Shropshire v Bedfordshire
Well Shropshire’s luck just does not change and their string of defeats has now reached double figures as in their home fixture against Bedfordshire once again they lost making it ten games in a row, however it is certainly not down to lack of effort or commitment, they just need to keep the faith and their fortunes must surely change at some point.
Saturday was not a bad day although it didn’t get off to the best of starts for the ladies ‘B’ as Bedfordshire opened up a 3-0 lead. Jennifer Thomas began the trio of wins when she won the opener against Sharon Harris 3-0 and adding to that win was Becky Minney and Donna Hutt who in turn both won 3-1 against Cheryl Owen and Caron Minton.
With their backs to the wall the home team’s Debbie Davies at number four took on Michelle Lydiate and despite being pegged back to 2-2 after leading 2-0 she won the decider to register Shropshire’s first win.
Game number five produced the home team’s lady of the match in the form of Sue Lane who after trailing 1-0 to Danielle Reed bounced back to take the next three legs for a 3-1 win and a 16.60 average.
Sue’s win left the result hinging on the final game between Allison Gallagher (Shropshire) and Rachel Elgerton. Allison won the first leg, Rachel the second, but it was Rachel Gallagher who was first to find the finishing doubles in the following two legs for a 3-1 win to earn her team a share of the points in a 3-3 draw.
The men’s ‘B’ team recorded their first win of the season in their last fixture away to Pembrokeshire and were looking to add to that win as Pete Eley got the ball rolling with a 3-1 win over Michael Dexter, Adam Thackray added to that making it 2-0 when he defeated Lloyd Wintle by the same 3-1 margin.
Simon Parrott was another 3-1 winner as he opened Bedfordshire’s account with a win over Neville Quinton and then levelling the score was Luke Ely with a 3-0 success against Martin Riggs. Although Rob Harris lost the first leg to Mark Kingdon he went on to win the tie 3-1 only to see the running score level at the halfway point when Darren Battams beat Andre Knox 3-1 after Knox had won the first leg.
As the second half got underway Shropshire went ahead for a third time when Andy Gilbert accounted for Dave Earl with a straight 3-0 result, but yet again the visitors drew level as Steve Spring won 3-1 against Rob Trumper.
With the score at four each the hosts then moved up a gear to taking three in a row putting them in an unassailable 7-4 position. Chris Fox (Shropshire) went from 1-0 up to 2-1 down and then won 3-2 against Ashley Disson before Paul Bromley produced a man of the match display against Jamie Smith winning 3-0 in 20,17 and 24 darts giving him a 24.64 average. Completing the win in the penultimate game was Joe Cook who after being pegged back to 1-1 won his game against Aden O’Mahoney 3-1.
The last game of the day saw Bedfordshire make the score look a little more respectable when Garry Morris with a 3-1 scoreline defeated Colin Hill to give a final result of 7-5 to Shropshire.
With a narrow lead of 10-8 at the start of Sunday’s ‘A’ games the ladies found the first four games all went with the first throw advantage as Bedfordshire went ahead through a 3-0 win from Kerry King over Sophie Fawcett and Kat McLean levelled for Shropshire with her 3-2 win against Shirley Williams. The away team got their noses in front again in the third when Maria Perrin beat Julie Griffiths 3-2 but a fine display from Marie Riggs in the fourth took the score to two each. Marie beat Hannah Meadwell 3-1 with winning legs of 22,23 and 24 darts for an award winning average of 20.08.
The sequence was broken in the fifth game when the hosts Stephanie Clarke took out Jo Dilley with a straight 3-0 result to give her team a 3-2 lead with one to play.
Michele Pritchard was last on for Shropshire and she struggled with finishing doubles which resulted in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Sue Smith to put the final honours shared at 3-3.
The men’s ‘A’ team similar to the overall results were without a win in their last nine games and their day didn’t get off to a very good start as their opponents opened up a 3-0 lead. Adam King was the visitor’s first winner, a 4-0 success against Nathan Storar. Following King came Paddy Clowery and Russell Stringer who both won 4-3 in their respective games against Louis Burley and Adam Thackray.
Danny James earned Shropshire’s first stripe when he accounted for Richard Wood in a seven legs affair, James going 1-0 down, 3-1 up, was level at 3-3 and then won the deciding leg.
Bedfordshire’s three games buffer was restored in the fifth when Chris Dilley beat Jamie Barrowman 4-3, Barrowman coming from 3-0 down to level terms before losing the game.
By the midway point the score was 4-2 to Bedfordshire as Simon Pritchard added his 4-3 win over Dara Curran to the home teams tally. Pritchard won a hard fought battle against Curran as after losing the first leg he then went 2-1 up in 15 and 19 darts, Curran levelled at 2-2 only to see Pritchard open up a 3-2 lead, then despite his opponent taking the game to a seventh and deciding leg it was Shropshire’s Simon Pritchard who won it and at the same time win the man of the match award for his 23.77 average.
The second half all went a little pear shaped as Bedfordshire rattled off five consecutive wins to give them a 9-2 lead. There were wins for Mark Holland, Mark Circuitt, Ben Hazel, Trevor Ellacott and Micky Reed who in turn defeated Andi Chatter (4-2), Brian Hickman (4-2), Neil Powell (4-0), Richard Parker (4-0) and Kevin Harris (4-2).
The last game of the weekend went to Shropshire’s Derek Coulson who with a straight 4-0 scoreline defeated Bobby Lee to give a final score of 9-3 to Bedfordshire’s men’s ‘A’ team and an overall 20-16 for the visitors.
Full Results:Shropshire v Bedfordshire (16-20)🙁Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Nathan Storar 0 Adam King 4, Louis Burley 3 Paddy Clowery 4, Adam Thackray 3 Russell Stringer 4, Danny James 4 Richard Wood 3, Jamei Barrowman 3 Chris Dilley 4, Simon Pritchard 4 Dara Curran 3, Andi Chatter 2 Mark Holland 4, Brian Hickman 2 Mark Circuitt 4, Neil Powell 0 Ben hazel 4, Richard Parker 0 Trevor Ellacott 4, Kevin Harris 2 Micky Reed 4, Derek Coulson 4 Bobby Lee 0, Men’s ‘B’:- Pete Eley 3 Michael Dexter 1, Adam Thackray 3 Lloyd Wintle 1, Neville Quinton 1 Simon Parrott 3, Martin Riggs 0 Luke Ely 3, Rob Harris 3 Mark Kingdon 1, Andre Knox 1 Darren Battams 3, Andy Gilbert 3 Dave Earl 0, Rob Trumper 1 Steve Spring 3, Chris Fox 3 Ashley Disson 2, Paul Bromley 3 Jamie Smith 0, Joe Cook 3 Aden O’Mahoney 1, Colin Hill 1 Garry Morris 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Sophie Fawcett 0 Kerry King 3, Pat McLean 3 Shirley Williams 2, Julie Griffiths 2 Maria Perrin 3, Marie Riggs 3 Hannah Meadwell 1, Stephanie Clarke 3 Jo Dilley 0, Michele Pritchard 0 Sue Smith 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Sharon Harris 0 Jennifer Thomas 3, Cheryl owen 1 Becky Minney 3, Caron Minton 1 Donna Hutt 3, Debbie Davies 3 Michelle Lydiate 2, Sue Lane 3 Danielle Reed 1, Allison Gallagher Rachel Elgeton 1.
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