St Albans Croquet Club have navigated the first hurdle in their campaign to retain the national Longman Cup.
They took the title earlier this year in the delayed 2020 competition and were instantly into the defence with a first-round match against Ealing.
This was a repeat of their first round match from the successful run last year and it produced a repeat of the result, St Albans winning by a single game.
The match consisted of a doubles and a singles game in the morning and three singles games in the afternoon.
The Clarence Park-based club won the morning doubles but lost the solitary single.
The afternoon sessions, consisting of three singles games were just as tight but after a narrow 26-24 defeat for Stephen Mills, Derek Lambert held on to win 25-23 before Roger Bowman won by nine hoops, handing Saints a 3-2 win and another repeat in round two, this one against the side they beat in last year's final, High Wycombe.
The opening game in the Herts & Beds League also brought a victory, the trio being joined by Heather Bennett to beat Letchworth 4-2.
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