After finishing the old year with three consecutive wins in division one of the BDO Inter County Championships West Midlands had a disastrous start to the new year as they suffered their biggest defeat of the current campaign going down 27-9 away to Dorset, their heaviest defeat since losing by the same scoreline in March 2009 to neighbouring Warwickshire when both teams were in division one.
It could not have been a worse weekend with all four teams losing, the ladies ‘B’ had their biggest defeat of the season as Heather Wright lost the opener 3-1 to Trina Perry and second on Shellbie Simmons going down 3-0 to Cathryn Campbell. Dorset went three up when Carol Llewellyn added her 3-2 win over Jacqueline Maiden and as early as the fourth game the match was lost as Katie Mitchell took the score to 4-0 with her 3-1 win against Samantha Maiden.
With a 3-2 win by Sally Old and 3-0 success from Samantha Kirton over their respective opponents Shannon Hall and Claire Hobbs the rout was complete and Dorset had won 6-0.
The men’s ‘B’ hadn’t lost a game since the opening day when they went down 7-5 at Hampshire but they were about to double their losses at Dorset and yet it didn’t begin too badly. Robert Smith won the first two legs against Timothy Poole but then lost the next three to lose 3-2. Daniel Nicholls was swift to cancel out the defeat as in double quick time he beat Bryan Pearson 3-0 and although Dorset went ahead again in the third when Tommy Morris defeated Mark Hampton 3-1 the score was levelled again in the fourth by Sam Guest who despite being pegged back to 2-2 after leading 2-0 won the decider against Mark Porter.
The results continued to go against the darts advantage in the fifth when Terrence Prowse beat Mark Rollinson 3-1 to give the home team the lead for a third time, however the sequence was broken in the very next game when Robby Morris won 3-0 against Paul Wells to open up a 4-2 lead for the home side.
Dorset’s lead was extended to 6-2 when Daniel Perry and Daniel Walker, not only having the same Christian name but also the same winning 3-2 margin, in turn beat Dave Robbins and Paul Price.
Dean Mills kept hopes of a draw alive for the Midlanders with his 3-0 win over Matthew Read but those hopes were dashed when Phil Weeks made it 7-2 with a 3-2 win against John Mycock.
The penultimate encounter produced West Midlands man of the match in the form of Glen McGrandle. McGrandle squared up to Scott Hudson and after the first leg which he won in 23 darts Hudson was never in the picture as the Shropshire man won the second in 15 darts and the third in 17 for a superb 27.33 average.
Taking the final score to 7-5 for Dorset was Nigel Lamb who won 3-0 against Richard Platt.
Like the ladies ‘B’ the ‘A’ team hadn’t lost since the first game of the season but were soon struggling as Julie Frampton (Dorset) beat Gemma Barrett 3-0 and another Julie for Dorset this time Boggust won 3-1 against Lisa Badger.
In a bid to turn the tide Sophie Singh supplied West Midlands with their first winner when she accounted for Donna Mabbatt with a 3-1 result, Sophie with an 18.20 average also winning the teams match award. Sophie’s win however proved to be a short respite as Suzanne Trickett and Sarah Chick added their 3-1 wins over respective opponents Kath Jenkins and Sarah Roberts to put the score beyond West Midland’s reach at 4-1.
Peri-May Yarrow rounded off a 5-1 win for Dorset when in the final game she won 3-0 against Debbie Loon.
Robbie Martin chalked up Dorset’s first win in the men’s ‘A’ game when he beat Keith Allman 4-2 and although his team mate Dale Masterman twice took the lead against Glen McGrandle he eventually lost 4-2. The win saw McGrandle achieve something truly special as for the second day running he won the man of the match award this time with a fantastic 30.29 average with winning legs of 14,16,14 and 20 darts, not many players can say they have won the ‘A’ and ‘B’ awards on the same weekend.
Jonathan Platt came from 2-0 down against Kevin Smith to win 4-2 to give West Midlands a 2-1 lead which was quickly erased as Matthew Dicken lost 4-0 to Matt Yarrow. Nevertheless the away team went ahead again in the very next game when Gareth Watts beat John Clark 4-0 but by the midway point of the game it was all square at 3-3 after Lee Edwardson won 4-1 against Michael Baker.
The second half was somewhat of a disaster as Michael Bowden and Matthew Woodhouse registered 4-3 wins in turn over Scott Baker and John Morris to open up a 5-3 advantage to Dorset. With 4-0 defeats for Ian Jones and Daniel Nicholls at the hands of their respective opponents Thomas Chant and Mark Grimes Dorset now were in an unassailable 7-3 lead and with a 4-1 win for Lee Turle over Mark Craddock and a final 4-0 win for Scott Mitchell against Ashe Khayat the result was a 9-3 win for Dorset.
Despite the huge 27-9 defeat West Midlands hang on to second place in the promotional table with 106 points but now trail leaders London by eleven and are only one point to the good on third placed Oxfordshire. Dorset’s big win has seen them climb up the table from seventh to fourth.
Full Results:Division One:Dorset v West Midlands (27-9)🙁Dorset names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Robbie Martin 4 Keith Allman 2, Dale Masterman 2 Glen McGrandle 4, Kevin Smith 2 Jonathan Platt 4, Matt Yarrow 4 Matthew Dicken 0, John Clark 0 Gareth Watts 4, Lee Edwardson 4 Michael Baker 1, Michael Bowden 4 Scott Baker 3, Matthew Woodhouse 4 John Morris 3, Thomas Chant 4 Ian Jones 0, Mark Grimes 4 Daniel Nicholls 0, Lee Turle 4 Mark Craddock 1, Scott Mitchell 4 Ashe Khayat 0, Men’s ‘B’:- Timothy Poole 3 Robert Smith 2, Bryan Pearson 0 Daniel Nicholls 3, Tommy Morris 3 Mark Hampton 1, Mark Porter 2 Sam Guest 3, Terrance Prowse 1 Mark Rollinson 3, Robby Morris 3 Paul Wells 0, Daniel Perry 3 Dave Robbins 2, Daniel Walker 3 Paul Price 2, Matthew Read 0 Dean Mills 3, Phil Weeks 3 John Mycock 2, Scott Hudson 0 Glen McGrandle 3, Nigel Lamb 3 Richard Platt 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Julie Frampton 3 Gemma Barrett 0, Julie Boggust 3 Lisa Badger 1, Donna Mabbatt 1 Sophie Singh 3, Suzanne Trickett 3 Kath Jenkins 1, Sarah Chick 3 Sarah Roberts 1, Peri-May Yarrow 3 Debbie Loon 0, Women’s ‘B’:- Trina Perry 3 Heather Wright 1, Cathryn Campbell 3 Shellbie Simmons 0, Carol Llewellyn 3 Jacqueline Maiden 2, Katie Mitchell 3 Samantha Maiden 1, Sally Old 3 Shannon Hall 2, Samantha Kirton 3 Claire Hobbs 0.
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On the local scene the Bulls Head and Dudley Sports contested the League Cup in the Netherton Thursday Night League the two teams laying on an excellent night of darts which saw Bulls Head come from 3-1 down to go on and lift the trophy with a 4-3 result
The league rounded off their season with the Captains Cup, White Swan representative Jason Southall proved to be a worthy winner, he began the night with a 2-1 win over Martin Rowley (Dudley Sports) and followed that with a 2-0 success against Colin Hickman (Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club) to book his final place. Emerging from the other half of the draw was Johnny Green (Fairfield) who had a 2-1 win over Carl Hadlington (White Horse) and then a 2-0 win against Jon Rose (The Widders) before losing 2-1 to Southall in the final.
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Mick Gorst rounded off his title winning season in the Shirley Red Lion Premier League with two 3-1 wins over Dave Hesketh and Tony Daly to give him a total of 87 points ten more than runner up Paul Higgins whose final 2-2 draws with Antony Daly and Mark Gwalchmai were enough to clinch the number two spot with an advantage of three points over third placed Steve Sidwell.
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The Forest of Arden Winter League staged their singles knockout and from a starting line up of 32 players it was Dan White who lifted the title with a close 2-1 win over Simon Edwards in the final.
Left Centre Dan White (Winner), Right Centre Simon Edwards (Runner Up) with Trevor Edwards (Treasurer) and Sue Kingdon (Organiser)
After both players had won the last eight games 2-0, White against Steve Whatmore and Edwards against A.Plant the two finalists were then taken to a deciding leg in the semi’s as Dan White beat Dale Evans and Simon Edwards won against Laura Vann.
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The South Birmingham League played off their singles knockout and it was Neil Parsonage winner of many of the Birmingham league knockouts that added yet another title to his never ending list.
Left Neil Parsonage (Winner), Right Glen James (Runner Up) both with Sue Kingdon (Organiser)
Parsonage was taken to a deciding leg in the quarter finals by Alan Whitehouse but then booked his place in the final with a 2-0 success over Tony Whitehouse. From the other side of the draw Glen James made his way to the final with 2-1 wins over both Lance Thompson and Dean Young and then took Neil Parsonage to a deciding leg in the final but in the end had to settle for the runners up prize.
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The Camp Hill League have completed their domestic programme and winning the league with an eight points advantage were Cotterills Lane Club who brought the curtain down with a 5-2 win at Hay Mills Social Club their nearest rivals who finished as runners up with 26 points.
Eagle and Ball took third place their 4-3 defeat by New Inn ending any hopes they had of finishing as runners up, and with the same ten points as Eagle and Ball were Holy Gulp who also lost their final game at Emerald Club 4-3.
Champions Cotterills Lane Club then added the League Cup title to their honours list with an 8-1 win over Gulp Tribe in the final.
The Consolation Cup final saw Hay Mills Social Club gain a narrow 4-3 victory over New Inn to take the title.
In the Captains and Secretaries competitions Matthew Cooper representing league champions Cotterills Lane Club took the Captains Cup title after beating Bill Carter from Holy Souls in the final.
The secretaries’ knockout title went to Pete Yardley from Hay Mills Social Club Lions with Daniel Lee (Eagle and Ball) the runner up.
The doubles knockout saw Sue Kingdon and her partner Simon Edwards, after winning the Forest of Arden Winter League mixed doubles, made it a fantastic double by adding the Camp Hill title to their winning list. In the final Sue and Simon defeated Lorna and Colin Wyatt.
Losing semi finalists were Karon Dempsey and Rob Bailey plus Maureen Hannaran and Neil Parsonage.
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Winners of the Small Heath League East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association won their final game of the season at Wagon and Horses 5-4 the win seeing them go through the ten games season undefeated. Mitre also ended the campaign on a high as they won 7-2 at Gulp Tribe to see them finish as runners up with 14 points, six behind the champions.
Emerald Club took the wooden spoon completing the ten matches without a single win.
League champions East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association added the League Cup to their silverware when theybeat Gulp Tribe 8-1 in the final.
The End of Season 501 Knockout was won with a clear cut 2-0 result in the final as D.Heighway beat T.White, both players won their quarter final games 2-1, Heighway beating P.Webster and White with a 180 winning against M.Cooper. The last four games saw Heighway booking his final place with a straight 2-0 win over S.Cain while White was taken to a deciding leg by C.Wyatt before winning 2-1.
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The Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League played off their Captain and Secretaries Cup and taking the title with a very close 3-2 result were Reece Cook-Lucas and Justin Evans (Gilberts Bar) with Jimmy Handley and Matt Campbell (Riley’s ‘D’) runners up.
In the last four games Reece Cook-Lucas and Evans beat Kev Jones and John McHale (Ukrainian Club) while Handley and Campbell accounted for Phil Mayo and Simon Pritchard from Riley’s ‘C’.
The final of the league’s Burrell Shield, which was a contest between the top two teams from the two divisions, saw the semi finals produced a local derby between Riley’s ‘A’ and Riley’s ‘C’ in which the ‘A’ team won 4-3 in a very closely fought game. The other semi saw Gilberts Bar win 4-2 against Sunbeam.
The final saw Riley’s ‘A’ win by a convincing 4-1 scoreline with Gilberts Bar finishing as runners up.
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The Tamworth League’s final stages of their League Cup saw Sports Bar beat Wigginton Arms ‘B’ 6-1 in the semi finals and Globe Inn win 4-2 against Sports Bar ‘180’. Sports Bar repeated their last four result in the final beating Globe Inn 6-1.
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The Britannia, Stourbridge Knockout turned out to be a well supported and well organised affair attracting county super league and local league players.
The semi finals both finished with a 5-2 result in which Nick Fullwell beat Richard Hosey and Ian Jones accounted for Chris Fox to set up an intriguing final between two West Midlands County team mates.
As it was expected the eleven legs final went the full distance, very entertaining and fiercely contested by both players but it was Ian Jones who got the narrow 6-5 verdict plus the winners £250, Fullwell collected £80 as runner up.
The losing semi finalist each received £25 and there was £10 for Gavin Smith, Sam Aitkens, Matt Moore and Dan Haden who all made their exits in the quarter finals.
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If anyone in the Darlaston, West Midlands area is looking for a venue to host their darts team then look no further than The Cottage Spring in Franchise Street Darlaston where Jed and Richard would be delighted to give your team a new home.
Anyone interested should contact Jed or Richard on 0121-531-7191.
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Andy Roberts (Oakengates) and Johnny Haines (Swindon) were successful in the second round qualifier of the Riley’s UK Open at the Riley’s Wolverhampton branch and now go through to the finals to be played at Minehead.
The last four play off saw Roberts gain a conclusive 5-1 win over Antony Hayman while Haines was taken to a deciding ninth leg before getting his 5-4 verdict.
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Supported by Red Dragon Darts