Isle of Wight v Shropshire
In division four of the BDO Inter County Championships Shropshire’s penultimate fixture took them on the long haul south and across water to the Isle of Wight. In a somewhat mixed season with three wins and four defeats the away side were looking to even up the score against a team who were lying next to bottom of the table. However the weekend didn’t get off to the desired start as the ladies ‘B’ who had won three of the last four outings finished on the wrong side of a 4-2 result.
Lorraine Woodrow gave the home team the early lead when despite being taken the full five legs distance by Pam Evans was the 3-2 winner. Mandy Smith doubled the hosts lead with a 3-1 win against Kirsty Jenks before Shropshire got their first stripe on the board coming in the shape of Julie Griffiths whose 3-1 win over Alison Rowe earned her the match award with an 11.78 average.
Dawn Basill restored Isle of Wight’s two game cushion when she beat Caroline La-Ffin 3-1 only to see Caroline Powell pull one back for the visitors with her 3-1 win against Angie Cotton.
With the result hinging on the final game it was the home player Laura Bancroft who won it, a fifth consecutive 3-1 verdict this time at the expense of Samantha Roberts.
With five wins and two draws from seven games the men’s ‘B’ are enjoying a very successful season and there game began very well as Neville Quinton opened up with a straight 3-0 win over Steve Hobden. Steve’s game was followed by two 3-2 scorelines both of them going to Shropshire as Callum Bailey and Simon Pritchard in turn accounted for Brian Meszymski and Dan Smith. Taking the score along to 4-0 was Paul Boddison with a 3-0 win over Steve McConway.
Game number five saw Isle of Wight register their first winner Dave Robinson beating Brian Matthews 3-1, and then reducing the arrears to 4-2 was Darren Andrews with a 3-0 win over Derek Coulson. Unruffled by this Shropshire then stepped up a gear and rattled off the next four wins leading the charge was John Cornmell who won 3-0 against Edward Mitchell. Richard Parker added his 3-1 success over Mark Breakspear before man of the match Dave Evans won 3-0 against Trevor Smith with winning legs of 16, 19 and 23 darts for a 25.91 average and assuring his side of victory as he took the score to 7-2.
The tenth game went the full five legs distance with Arthur Smart (Shropshire) the winner against Mark Whates while in the next game the home team added their third winner to the tally when John Gibson beat Phil Austin 3-1.
To end the game and the day’s darts Scott Towers made it a convincing 9-3 to Shropshire with a 3-1 win over Tony Parker, the win extending the ‘B’ teams unbeaten run to eight games.
The ladies ‘A’ had more joy than their ‘B’ team although the game didn’t start quite like they would have liked it to. Sue Lane lost the first 3-1 to Brenda Dyer and although Lorna Wheatley fought all the way to the bitter end against Cloey Alcroft it was the home player who got the 3-2 result to make it 2-0 to Isle of Wight.
Kath McLean put a halt to the hosts winning run with her 3-1 win over Sam Pink and levelling the score at 2-2 was Michele Pritchard who beat Judi Angus in three straight legs.
Shropshire took the lead for the first time in the fifth when Marie Riggs with a 20.00 average defeated Shirley Smith after being taken to a deciding leg.
With a narrow 3-2 margin between the two teams the outcome rested on the final game, again it went the full five legs but it was Shropshire’s Leanne Quinton who got the verdict over Maria Agozzino to give her team a 4-2 victory.
With only two wins and one draw from their previous seven games the men’s ‘A’ have not had the best of campaigns and their run of bad luck continued in the opening half of their game as Darren Hawken beat Daniel Astbury 4-0 in the first and although Eddie Austin squared the match in the second with a 4-1 win over Sean Morrissey the next three games, all finishing with 4-1 scorelines went to Isle of Wight, Colin Littlecott, Chris Jafkins and Pierre Turner in turn beating Mark Jones, Les Marson and Antony Stoneman. Andi Chatter rounded off the first half adding a second win to Shropshire’s score when he won 4-2 against Eddie White.
The second session began as the first with Isle of Wight winning the opener on this occasion it was Mark Edwards who won 4-1 against Neil Powell before the visitors had their best spell of the game. Roger Taylor came up with a man of the match performance as he won 4-1 against Simon Smith in 18, 18, 18 and 21 darts giving him a 25.06 average. Clive Lucking reduced the deficit even further with a similar 4-1 result over Alex Hall and taking the running score to 4-4 was Glen McGrandle with his straight 4-0 win against Paul O’Sullivan.
Unfortunately for the away team that was where the good news ended as Isle of Wight players Kevin Woodward and Gene Bagley beat their respective counterparts Danny James and John Cooper 4-1 to give a final score of 7-5 to Isle of Wight.
Nevertheless the journey was made worthwhile as the overall result was a 20-16 win for Shropshire which keeps them sixth in the table and takes their points tally to 151 which almost certainly guarantees them a mid table finish.
Full Results:Division Four:Isle of Wight v Shropshire (16-20):(Isle of Wight names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Darren Hawken 4 Daniel Astbury 0, Sean Morrissey 1 Eddie Austin 4, Colin Littlecott 4 Mark Jones 1, Chris Jafkins 4 Les Marson 1, Oierre Turner 4 Antiny Stoneman 1, Eddie White 2 Andi Chatter 4, Mark Edwards 4 Neil Powell 1, Simon Smith 1 Roger Taylor 4, Alex Hall 1 Clive Lucking 4, Paul O’Sullivan 0 Glen McGrandle 4, Kevin Woodward 4 Danny James 1, Gene Bagley 4 John Cooper 1, Men’s ‘B’ Steve Hobden 0 Neville Quinton 3, Brian Meszynski 2 Callum Bailey 3, Dan Smith 2 Simon Pritchard 3, Steve McConway 0 Paul Boddison 3, Dave Robinson 3 Brian Matthews 1, Darren Andrews 3 Derek Coulson 0, Edward Mitchell 0 John Cornmell 3, Mark Breakspear 1 Richard Parker 3, Trevor Smith 0 Dave Evans 3, Mark Whates 2 Arthur Smart 3, John Gibson 3 Phil Austin 1, Tony Parker 1 Scott Towers 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Brenda Dyer 3 Sue Lane 1, Cloey Alcroft 3 Lorna Wheatley 2, Sam Pink 1 Kath McLean 3, Judi Angus 0 Michele Pritchard 3, Shirley Smith 2 Marie Riggs 3, Maria Agozzino 2 Leanne Quinton 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Lorriane Woodrow 3 Pam Evans 2, Mandy Smith 3 Kirsty Jenks 1, Alison Rowe 1 Julie Griffiths 3, Dawn Basil 3 Caroline La-Ffin 1, Angie Cotton 1 Caroline Powell 3, Laura Bancroft 3 Samantha Roberts 1.
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