BURY Seniors moved up to second place in the Red Rose Veterans League after beating Darwen 8-6 at Unsworth Hall.

Skipper John Latham and Sid Hyams gave them the best possible start but had to wait until the 18th green to secure victory over Jeff Tyler and Clive Taylor in the opening match.

Brian Simper and Gordon Pilkington holed out on the last green to secure a half against Brian Catterall and Ray Hunt.

But Darwen pair Dave Clayton and Keith Ramsden levelled the match with a 2&1 victory over Brian Little and Gerry Barnes.

Both sides claimed a point each from the next two matches as Bury's Stuart Hindley and Ged Eckersley beat Steve Bentley and Clive Petersen 2&1, while Darwen's Ian Peterson and Ken Taylor claimed a 3&2 victory over Mike Howarth and Peter Dawson.

But a comfortable 6&5 win for Bury's Colin Duckworth and Bob Emmens against David Jennings and Alan Jenkinson in the penultimate game proved crucial as Glyn Evans and Jimmy Hardman claimed the half they needed against Ralph Westwell and Gordon Ashworth in the last match to settle the match.

Bury showed amazing spirit to fight back from 6-2 down to draw 7-7 in a friendly at Accrington.

Their team captain, Latham, opened up with a 4&2 win alongside partner Ken Brown, but the home side won six of the next seven matches.

Bury fought back, with Trevor Ince and Dave Johnson, Derick Kenyon and Billy Lawrence, and Gordon Tyrie and Ian Rennie all picking up points, while Brian Simper and Mike Howarth were granted a half after their opponents failed to make the tee.