Darts: Darryl^s mixed feelings

DARRYL Fitton found it understandably difficult to express his feelings after his Lakeside World semi-final defeat to great pal Tony O’Shea on Saturday.

Fitton and O’Shea have been friends for more years than either would care to remember, so to be paired up in such a massive match-up was kind of cruel, if only for the fact that there just had to be a loser.

Fitton certainly played his part as the treble 20s and the double finishes followed one after the other, but in the end his efforts just fell short as O’Shea went through to Sunday’s final against Ted Hankey thanks to a six sets to four victory.

After Saturday’s match, in an exclusive interview with the Stockport Express, an overwhelmed Fitton said: "I feel as though I’ve won, even though I’ve lost. It’s a really strange feeling that I can’t describe.

"I am made up for Tony and to win it the match with that final bullseye was fantastic. I’d have been so proud of that.

"If it was me I would have been bouncing all around the stage after that one.

"I had three darts at a double finish just before that and missed them all, but Tony’s winning bullseye was smack bang in the middle so that was a great finish for him."

Despite what must have been a hugely disappointing defeat, Fitton had had another great week at the Lakeside after reaching the semi-final stage for a second time.

"I’ve been steady all week," added the massively popular ‘Dazzler’. "I played well against [last year’s finalist] Simon Whitlock, I came back great to beat Scott Waites in the quarter-finals on Thursday, but maybe my averages weren’t quite good enough today."

Fitton will be back though, as he seemed quite content to stick with the British Darts Organisation when rumours have been doing the rounds indicating that he may switch to the rival Professional Darts Corporation set-up.

Fitton concluded: "Tony and I are guaranteed to be back at the Lakeside next year after we both reached the semi-finals this time, and we’re both happy because we’ve both now qualified for the cross-corporation Grand Slam of Darts tournament later in 2009 in Holland."

It had been tough on Fitton, but he had played a major role in putting Stockport on the map with his heroics at Frimley Green last week.

Story By: Stockport Express

http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/sport/s/1090290_darryls_mixed_feelings