Alan Towe’s The Line On Darts – Bedfordshire v Shropshire
A 23-13 win over Pembrokeshire in their previous fixture in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships should have been just the tonic to give Shropshire a lift and kick start their season after three consecutive defeats but that was not how it turned out as in their game away to Bedfordshire they had their previous result reversed.
For the ladies ‘B’it was a weekend to forget as the opening two games were lost without winning a single leg, Bedfordshire’s Helen Styles and Hannah Meadwell beating in turn Sue Lane and Cal Jones 3-0.
Sharon Harris (Shropshire) came from 2-0 down to Becky Minney to level at 2-2 but then lost the deciding leg and went down 3-2.
The final three games all finished with a 3-1 scoreline going to the home teams Michelle Lydiate, Jo Dilley and Sue Smith at the expense of Kirsty Jones, Pam Evans and Sophie Singh to give the home team the ideal 6-0 winning start.
The men’s ‘B’ had a bright start as Dan Boot accounted for Shaun Parrott and Matt Williams beat David Broome both with 3-1 scorelines, but the 2-0 lead was quickly eroded as Simon Parrott and Mark Kingdon in turn won 3-1 against Robert Trumper and Peter Eley, and with a 3-0 success for Kelvin Maddy against Simon Pritchard the lead was reversed and the hosts were 3-2 up.
Mark Holland looked all set to increase Bedfordshire’s lead when he won the first two legs against Neil Powell but Powell fought back winning the following three legs to snatch a 3-2 win.
Shropshire went ahead again in the seventh when Neville Quinton won in straight legs against Tom Pound to restore their lead at 4-3 and although Mark Circuitt’s 3-2 success against John Cooper levelled the scores once more it was Shropshire who took the lead again in the ninth with a 3-2 win from Tim Eley despite going 1-0 and 2-1 down to Paul Riley.
The next two games both went to the hosts as Bobby Lee beat Martin Riggs 3-0 and Dean Taylor won 3-2 against Sean Flynn after trailing 2-1.
Shropshire’s saviour came in the form of Rob Henderson in the final game of the day as he in 23,20 and 18 darts beat Steve Green 3-0 to put the final score at 6-6 and in the process Henderson earned himself the man of the match award for his 24.64 average.
Kat McLean gave the ladies ‘A’ the best possible start when she won 3-1 against Shirley Williams, that lead was doubled when lady of the match Marie Riggs (19.27) won in straight legs against Angie Moyce , Marie having winning legs of 31,21 and 26 darts.
Momentarilly Kerry King reduced the arrears for Bedfordshire when she beat Becky Haris 3-1 but a similar 3-1 win by Stephanie Clarke over Louisa Taylor put Shropshire in an invincible 3-1 lead. That 3-1 advantage was taken to a winning 4-1 scoreline when Julie Griffths came from two down against Donna Hutt to win 3-2.
The final game saw Maria Perrin (Bedfordshire) win 3-2 against Michele Pritchard after Michele had drawn level at two each from a position of 2-0 down. The result a superb 4-2 win for Shropshire ladies ‘A’.
Brian Hickman opened for the men’s ‘A’, he won the first leg against Trevor Ellacott but then finished on the wrong side of the 4-2 result. The home team’s lead was doubled when Richard Wood beat Paul Bromley 4-0 and despite Derek Coulson reducing the deficit when he defeated Dara Curran 4-2 in 17,21,18 and 18 darts for an award winning average of 25.57 the home side with 4-1 wins form Ben Hazel and Micky Reed against respective opponents Clive Lucking and Nathan Storar opened up a 4-1 lead.
The home teams advantage was taken to 5-1 when Mat Caste got the better of Kevin Harris with a narrow 4-3 win which could easily have gone either way. Danny James chalked up Shropshire’s second stripe in the eighth with his 4-2 win over Lloyd Wintle but a 4-1 win from Carl Yeowell against Robert Thompson put Bedfordshire in an unbeatable 6-2 lead
Richard Parker was made to fight all the way by Michael Dexter for his 4-3 win and Shropshire’s third, a win which proved to be their final one as Steven Spring beat Andre Knox 4-0 and to round off a 9-3 victory for Bedfordshire Paddy Clowery and Aiden O’Mahoney added their 4-1 wins over respective players Scott Meyrick and Andi Chatter.
Although Shropshire suffered a 23-13 defeat they are still 28 points ahead of bottom team Isle of Wight and 11 to the good on next to bottom Pembrokeshire.
Full Results:Men’s ‘A’: (Bedfordshire names First):- Trevor Ellacott 4 Brian Hickman 2, Richard Wood 4 Paul Bromley 0, Dara Curran 2 Derek Coulson 4, Ben Hazel 4 Clive Lucking 1, Micky Reed 4 Nathan Storar 1, Mat Caste 4 Kevin Harris 3, Lloyd Wintle 2 Danny James 4, Carl Yeowell 4 Robert Thompson 1, Michael Dexter 3 Richard Parkes 4, Steven Spring 4 Andre Knox 0, Paddy Clowery 4 Scott Meyrick 1, Aiden O’Mahoney 4 Andi Chatter 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Shaun Parrott 1 Dan Boot 3, David Broome 1 Matt Williams 3, Simon Parrott 3 Robert Trumper 1, Mark Kingdon 3 Peter Eley 1, Kelvin Maddy 3 Simon Pritchard 0, Mark Holland 2 Neil Powell 3, Tom Pound 0 Neville Quinton 3, Mark Circuitt 3 John Cooper 2, Paul Riley 2 Tim Eley 3, Bobby Lee 3 Martin Riggs 0, Dean Taylor 3 Sean Flynn 2, Steve Green 0 Rob Henderson 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Shirley Williams 1 Kat McLean 3, Angie Moyce 0 Marie Riggs 3, Kerry King 3 Becky Harris 1, Louisa Taylor 1 Stephanie Clarke 3, Donna Hutt 2 Julie Griffiths 3, Maria Perrin 3 Michel Pritchard 2, Women’s ‘B’:- Helen Styles 3 Sue Lane 0, Hannah Meadwell 3 Cal Jones 0, Becky Minney 3 Sharon Harris 2, Michelle Lydiate 3 Kirsty Jenks 1, Jo Dilley 3 Pam Evans 1, Sue Smith 3 Sophie Fawcett 1.