GREG Mairs tipped Loughborough Sport to match anybody in the AJ Bell National League after helping them clinch a comeback win against Birmingham on Monday.

A 3-2 victory, which included a straight-sets win for Mairs and Jenny Moore in the mixed doubles, secures a top-four finish and a guaranteed spot at finals day in May.

“It meant a lot to us [to beat Birmingham]”, said Mairs.

“To come back from 2-0 down and win a fixture against a team that was second in the league meant everything, and we fought really hard.

“We definitely think we can win the title.

“We’ve a strong squad, while some of our rivals have players that miss matches due to commitments in other tournaments – I believe we’re the only side in those situations that has quality in reserve to fill in when others are away.”

And Loughborough had to demonstrate that strength in depth against opponents who started Monday’s head-to-head only two points adrift in the table.

The visitors started strongly, winning both the men’s doubles and singles rubbers to establish a 2-0 lead.

Lauren Smith and Jenny Wallwork saw off Heather Olver and Sarah Walker in the women’s doubles before Chloe Birch got the better of Fontaine Chapman to level proceedings at 2-2.

That left Mairs, a former student at Sir John Deane’s College in Northwich, and Moore to finish the job against Nico Ruponen and Alida Chen.

They registered a 9-5, 9-6, 9-6 success to delight the home crowd.

Mairs added: “Fair play to our opponents because at the start they came at us and showed that passion to win, but we managed to play well to get ahead.

“It was important for us to stay ahead, because in this format anything can happen; one point can mean a tie completely changes.”

It completes a busy week for Mairs, who along with Moore reached the mixed doubles quarter finals at the English National Championships 48 hours earlier.

They bowed out after losing 15-21, 27-25, 21-14 to Ben Lane and Jess Pugh.

And it was a similar story in the men’s doubles with Mairs and Michael Roe departing at the hands of Peter Briggs and Tom Wolfenden 21-9, 21-18 at the same stage.

Mairs said: “Jenny and I prepared well for the nationals but not as well as we’d hoped, losing a really close match. But that is sport and we will come back stronger.

“We went into it wanting to play well and we did that in parts, but when we saw the draw we were hoping for a semi-final against [reigning Commonwealth Games champions] the Adcocks. However it wasn’t to be.”

For AJ Bell National League fixtures, tickets and team news visit nationalbadmintonleague.co.uk or follow @NBL_official on Twitter