Derbyshire v Montgomery and Radnor
After clocking up two wins and a draw in their opening three fixtures in division three of the BDO Inter County Championships Derbyshire’s fourth encounter was a home tie with Montgomery and Radnor. Prior to the game Derbyshire were sitting pretty in second place in the promotional table with 70 points and their opponents fourth with ten points fewer.
Saturday’s ladies game didn’t get off to a good start as the away team’s Sarah Louise Williams won 3-1 against Dee Fenn and although Dawn Buckley produced a straight 3-0 win over Jane Jones to level the score it was the visitors who went ahead again in the third when Sandra Jacks beat Jennifer McCormick 3-1.
Terri Bellamy was Derbyshire’s second winner she went 2-0 up against Kelly Butler and was then pegged back to 2-2 before winning the final leg for a 3-2 win to level the game at two each.
The hosts took the lead for the first time in the game in the fifth when Katrian McAleney handed out a 3-0 whitewash to Sally Urwin, Katrina kicking off with a 111 game shot and followed that with two further wins to give her a lady of the match award winning average of 16.70.
With the result now all dependent on the final game Rachel Ayres gave her Derbyshire team mates the 4-2 win with her personal 3-0 success over Louise Davies, the ‘B’ side’s first win of the season.
The opening two games of the men’s ‘B’ match were shared as Sean Lambert against the first throw advantage beat David Boyle in straight legs of 16, 15 and 25 darts giving him an award winning average of 26.84. Again against the darts in the second tie David Williams beat Henry Coates 3-1 to square the game at one each.
From 1-1 Derbyshire then stormed into an unassailable 7-1 lead with six wins in a row. Darren Webster began the winning run when he came from 1-0 and 2-1 down against Steve Rowlands to win 3-2. Benjamin Holmes added his 3-1 win over Jamie Kynaston to the home side’s account before Andrew Gillott and Timothy Rippon in turn won 3-2 against Mark Bellerby and Robin Shingler to take their team’s lead to 5-1 by the midway point of the match.
The second half began where the first had left off as Peter Burgoyne (Derbyshire) won 3-1 against Gareth Holt and with a straight 3-0 win for David Fritchley over Roger Williams the hosts were home and dry with a lead of 7-1.
Ben Bevan pulled one back for Montgomery and Radnor when he won 3-1 against Lee Arkwright but the six games advantage was restored in the tenth when Gary Fenn beat Ben Amos 3-2 after Amos had won the first and levelled in the fourth.
Mark Jones reduced the arrears for the away team in the penultimate game when he won 3-1 against Keith Cooper and with a further 3-2 win for Steve Price over Scott McCabe the final game of the day the result was 8-4 to Derbyshire to make it three wins in a row for the men’s ‘B’ team.
Derbyshire were taking a 12-6 lead in Sunday’s games and Louise Rawson added to that when she gave the home side the best possible start opening up the ladies ‘A’ game with a 3-1 win over Jan Ashton, and with winning legs of 23,26 and 19 darts the match award went to Louise for her 20.41 average.
The lead didn’t last long as Eluned Wright beat Carol Western 3-1 but it was Derbyshire who went ahead again in the third with a win from Sammi Marshall who after trailing 1-0 and 2-1 to Racheal Williams went on to win 3-2. Once again the visiting team cancelled out Derbyshire’s lead as Katie Bellerby came from one down to Jackie Sweet to go on and win 3-1.
Montgomery and Radnor took the lead for the first time in the fifth when Evonne Taylor beat Rebecca Hoyland 3-1 and with a final 3-0 success for their Louise George against Sara-Jane Harrison the final score of 4-2 went to Montgomery and Radnor.
The men’s ‘A’ team, like the ‘B’ had drawn their first game of the season and then added two wins to remain undefeated after the first three fixtures but the first three games against Montgomery and Radnor didn’t suggest they were going to keep that undefeated record.
Jim Williams opened up for the visitors giving them the early lead as he beat his namesake Paul Williams 4-0. Mitchell Butler made it 2-0 with a 4-2 success over Richard Hanson, Butler checking out on 125 and 110 in his two opening fifteen darts legs. Taking the lead along to 3-0 was Scott Dockerty who with a 4-0 scoreline defeated Tim Daniels.
Andrew Houghton momentarily stopped the rot as in the fourth game he beat Neil Astley in straight legs, only to see the away team restore their four games lead in the fifth when Adam Wardell came from one down against Robert Hawker to win 4-1.
The first half finished with a man of the match performance from Derbyshire’s Michael Ryall who stormed to a straight 4-0 win over Mark Jones in 19,21,18 and 16 darts, checking out on 111 in the third leg and giving him a super 27.08 average.
Lee Stanley (Derbyshire) twice pegged John Williams-Jones back to level terms in the second and fourth legs but the Montgomery and Radnor player won the fifth and sixth for a 4-2 win to take his team’s lead to 5-2 before the home team had their best run of the game, two wins in a row from Ian Allcock and Connor Hodgkinson who in turn won 4-1 against Craig Davies and Steven Ritchie to reduce the arrears to a close 5-4.
Mark Bellerby had a 4-1 win over Ian Clarke to assure the visitors of at least a draw, then with a 4-2 success for Robert Needham (Derbyshire) over Jon Mansell the encounter was taken to the final game of the day and weekend to produce a result.
Steven Soar was Derbyshire’s anchor man and for Montgomery and Radnor Andy Baugh. Soar won the opening leg in 22 darts with Baugh levelling in 18. With a 101 game shot Soar went 2-1 up in 15 darts only to see his opponent square the game again with a 20 darts leg.
For a third time the lead went to Soar when in the fifth leg his 40 outshot gave him a 3-2 lead in 17 darts. The sequence continued as Baugh for a third time drew level this time in 16 darts, then after Soar had narrowly missed his doubles to win the game, Baugh with his nineteenth dart won the last and deciding leg to give him a very close 4-3 verdict and his team mates a 7-5 win.
Despite the men’s ‘A’ losing the overall result was a very favourable 19-17 win for Derbyshire, avenging their 23-13 defeat last season on Montgomery’s board. The win leaves Derbyshire third in the table on 92 points but only one point short of leaders Cleveland and also just one behind second placed Somerset who are their next opponents.
Full Results:Division Three:Derbyshire v Montgomery and Radnor (19-17):Derbyshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Paul Williams 0 Jim Williams 4, Richard Hanson 2 Mitchell Butler 4, Tim Daniels 0 Scott Dockerty 4, Andrew Houghton 4 Neil Astley 0, Robert Hawker 1 Adam Wardell 4, Michael Ryall 4 Mark Jones 0, Lee Stanley 2 John Williams-Jones 4, Ian Allcock 4 Craig Davies 1, Connor Hodgkinson 4 Steven Ritchie 1, Ian Clarke 1 Mark Bellerby 4, Robert Needham 4 Jon Mansell 2, Steven Soar 3 Andy Baugh 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Sean Lambert 3 David Boyle 0, Henry Coates 1 David Williams 3, Darren Webster 3 Steve Rowlands 2, Benjamin Holmes 3 Jamie Kynaston 1, Andrew Gillott 3 Mark Bellerby 2, Timothy Rippon 3 Robin Shingler 2, Peter Burgoyne 3 Gareth Holt 1, David Fritchley 3 Roger Williams 0, Lee Arkwright 1 Ben Bevan 3, Gary Fenn 3 Ben Amos 2, Keith Cooper 1 Mark Jones 3, Scott McCabe 2 Steve Price 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Louise Rawson 3 Jan Ashton 1, Carol Western 1 Eluned Wright 3, Sammie Marshall 3 Racheal Williams 2, Jackie Sweet 1 Katie Bellerby 3, Rebecca Hoyland 1 Evonne Taylor 3, Sara-Jane Harrison 0 Louise George 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Dee Fenn 1 Sarah Louise Williams 3, Dawn Buckley 3 Jane Jones 0, Jennifer McCormick 1 Sandra Jacks 3, Terri Bellamy 3 Kelly Butler 2, Katrina McAleney 3 Sally Urwin 0, Rachel Ayres 3 Louise Davies 0.
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