Montgomery and Radnor v Derbyshire
Derbyshire’s third fixture of the season in Division Three of the BDO Inter County Championships was an away tie against Montgomery and Radnor a game they won 19-17 at home last season.
The weekend got off to a cracking start for the visitors as Sara-Jane Harrison, Marie Leahy and Rosemary Mort in turn all won 3-1 against Lisa Husbands, Val Davies and Louise Davies to guarantee them at least a draw after only the first three games.
A straight 3-0 win for Nicola Fletcher over Rachael Williams turned that possible draw into a definite win before Emily Jones turned on a lady of the match performance when she beat namesake Jane Jones in straight legs with a 19.03 average.
The final game went to the home team as Claire Boyle won 3-2 against Jennifer McCormick after McCormick had gone 1-0 and 2-1 up. The final score 5-1 to Derbyshire ladies ‘B’, their first win of the campaign.
Unlike the ladies ‘B’ the men’s ‘B’ didn’t have such a good start as Adam Joseph gave Montgomery and Radnor the first win when he defeated Dean Allsopp 3-0 and another Adam for the hosts, this time Thackray won 3-1 against Dan Ford.
It was game number three before Derbyshire got their first stripe on the board and it was provided by Matt Faulkner, a 3-1 success over David Boyle who had levelled the game in the second. Lee Arkwright was the man to restore parity as he handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Mark Emberton and then despite Paul Williams twice being pegged back to level terms he won 3-2 against Jamie Kynaston to give the away team the lead for the first time in the game. In the last game of the first half James Parkin added his 3-0 win over Paul Simister to give Derbyshire a 4-2 lead at the break.
As the second half got underway Dan Jones momentarily reduced the arrears for the hosts as he chalked up a 3-1 win over Stephen Paling but the visitors two games buffer was restored when in-form man Ryan O’Connor beat Robin Shingler 3-0 in 14,16 and 16 darts for a man of the match average of 32.67, on the day the best average for any men’s ‘B’ team player.
Moving the score along to 6-3 was John Elliott who got the better of Tony Lloyd with Derbyshire’s fourth straight 3-0 victory. David Richards began what was the home team’s best run of the match, three wins in a row as he came from one down against Andrew Houghton to win 3-2 then Gwion Pughe won 3-1 against Lee Cropper and finally Roger Williams beat Colin Rich 3-0 to snatch a 6-6 draw from what appeared to be the jaws of defeat.
The women’s ‘A’ were seeking their first win in three and they couldn’t have asked for a better start as Rebecca Hoyland kicked them off with a lady of the match win over Kelly Butler. After going one up Rebecca had her lead cancelled out but then won the next two legs for a 3-1 victory plus the match award for her 16.64 average.
Katie Bellerby with a 3-0 win over Rachel Ayres cancelled out Derbyshire’s lead and although Sally Urwin lost the first leg to Jane Densley and was pegged back to level terms in the fourth she won the final leg for a close 3-2 victory.
Sarah Louise Williams made it a 3-1 advantage to the home side when she came from 2-0 down against Jackie Sweet and although Terri Bellamy (Derbyshire) lost the first leg to Claire Boyle and went on to win 3-1 a similar 3-1 win for Evonne Taylor against Rachel Bird in the last game gave Montgomery and Radnor a 4-2 win.
Long serving Derbyshire stalwart Gary Fenn gave the ‘A’ side the early lead when he opened up with a 4-1 win over Roger Williams. Adding to Gary’s success was Richard Hanson who despite going one down to Daniel Petty bounced back to go on and win 4-1. Taking the score along to 3-0 was Connor Hodgkinson who was made to fight all the way for his 4-3 win by Mitchell Butler as he went 1-0 then 3-1 up before Butler won the fifth and sixth to force a deciding leg which went to Hodgkinson.
From 3-0 up it all then went a little pear-shaped for Derbyshire as Steve Price beat Steve Thompson 4-1, Jim Williams won 4-0 against Lee Stanley, there was a 4-1 win for John Williams-Jones over Benjamin Holmes followed by two 4-3 wins from Mark Bellerby and Edward Price over respective opponents Ian Allcock and Andy Cass to put the hosts 5-3 up.
Keeping Derbyshire in the hunt was Michael Ryall, three times he had his lead cancelled out by Ben Bevan before he won the seventh and deciding leg in 16 darts.
In 19 darts Henry Coates went one up against Jon Mansell only then to go 2-1down. Coates with a 105 outshot squared the game but with wins in the next two legs it was Mansell who got the 4-2 verdict to take Montgomery’s lead to 6-4.
Adam Joseph (Montgomery and Radnor) won the first two legs against Sean Lambert and although Lambert won the next two to level the score Joseph went ahead again in the fifth. Now not only staring his own but also his team’s defeat in the face Lambert pulled out all of the stops to win the last two legs and the game 4-3 with his opponent unable to reach a finishing double in either leg to leave the result hinging on the final game of the weekend.
For Derbyshire their anchor man Nigel Daniels was in superb form as he went 1-0 up in 21 darts then with further winning legs of 14 and 15 darts he wrapped up his 4-0 win over Andy Baugh with his second 14 darts leg for a fantastic 31.31 average to clinch the match award and a share of the spoils in a 6-6 draw plus an overall 19-17 victory for his team.
Despite their second consecutive win Derbyshire remain at the foot of the division three promotion table on 57 points, however it’s not as bad as it first looks as the five teams above them have all played one game more than them and County Durham who are some four places above them are only 14 points to the good.
Full Results:Division Three:Montgomery and Radnor v Derbyshire (17-19):Montgomery and Radnor names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Roger Williams 1 Gary Fenn 4, Daniel Petty 1 Richard Hanson 4, Mitchell Butler 3 Connor Hodgkinson 4, Steve Price 4 Steve Thompson 1, Jim Williams 4 Lee Stanley 0, John Williams-Jones 4 Benjamin Holmes 1, Mark Bellerby 4 Ian Allcock 3, Edward Price 4 Andy Cass 3, Ben Bevan 3 Michael Ryall 4, Jon Mansell 4 Henry Coates 2, Adam Joseph 3 Sean Lambert 4, Andy Baugh 0 Nigel Daniels 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Adam Joseph 3 Dean Allsopp 0, Adam Thackray 3 Dan Ford 1, David Boyle 1 Matt Faulkner 3, Mark Emberton 0 Lee Arkwright 3, Jamie Kynaston 2 Paul Williams 3, Paul Simister 0 James Parkin 3, Dan Jones 3 Stephen Paling 1, Robin Shingler 0 Ryan O’Connor 3, Tony Lloyd 0 John Elliott 3, David Richards 3 Andrew Houghton 2, Gwion Pughe 3 Lee Cropper 1, Roger Williams 3 Colin Rich 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Kelly Butler 1 Rebecca Hoyland 3, Katie Bellerby 3 Rachel Ayres 0, Sally Urwin 3 Jane Densley 2, Sarah Louise Williams 3 Jackie Sweet 2, Claire Boyle 1 Terri Bellamy 3, Evonne Taylor 3 Rachel Bird 1, Women’s ‘B’:- Lisa Husbands 1 Sara-Jane Harrison 3, Val Davies 1 Marie Leahy 3, Louise Davies 1 Rosemary Mort 3, Rachael Williams 0 Nicola Fletcher 3, Jane Jones 0 Emily Jones 3, Claire Boyle 3 Jennifer McCormick 2.
———————————