A Look Back In Time - 1st November 2015
What a great start to the season West Midlands have had in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships following up their 20-16 win away to local rivals Staffordshire with a tremendous 23-13 home win over Somerset.
The weekend saw the ladies ‘B’ get their game underway with a 3-1 win from Heather Wright over Marianne Bisset and although Sally Dart cancelled out Heather’s win when she beat Wendy Waine 3-0 West Midlands went ahead again in the third game when Jacqueline Maiden won 3-2 against Natalie Wadham, Jacqueline having to come form 1-0 and 2-1 down to clinch her win.
Sophie Singh was in top form for the home side as she swept away the challenge of Barbara Dyke to win 3-1 and at the same time take the lady of the match award with a very creditable 22.84 average.
At 3-1 up the West Midlands looked as if they were going to make it two wins in a row but Donna Gullock after going one down to Shellbie Simmons went on to win 3-1 and in the last game Louise Loxton beat Kirsty Shaughnessy 3-0 to put the final score all square at 3-3.
In the men’s ‘B’ game Richard Grubb (Somerset) won the first leg against Paul Price but Price won the next three without his opponent reaching a double in any of them for a 3-1 win. Doug Thompson doubled the lead when he beat Scott Warren in three straight legs.
Karl Hinks twice took his game with Ashley Hunt to level terms but missed out in the deciding leg and went down 3-2.
Taking the running score along to 4-1 were Robert Smith and Ashe Khayat who both had 3-1 wins against respective opponents Jonathon Taylor and Clive Paines before Michael Knapman (Somerset) reduced the arrears to 4-2 at the halfway point when he beat John Morris 3-1.
The second half began well as Sam Hamilton won 3-0 against Jamie Harris and Matt Tedstone added a further 3-0 against Terry Hayes to the tally to give West Midlands a 6-2 advantage. Tedstone was in superb form, after winning the first leg against Hayes in 19 darts he followed up with a 21 darts leg and rounded off a neat performance with a 14 darts leg hitting 81, 140, 82, 138 and checking out on 60 for a man of the match award winning average of 27.83.
Danny Coyle looked all set to add the winning seventh game when he went 2-0 up against Danniel Stephens but then finishing doubles eluded him and Stephens took the last three legs in 22, 20 and 28 darts, nevertheless the winning game was added in the very next encounter when Neil Pointon made short work of his opponent Phillip Bisset beating him 3-0.
The score them moved nicely along to 8-3 when Sam Guest won against Paul Harrison, Guest won the first two legs in 19 and 20 darts only to see Harrison fight back with 23 and 19 darts legs to level at two each, but Guest then produced his best leg of the tie when he hit 58, 100, 140, 140 and checked out on 63 for a fifteen darts leg and a 3-2 win.
The last game went to Somerset when Craig Paines came from 1-0 down to Jack Routledge to win 3-1 and put the final score at 8-4 to the home team.
If Saturday was good Sunday was even better as the ladies opened with a 3-2 win from Gemma Barrett, Gemma’s opponent Kate Hulme won the first leg with a 96 finish and levelled in the fourth this time checking out on 116, but in the last leg she was way back on 146 when Barrett found double two for her win.
Kay Bisset put the visitors level after going one down to Kath Jenkins and went on to win 3-1, but it was West Midlands who took the lead again in the third, Lisa Astbury winner of seven of the nine ‘A’ team match awards last season recorded her first of the current campaign when she averaged 21.47 in her 3-0 win over Marie Geaney and taking the lead to 3-1 was Sarah Roberts, another steady West Midlands player who won five ‘B’ team match awards last season, her 19.27 average together with a 3-0 scoreline the downfall of her counterpart Donna Gullock.
Once again Somerset drew level this time thanks to their Karen Littler who beat Kim Fellows 3-0, but by the same winning margin Debbie Loon accounted for Becky Taylor in the final game to give West Midlands ladies ‘A’ their first win of the season 4-2.
The men’s ‘A’ like the ‘B’ side had drawn 6-6 in the opener against Yorkshire and again like the ‘B’ side on this occasion against Somerset they won 8-4 and putting them on that winning road was none other than “Mr Reliable” Ian Jones who in 17, 17, 15 and 19 darts beat Matthew Williams 4-1 with a 28.66 average
Finishing doubles let Keith Allman down as he lost 4-1 to Mark Stock to level the score at one each and that was the pattern for the rest of the first half with all of the results going against the first throw advantage.
Avtar Singh was at number three for the home team and it was his 4-1 win over George Gardner that restored the lead for the hosts, but a 4-2 win from Dean Baker against his namesake Michael Baker kept Somerset in the game at 2-2.
For the third time in the half West Midlands got their noses in front again, this time it was Mark Craddock who put them there with his 4-2 win against Neil Raikes who had taken a 2-1 lead after losing the first leg. Mark Rollinson (West Midlands) also took a 2-1 lead after going one down to Sam Hodinott but Somerset’s man of the match bounced back with three in a row for a 4-2 win and leave both teams level at the midway point.
The first half winning trend continued up to game number nine, West Midlands taking the lead for the fourth time when Shaun Carroll beat Leigh Taylor 4-3 in a game that swayed one way then the other. Carroll won the opener in 19 darts, Taylor drew level in 20 darts, Carroll then won two consecutive legs in 14 and 15 darts only to see Taylor take the next two in 16 and 17 darts to take the game to a deciding seventh leg. From the word go the outcome was never in question as Shaun Carroll rattled off scores of 99, 100, 60, 140 and 62 to leave himself on double twenty which with his very next dart, his sixteenth of the leg, he found for a 4-3 win and an award winning 28.69 average to make it two awards in as many matches played so far. BUT yet again the score was levelled, this time it was Russell Joyner’s 4-2 win over Matthew Dicken that put the teams at 4-4 and as the story was going it was now the turn of the West Midlands and that is exactly what happened as Doug Thompson made it 5-4 when he beat Les Lester 4-2.
It was then, in the tenth game that the sequence was broken John Platt (West Midlands) going 1-0 up against Jody Matthews then 3-1 up and finally winning 4-2 before Christopher Mason, with his 4-1 win over Marcus Knapman took the score to an unassailable 7-4 lead for the Midlander’s.
Making it an impressive 8-4 win was anchor man Nick Fullwell who won his tie with Steve Werrett 4-2 to give an overall win for the weekend of 23-13 giving the West Midlands a total of 49 points and taking them to the top of the division two promotional table with a four points lead over their nearest rivals London.
As stated in the opening paragraph a great start to the season and let’s hope it continues and earns West Midlands a place at the end of the campaign back in division one.
The Sheldon and District League have completed their summer season and winning division one was The Digby with Castle Vale Stadium, who were six points behind them, runners up. There was a similar gap between the top two teams in division two with Mackadown Social champions and Marston Green Tavern runners up.
The title race in division three was much closer with Solihull Moors winning the division with 16 points and Holy Souls with 15 losing out by the odd point. Division four was another clear cut win as Iron Horse won the title with 15 points their nearest threat coming from Willclare Sports and Social who finished six points behind them.
Going into the last day of fixtures Shirley RBL Misfits were top of division five having completed all of their fixtures and on 13 points, second placed Sheldon Marlborough Arrows were one point adrift with a final game against Greville Arms which they won 5-2 to give them the title by one clear point, the same margin by which division six was decided as Langley Hall Sports and Social Flights won the division with 16 points and Maggies finished second on 15.
With the league’s domestic fixtures all completed and the six divisional champions decided the league played off the finals of their Mrs F.Richman Trophy. The first of the semi finals saw division one runners up Castle Vale Stadium beat The Pirates who finished next to bottom of division two 5-2 and with a 6-1 result division one champions The Digby won against the division two wooden spoon winners George V.
The final brought together the league’s top two teams The Digby and Castle Vale Stadium, the outcome was a 5-2 win for The Digby to give them a fantastic league and cup double.
Mackadown Social completed their league programme in group one of the South Birmingham League in style beating Banbury Flights 7-1 to clinch the group title with 27 points, four more than their nearest rivals Punchbowl who also bowed out with a good 6-2 home win over The Bell.
In group two it was Erdington Members Club who won the division, they also finished with an emphatic 7-1 victory away to bottom of the table Kingfisher. St John’s Flights finished as runners up ending the season with a 5-3 win at Coleshill Social.
The first semi final of the League Cup was no surprise as group one champion’s Mackadown Social beat second in group two St John’s Flights 5-2 but the second of the semi’s was a surprise and saw group two winners Erdington Members Club hand out a similar 5-2 defeat to group one runner’s up Punchbowl.
The final was a 5-3 success for Mackadown with Erdington finishing as runners up.
In the semi finals the Rose Bowl Consolation Cup the first tie saw Toby Jug, who finished next to bottom of group one lose 5-3 to Smithswood Social who are next to bottom of group two. The second of the semis brought together the bottom teams of both groups with the group one team The Bell beating Kingfisher 5-2.
The final was another triumph for the group two side as Smithswood Social ran out 5-3 winners against The Bell.
The Captain’s Cup was won by C.Winters who beat L.Barberan 2-1 in the final while the Secretary’s Cup went to D.Young who had a final 2-0 win over D.Mortiboys.. The mixed doubles knockout winners were S.Kingdon and M.Noonan, a 2-1 result over L.Barberan and C.Kingdon giving them the title.
What a finale to the the Kingstanding Double Top League with all of the top three players fighting it out for the title on the last night of the season.
Pat Koyce held on to pole position and claimed the title with 4-2 wins over his two nearest rivals Mike McFall and William Naylor and finish with a total of 63 points, Koyce went through 35 games season undefeated with 28 wins and 7 draws.
McFall beat Naylor by the same 4-2 margin to clinch the runners up spot with 58 points just one more than Naylor who finished third in the table. Naylor also recorded the most 180’s of the season a total of 14 while Chris Packer had no fewer than five breaks of 160. Chris Turnbull had the highest finish of 158 and the least darts in the 301 section was 7 by Chris Packer and Brendan Lysaght in the 501 section it was 11 darts by William Naylor.
The final game of the season in the Forest of Arden Summer League saw division one leaders Journeys End lose 5-2 away to Iron Horse who finished third, however despite the defeat Journeys won the division but only on average as Riley’s Red Arrows following a 4-3 win at Highwood KB ended the campaign with the same 18 points but with an inferior average.
The division two title went to Crown Arrows they completed their fixture card with a 4-3 home win over Chelmsley Town giving them 22 points four more than Sheldon Marlborough Flights and Chelmsley Town, the former taking the runners up spot by just one leg of average as both teams lost their final game 4-3, Sheldon going down at home to Greville Arms.
The Divisional Cups finals Journeys End beat league runners up Riley’s Red Arrows 5-2 to win the division one title, while the division two final was a little more of a surprise as Greville Arms, who finished the season in fourth place handed out a 4-3 defeat to the divisional runners up Sheldon Marlborough Flights
In the Knockout Cup final Journeys End who made it a fantastic treble, having already won the Division One title and the Division One Cup they added the Knockout Cup to their tally with a close but nevertheless decisive 4-3 win against next to bottom of the division Greville Arrows whose D.Duggan notched a maximum.
Rounding off the season were the finals of the men’s and women’s doubles and winning the men’s event with a final 2-0 scoreline were Simon Edwards and Luis Barberan with Jason Jennings and Andy Howell runners up.
The ladies title went to the mother and daughter pairing Sue and Charlie Kingdon who had a 2-0 win in the final against N.Harris and D.Derbyshire.
The Shirley and District League played off their singles tournament at the Red Lion Shirley, the entrant figures encouraging for the league as they were up on last season’s numbers.
Bob Nixon was in top form throughout the knockout as on his way to winning the event he recorded the only two maximums of the competition and in the final he defeated Mark Henderson another player who had produced quality darts on the night.
The Pip Club League staged the singles competitions for both of their divisions and in the division one final Tamworth Motor Spares representative Mark Martin defeated Mick Smith (Prince of Wales), while in division two it was Adam Williams (J W Belgrave) who took the honours with a final victory over Paul Corfield (Sports Bar ‘180’).
The Royal at Albrighton laid the first of what will become a series of knockouts and the winner of the inaugural competition was Andy Roberts who collected the top prize after defeating Steve Ritchie in the final, Ritchie receiving £50.
Losing semi finalists were Simon Pritchard and Mark Pardon who each picked up £25.
It is planned for a similar knockout to be staged every three months.
Winning the Camp Hill League’s singles knockout with a final victory over Neil Parsonage (Cotterills Lane Club) was HMS Lions representative Andrew Howell.
Losing semi finalists were L.O’Donnell (Cotterills Lane Club) and Simon Edwards (HMS Lions).
The final week in what was a fantastic season in the Ripley Elite Singles Darts Summer League brought together the premier division’s top two players Daz Brown and Paul Baker, Baker bringing to an end the unbeaten 23 games run by Brown beating him with a very close 3-2 result, however the result was immaterial as it was Daz Brown who won the division with a total of 125 points and runner up Paul Baker finishing fifteen behind him with 110.
Third place went to Dave Allcock who despite losing what was yet another close 3-2 game against his nearest rival Gary Fenn still held on to the third spot with 94 points but by only by one point from his opponent Fenn who had 93.
At the other end of the table Ant Parry produced the great escape as at one time he looked doomed to division one next season but he fought tooth and nail in his final few games and finished 20th in a field of 26 players, the bottom five of Dave Fritchley, Steve Richards, Alan Evans, Ant Pearce and Andy Marriott all ended the campaign with averages in excess of 20 but being the bottom five will play in division one next season.
Gary Fenn and Paul Baker both scored 16 maximums throughout the season; Andy Gillott recorded a maximum finish of 170, while the least darts of 12 was achieved by Daz Brown and Ant Parry, Brown also recording the highest average of 32.95.
The division one title went to Lee Stanley with a total of 92 points, Ian Clarke with 85 point’s finishing as runner up, the other top five players who get promotion to the premier division were Tony Palfreyman, Mark Whitelam and Mike Robinson, sixth placed Paul Hodges missing out on promotion by just one point.
Individual honours went to Ian Clarke who hit the most 180’s a total of 8, Mike Robinson with the highest finish of 157, the least darts of 13 went to Mike Robinson and Lee Stanley, Stanley also having the highest average 28.14.
This year’s winter season will comprise of 48 players made up of two divisions of 24 players in each, in the premier division players such as Daz Brown, Paul Baker, Dave Allcock, Gary Fenn, Pete Slater, Steve Pashley and Chris Hill plus many more will be fancying their chances for the title including newly promoted Ian Clarke and Mike Robinson
The full line up for the premier division is Daz Brown, Ant Parry, Dave Allcock, Paul Baker, Gary Fenn, Chris Hill, Mick Chapman, Craig Freeman, Ian Allcock, Colin Rich, Ian Richardson, Wayne Howe, Pete Slater, Ty Ward, Jim Beardmore, Andy Gillott, Keith Cooper, Steve Pashley, Ash Wood, Ian Clarke, Mike Robinson, Ant Pearce, Paul Hodges and Alan Evans.
There are a few newcomers in division one Dale Gadsby, Zoe Varney, Chris Bradshaw, Gareth Jowett and Jamie Shannon to name but a few and joining them in the title race will Russ Sharp, Chris Sharp, Dave Fritchley, Simon Baker, Dee Fenn, Martyn Wood, Jack Daykin, Clive Fuller, Ash Fisher, Jordan Beresford, Tony Jacklin, Steve Richards, Martin Richards, Gary Gray, Dean Lawrence, Steve Darcy, John Upton, Dave Slater and Paul Slater.
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