Darts News - Alan Towe’s The Line On Darts – Cleveland v Derbyshire
Last season in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships Derbyshire won their opening five games but after winning promotion they have now played two and lost two in division one. The latest fixture, an away game against Cleveland was an encounter that they really needed to get something out of as prior to the game Derbyshire were at the foot of the table and their hosts just above them with 16 points were only three points better off.
The weekend didn’t get off to the best of starts as the ladies and men’s ‘B’ teams both lost making it two defeats in their opening two games. However the ladies could not have wished for a better start as Dee Fenn handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Cleveland’s Tracy Marran, the win giving Dee an 18.79 average which at the end of the day earned the match award.
With a similar 3-0 scoreline Mandy Stephens levelled for the home side beating Rachel Ayres and with two further 3-2 wins from Vivien Jean Bulmer and Kelly Marie Curran against respective opponents Nicola Fletcher and Kelly Dean the hosts were 3-1 up and guaranteed not to lose the game, the worst they could do was draw.
Louise Rawson-Lee pulled one back for Derbyshire when she won 3-0 against Irene Simpson to keep the away team still in with a chance of sharing the spoils and that looked to be on the cards when Samantha Clarke won the opener against Michelle Sturman. Unfortunately she missed her doubles in the next two legs before drawing level in the fourth. The final leg saw Sturman get the bigger scores and get down to a finishing double first, double eight giving her the 3-2 win and Cleveland a 4-2 victory.
The men’s ‘B’ side also won the opening game, Adrian Asprey was twice pegged back to level terms by Kyle Stanwick but battled on to win the decider for a 3-2 victory. It was a completely opposite situation for Peter Slater (Derbyshire) as he twice came from behind against David Hunter to level the game but then lost out in the final leg to go down 3-2.
Andrew McCracken put Derbyshire’s nose in front again when he accounted for Paul Nicholson in three straight legs but once again the lead was cancelled out this time by Steven Scaife who had trailed 1-0 and 2-1 against Ian Allcock and won 3-2.
For the first time in the game Cleveland went ahead in the fifth when Graham Palmer won 3-0 against David Allcock and although Anthony Allen (Cleveland) came form 1-0 down against Paul Williams to lead 2-1 he finally lost out 3-2 to put the score at the halfway mark at 3-3.
For a second time Cleveland took the lead this time thanks to their Brian Barnett who had a 3-0 win over Richard Rawding and despite Darren Sinfield cancelling out the win and taking the score to 4-4 with his 3-1 win against Chris Swales the home team went 5-4 up when Sean Towers beat John Clifford 3-0.
It appeared that the running score would be level again when Derbyshire’s Craig Freeman opened up a 2-0 lead over Michael Evans but Evans then took control and went on to win the tie 3-2, then taking the score along to an unassailable 7-4 was Brian Henderson who won the first two legs against Jim Beardmore lost the next two and won the fifth for a 3-2 victory.
The final game of the day saw Tony Cresswell (Derbyshire) go two up against Sam Graham, then Graham win the next two legs but it was Cresswell who got the 3-2 verdict when he won the fifth leg in 14 darts to give him his 3-2 win and put the final score at 7-5 to Cleveland.
Sunday’s ‘A’ team games saw the ladies record their first win of the season following up their 3-3 draw at home to Glamorgan with a 4-2 victory but despite winning the opening game they were made to fight all the way for their win.
Opening up was Sara-Jane Harrison who got the ball rolling with her 3-1 win against Melanie Holland, another Cleveland Holland, this time Zoe restored parity when she beat Dawn Buckley 3-0, the same scoreline by which Sara Jukes gave Derbyshire the lead again when she accounted for Mollie Pywell.
Game number four was the third consecutive straight win going this time to the home team’s Tonilee Bowstead who won against Jackie Sweet.
With the score at two each and two to play Cleveland looked to have earned themselves at least a draw when Kate Livermore won the first two legs against Lauren Jackson but it was then that the Derbyshire player sprung into life and went on to win the next three legs for a 3-2 victory leaving the last two players to battle it out and decide whether or not it would be a draw or Derbyshire win.
Derbyshire on the day could not have wished for a better anchor player than Jennifer McCormick as she went 2-0 up with a 100 game shot in the second, although she lost the third she confirmed her 3-1 win in the fourth checking out on double twenty with her opponent way back on 148, not only a 3-1 win and an overall 4-2 victory but also a lady of the match award for Jennifer for her 20.02 average.
The men’s ‘A’ were struggling from the word go as Cleveland’s man of the match Scott Chatterton beat Paul Bettney 4-2, Allan Edwards won 4-1 against Ashley Spencer and taking the score along to 3-0 was Jordan Matthews with a 4-2 success over Nigel Daniels.
It was the fourth game before Derbyshire got their first stripe on the board and that was a game which swayed one way then the other between Richie Corner (Cleveland) and Alan Statham. Statham won the first Corner the next two, Statham levelled in the fourth then lost the fifth but he then went on to win the following two legs for a 4-3 win.
To round off the first half Jonathon Gardner won 4-3 against Richard Hanson and Glenn Brooksbank beat Andrew McCracken 4-2 to give the hosts a somewhat comfortable 5-1 lead.
The second half began with a little more promise for the away side as Lee Stanley beat Peter Frewer 4-2 and with a 4-3 win by Gary Fenn over Collin Foxton Derbyshire looked to be creeping back into the game at 5-3.
Keith Cooper with 1-0 and 3-1 leads over Barry Davies looked almost certain to reduce the arrears even further but in 23, 19 and 15 darts it was Davies who took the next three legs for a 4-3 win. Tim Daniels (Derbyshire) came up against an in form Glen Durrant who with winning legs of 21, 20, 18 and 12 won 4-0 to chalk up the all important seventh win for Cleveland putting them into an unassailable 7-3 lead.
The penultimate encounter was between Cleveland’s Gary Stephens and Darron Brown, Stephens in 21 and 15 darts opened up a 2-0 lead but Brown replied magnificently winning the third in 13 darts with scores of 100, 81, 100 and 180 followed by double top first dart, he the squared the game in 18 darts with top shots of 140 and 100 with an 81 outshot. Then for the first time in the game Brown took the lead, another 18 darts leg in which he had top scores of 2x100 and 140.
At 3-2 up Brown with two visits to the oche, throwing at doubles to win the match, failed and Stephens stepped in to level at 3-3. With his second maximum of the game in the seventh leg Brown gave himself all the breathing space he needed, forging ahead and checking out on 60 for a 17 darts leg, a 4-3 win and the match award for his 27.02 average.
With a straight 4-0 win over Dennis Coleman Derbyshire’s Robert Smith made the final score a little more respectable as his team had come back from 5-1 down to just lose out by 7-5.
The overall 20-16 defeat has seen Derbyshire move up one place off the foot of the table but with just 29 points they are only one to the good on bottom team Kent and badly need to get a win under their belts to restore the confidence they played with all through last season.
Full Results:(Cleveland names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Scott Chatterton 4 Paul Bettney 2, Allan Edwards 4 Ashley Spencer 1, Jordan Matthews 4 Nigel Daniels 2, Richie Corner 3 Alan Statham 4, Jonathon Gardner 4 Richard Hanson 3, Glenn Brooksbank 4 Andrew McCracken 2, Peter Frewer 2 Lee Stanley 4, Collin Foxton 3 Gary Fenn 4, Barry Davies 4 Keith Cooper 3, Glen Durrant 4 Tim Daniels 0, Gary Stephens 3 Darron Brown 4, Dennis Coleman 0 Robert Smith 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Kyle Stanwick 2 Adrian Asprey 3, David Hunter 3 Peter Slater 2, Paul Nicholson 0 Andrew McCracken 3, Steven Scaife 3 Ian Allcock 2, Graham Palmer 3 David Allcock 0, Anthony 2 Paul Williams 3, Brian Barnett 3 Richard Rawding 0, Chris Swales 1 Darren Sinfield 3, Sean Jowers 3 John Clifford 0, Michael Evans 3 Craig Freeman 2, Brian Henderson 3 Jim Beardmore 2, Sam Graham 2 Tony Cresswell 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Melanie Holland 1 Sara-Jane Harrison 3, Zoe Holland 3 Dawn Buckley 0, Mollie Pywell 0 Sara Jukes 3, Tonilee Bowstead 3 Jackie Sweet 1, Kate Livermore 2 Lauren Jackson 3, Carla Boyes 1 Jennifer McCormick 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Tracy Marran 0 Dee Fenn 3, Mandy Stephens 3 Rachel Ayres 0, Vivien Jean Bulmer 3 Nicola Fletcher 2, Kelly Marie Curran 3 Kelly Dean 2, Irene Simpson 0 Louise Rawson-Lee 3, Michelle Sturman 3 Samantha Clarke 2.
The weekend didn’t get off to the best of starts as the ladies and men’s ‘B’ teams both lost making it two defeats in their opening two games. However the ladies could not have wished for a better start as Dee Fenn handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Cleveland’s Tracy Marran, the win giving Dee an 18.79 average which at the end of the day earned the match award.
With a similar 3-0 scoreline Mandy Stephens levelled for the home side beating Rachel Ayres and with two further 3-2 wins from Vivien Jean Bulmer and Kelly Marie Curran against respective opponents Nicola Fletcher and Kelly Dean the hosts were 3-1 up and guaranteed not to lose the game, the worst they could do was draw.
Louise Rawson-Lee pulled one back for Derbyshire when she won 3-0 against Irene Simpson to keep the away team still in with a chance of sharing the spoils and that looked to be on the cards when Samantha Clarke won the opener against Michelle Sturman. Unfortunately she missed her doubles in the next two legs before drawing level in the fourth. The final leg saw Sturman get the bigger scores and get down to a finishing double first, double eight giving her the 3-2 win and Cleveland a 4-2 victory.
The men’s ‘B’ side also won the opening game, Adrian Asprey was twice pegged back to level terms by Kyle Stanwick but battled on to win the decider for a 3-2 victory. It was a completely opposite situation for Peter Slater (Derbyshire) as he twice came from behind against David Hunter to level the game but then lost out in the final leg to go down 3-2.
Andrew McCracken put Derbyshire’s nose in front again when he accounted for Paul Nicholson in three straight legs but once again the lead was cancelled out this time by Steven Scaife who had trailed 1-0 and 2-1 against Ian Allcock and won 3-2.
For the first time in the game Cleveland went ahead in the fifth when Graham Palmer won 3-0 against David Allcock and although Anthony Allen (Cleveland) came form 1-0 down against Paul Williams to lead 2-1 he finally lost out 3-2 to put the score at the halfway mark at 3-3.
For a second time Cleveland took the lead this time thanks to their Brian Barnett who had a 3-0 win over Richard Rawding and despite Darren Sinfield cancelling out the win and taking the score to 4-4 with his 3-1 win against Chris Swales the home team went 5-4 up when Sean Towers beat John Clifford 3-0.
It appeared that the running score would be level again when Derbyshire’s Craig Freeman opened up a 2-0 lead over Michael Evans but Evans then took control and went on to win the tie 3-2, then taking the score along to an unassailable 7-4 was Brian Henderson who won the first two legs against Jim Beardmore lost the next two and won the fifth for a 3-2 victory.
The final game of the day saw Tony Cresswell (Derbyshire) go two up against Sam Graham, then Graham win the next two legs but it was Cresswell who got the 3-2 verdict when he won the fifth leg in 14 darts to give him his 3-2 win and put the final score at 7-5 to Cleveland.
Sunday’s ‘A’ team games saw the ladies record their first win of the season following up their 3-3 draw at home to Glamorgan with a 4-2 victory but despite winning the opening game they were made to fight all the way for their win.
Opening up was Sara-Jane Harrison who got the ball rolling with her 3-1 win against Melanie Holland, another Cleveland Holland, this time Zoe restored parity when she beat Dawn Buckley 3-0, the same scoreline by which Sara Jukes gave Derbyshire the lead again when she accounted for Mollie Pywell.
Game number four was the third consecutive straight win going this time to the home team’s Tonilee Bowstead who won against Jackie Sweet.
With the score at two each and two to play Cleveland looked to have earned themselves at least a draw when Kate Livermore won the first two legs against Lauren Jackson but it was then that the Derbyshire player sprung into life and went on to win the next three legs for a 3-2 victory leaving the last two players to battle it out and decide whether or not it would be a draw or Derbyshire win.
Derbyshire on the day could not have wished for a better anchor player than Jennifer McCormick as she went 2-0 up with a 100 game shot in the second, although she lost the third she confirmed her 3-1 win in the fourth checking out on double twenty with her opponent way back on 148, not only a 3-1 win and an overall 4-2 victory but also a lady of the match award for Jennifer for her 20.02 average.
The men’s ‘A’ were struggling from the word go as Cleveland’s man of the match Scott Chatterton beat Paul Bettney 4-2, Allan Edwards won 4-1 against Ashley Spencer and taking the score along to 3-0 was Jordan Matthews with a 4-2 success over Nigel Daniels.
It was the fourth game before Derbyshire got their first stripe on the board and that was a game which swayed one way then the other between Richie Corner (Cleveland) and Alan Statham. Statham won the first Corner the next two, Statham levelled in the fourth then lost the fifth but he then went on to win the following two legs for a 4-3 win.
To round off the first half Jonathon Gardner won 4-3 against Richard Hanson and Glenn Brooksbank beat Andrew McCracken 4-2 to give the hosts a somewhat comfortable 5-1 lead.
The second half began with a little more promise for the away side as Lee Stanley beat Peter Frewer 4-2 and with a 4-3 win by Gary Fenn over Collin Foxton Derbyshire looked to be creeping back into the game at 5-3.
Keith Cooper with 1-0 and 3-1 leads over Barry Davies looked almost certain to reduce the arrears even further but in 23, 19 and 15 darts it was Davies who took the next three legs for a 4-3 win. Tim Daniels (Derbyshire) came up against an in form Glen Durrant who with winning legs of 21, 20, 18 and 12 won 4-0 to chalk up the all important seventh win for Cleveland putting them into an unassailable 7-3 lead.
The penultimate encounter was between Cleveland’s Gary Stephens and Darron Brown, Stephens in 21 and 15 darts opened up a 2-0 lead but Brown replied magnificently winning the third in 13 darts with scores of 100, 81, 100 and 180 followed by double top first dart, he the squared the game in 18 darts with top shots of 140 and 100 with an 81 outshot. Then for the first time in the game Brown took the lead, another 18 darts leg in which he had top scores of 2x100 and 140.
At 3-2 up Brown with two visits to the oche, throwing at doubles to win the match, failed and Stephens stepped in to level at 3-3. With his second maximum of the game in the seventh leg Brown gave himself all the breathing space he needed, forging ahead and checking out on 60 for a 17 darts leg, a 4-3 win and the match award for his 27.02 average.
With a straight 4-0 win over Dennis Coleman Derbyshire’s Robert Smith made the final score a little more respectable as his team had come back from 5-1 down to just lose out by 7-5.
The overall 20-16 defeat has seen Derbyshire move up one place off the foot of the table but with just 29 points they are only one to the good on bottom team Kent and badly need to get a win under their belts to restore the confidence they played with all through last season.
Full Results:(Cleveland names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Scott Chatterton 4 Paul Bettney 2, Allan Edwards 4 Ashley Spencer 1, Jordan Matthews 4 Nigel Daniels 2, Richie Corner 3 Alan Statham 4, Jonathon Gardner 4 Richard Hanson 3, Glenn Brooksbank 4 Andrew McCracken 2, Peter Frewer 2 Lee Stanley 4, Collin Foxton 3 Gary Fenn 4, Barry Davies 4 Keith Cooper 3, Glen Durrant 4 Tim Daniels 0, Gary Stephens 3 Darron Brown 4, Dennis Coleman 0 Robert Smith 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Kyle Stanwick 2 Adrian Asprey 3, David Hunter 3 Peter Slater 2, Paul Nicholson 0 Andrew McCracken 3, Steven Scaife 3 Ian Allcock 2, Graham Palmer 3 David Allcock 0, Anthony 2 Paul Williams 3, Brian Barnett 3 Richard Rawding 0, Chris Swales 1 Darren Sinfield 3, Sean Jowers 3 John Clifford 0, Michael Evans 3 Craig Freeman 2, Brian Henderson 3 Jim Beardmore 2, Sam Graham 2 Tony Cresswell 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Melanie Holland 1 Sara-Jane Harrison 3, Zoe Holland 3 Dawn Buckley 0, Mollie Pywell 0 Sara Jukes 3, Tonilee Bowstead 3 Jackie Sweet 1, Kate Livermore 2 Lauren Jackson 3, Carla Boyes 1 Jennifer McCormick 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Tracy Marran 0 Dee Fenn 3, Mandy Stephens 3 Rachel Ayres 0, Vivien Jean Bulmer 3 Nicola Fletcher 2, Kelly Marie Curran 3 Kelly Dean 2, Irene Simpson 0 Louise Rawson-Lee 3, Michelle Sturman 3 Samantha Clarke 2.