Thornton Misses the Proclaimers
ROBERT THORNTON joked that he missed The Proclaimers far too much as he lost out in the PDC Home Tour.
The Ayrshire ace went down in all three matches on Monday night despite averaging 105 in a 5-2 defeat to Reece Robinson.
Double major winner The Thorn believes it was down to not having his rapturous 500 Miles walk-on theme.
He said: “It wasn’t a bad night at the office, it was a bad night in the loft. I thought I played pretty well.
“I started far too slowly in the first game against Jose De Sousa and he played fantastic all night to be fair. But I averaged 105 against Reece, but he averaged 112!
“It’s a very odd experience playing at home. I have two boards in the house, one in the hall and one up in the loft. It’s a much better set-up in the loft.
“But maybe I missed my walk-on too much and The Proclaimers, who knows? Although my walk-on was a big struggle getting up the loft ladder, that was some effort!
“Seriously though, I think an underdog will win the Home Tour. It will probably suit someone playing at home without the pressure on stage of the crowd.
“It will come down to a player enjoying the experience. Good luck to whoever it is because it’s an interesting tournament during the lockdown.
“Now I’ll go back to doing my books of Sudoko, I love doing them. It’s much less hard work than gardening!”
Thornton, 52, also believes that his old oche buddy Phil Taylor is lucky to be facing Fallon Sherrock without a crowd.
On Thursday from 7pm, Taylor will take on Sherrock in the third Paddy Power Darts From Home Series on Sky Sports.
The pair will play over the internet on the Target Nexus Dartboard with the NHS charity Heroes benefiting from donations £1,000 for every 180 hit and £200 for every first dart finish.
Playing from her two-bed house, Sherrock has faced Taylor in recent weeks in the Modus Icons of Darts league but not yet managed to take out the Power.
Thornton has faced Anastasia Dobromyslova and Mikuru Suzuki in the Grand Slam and admitted: “It’s the hardest games to play with the crowds totally against you. Phil is lucky he has no crowd and he can play at home in peace and quiet.
“I beat Ana and Mikuru but they were possibly the two hardest games of my career. It was a horrible experience to be honest.”
Even Taylor admits that it’s good he doesn’t have a crowd booing him and rates Sherrock very highly. He said: “You know what? She is a really nice kid. I like her, and what she has done for women's darts is second to none.
“I feel sorry for her because her career was just starting and now it's been closed down by this virus. People have more things to worry about than darts.
“But I do think she will go on to beat men on a regular basis, she will prove men are beatable – and so will Lisa Ashton. What a good player she is – she won a Tour card on merit and I would hate to be drawn against her in the Players Championship.
“It's not easy to play against Fallon or Lisa in front of big crowds. You can't concentrate on the doubles or important shots because there are thousands of people booing you. Everyone, bar one or two, is booing you. Even your own family!
“You are going for a double, or the bull, and your hand is shaking all over the place.”