppled fellow title pushers Suffolk Saxons on Monday.
Four teams remain in the running for a spot in the Championship Final, with the top two outfits progressing to the showdown in Milton Keynes.
Team Derby firmly put their names in the hat with a narrow 3-2 victory over the Saxons, edging the win in a nail-biting men’s doubles finale.
After triumphing in the mixed doubles alongside Olympic bronze medallist Marcus Ellis, fellow Team GB star Smith went on to miss out on women’s doubles glory, but she remains confident her side are in the running to get their hands on the silverware.
“We lost our momentum a little bit but we came out really strong with a good game plan, we played good women’s doubles, nice and solid play,” she said.
“Our opponents didn’t know what to do because I think they wanted a bit more from us.
“I gave them a little bit more pace in the later games, but it is a disappointing result because we had our game plan, but they played well.
“We’ll bounce back from this though, we’ve got more to come and we’re definitely playing well together.
“It’s really getting down to the business end of it all now, every game really counts.
"I’ve lost in the NBL final twice now so that really sucks, so I’m hoping to change that this year.
“We’ve got a good chance of winning against every team we’ve played, so we plan on getting to the final and then going on to win it.”
Team Derby now have just one fixture remaining against Loughborough Lightning to secure their place in the Championship Final but Smith has high hopes for her team as they look to take the title they last won in 2015.
“I think Loughborough have got a good, strong team with a lot of depth,” she said.
“Even if people aren’t available to play, they tend to have good substitutes and so I think we’ve got to make sure that we come out strong against them.
“We’ve got to focus and, while it’s a game we should win, nothing is certain in the NBL.”
The AJ Bell National Badminton League Final takes place on 8 February at centre:mk in Milton Keynes, offering a great value family evening out.
Tickets to see the league’s top two teams go head to head to be champions can be booked at www.nationalbadmintonleague.co.uk
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