2002-03-01

After finishing the old year in style the West Midlands did not actually get 2002 off to a bang I division three of the BDO Inter Counties Championships. The home advantage over Cleveland counting for nothing as the team slipped to their fourth defeat in five fixtures.
Sue Smith provided the ladies ‘B’ curtain raiser and although she twice took the lead against Rhonda Page she unfortunately fell down at the final hurdle in the last two legs – the finishing doubles. Lynette Pearce ended up on the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline in her match with Vee Page, again Lynette down to a double in two of the three legs she lost.
For the second successive fixture Teresa Johnson produced a lady of the match performance, on this occasion a neat 3-0 defeat which she handed out to Marjorie Gunn, Teresa averaging 16.70. Jean Tibbetts looked as though she would add to the home team’s tally when she won the first and third legs against Molly Pywell. However, in the last two legs Jean failed to find any consistent form and Pywell finished the 3-2 winner.
Trailing 3-1 and still in with a fighting chance, that was the situation for the West Midlands. A position that was quickly changed as Babs Evans, with a straight 3-0 win accounted for Nell Bryant and confirmed Cleveland as winners. Pat A. Smith pushed the final result to 5-1 when she beat Teresa Johnston, again the score was 3-0, leaving the hosts still without a win in five games.
Fresh from an 8-4 win and with only one defeat to their name the men’s ‘B’ team should have been brimming with confidence. It appeared that was not so. Roger Kinsella lost the opening game to Alan Galley 3-0, without leaving a double in any of the three legs. Joe Biggs also lost, Ritchie Corner beating him 3-1 after Joe had struggled on his doubles in the first leg. At number three, Viv Gould against Neil Young. The first leg saw Gould down to 58 in fifteen darts only to see Young check out on 60 for a seventeen darts leg. Despite two tons for Gould and just one for Young, it was not enough to give the home player the required breathing space to win the leg and his counterpart went two up in 20 darts. The Cleveland man finished off the job in the third leg as he mad e it 3-0 both for him and his team in 21 darts.
Although Frank Johnson forged ahead of Glynn Neads on two occasions, Neads came back fighting in the best possible way with two outshots of 111 and 105 to square the match at two each. Nevertheless, Johnson kept his cool and in 20 darts wrapped up the game leaving his opponent back on 126. Johnson’s 3-2 win gave him a 25.83 average which at the end of the day earned him the man of the match award.
Ron Johnson (West Midlands) won his first leg against Paul Skelton, but then it all went downhill for Ron and Skelton won 3-1. Mick Littleford had a chance of winning the opener against Dennis Coleman, unfortunately he failed on his doubles and Coleman won the leg. In the next two legs Coleman moved up a gear and won them in eighteen and fourteen dart with Littleford left way back in the two hundreds in each leg. So at the halfway stage Cleveland had opened up a commanding 5-1 lead.
The second half was a carbon copy of the first. The visitors again won the first three games. Mark Durham was pushed all the way by Paul Johnson before clinching his 3-2 win. Then Jim Dunlop took the scoreline along to 7-1 and in the process giving his Cleveland ‘B’ team mates a guaranteed victory as he accounted for Steve Penwright in just three legs. The rout continued as Makan Chahal raced to a 2-0 lead over Vic Lloyd and despite Lloyd pulling back to level terms it was the Cleveland man who got the all important fifth and final leg.
It was the tenth game before West Midlands claimed their second winner in Jamie Parsons who lined up against Kevin Taylor. Taylor was always in the match although he lost 3-0. As Parsons shot out in 19,21 and 21 darts Taylor was left nursing doubles five, ten and five. Two to play and trailing 8-2 that was the unenviable situation for the hosts. Jonathon Platt put up a brave fight against Carl Smith as he came from behind twice to level the match, but as had happened with some of his colleagues he lost the decider and went down 3-2. The last game of the day saw Brian Boulton beat Martin Tibbetts 3-1 to give the visitors a convincing 10-2 success.
Sunday was another day, it was however, a similar story. The ladies kicked off with a defeat for Ann Jones. After she had twice forged ahead against Pat J. Smith and had throws at finishing doubles in all her losing legs she failed at the final hurdle and lost 3-2. Claire Hobbs, like her predecessor, also fouled up on doubles and saw her counterpart claim the 3-1 result. Rose Mycock won her first leg and could have taken the second if she had wrapped up her 35 outshot. She didn’t and Claire Stainsby, with a 78 game shot made it one apiece. Visibly encouraged by her ‘stolen’ leg Claire then rattled off scores of 81,80,100 and 137 to win the third leg and completed her victory when she hit 100,85 and 140 in the fourth which she won on 16 for a 3-1 victory.
Requiring just one more game for their third win of the weekend, Cleveland did not have to wait long. Karen Helmore made short work of her game with Janet Hubbard, a 3-0 win with a 21.78 average. Then came the West Midlands only shining light of the ladies ‘A’ game. Angie Perry, winner of the previous four match awards, was on form again. She went two up against Jean Hagan, lost the next two legs and won the final encounter for a 3-2 success with a 21.55 average. Claire Downing could easily have won the last game against June Sorby as she had chances at finishing doubles in each of the three legs. It was June though who got the doubles, the third leg seeing her check out on 120. June’s win giving the away team another ladies 5-1 win.
Undefeated in their previous two fixtures the men’s ‘A’ were now laying for pride as their opponents had already won the fixture leading before their game 20-4. Avtar Singh was first on for the Midlanders and found the challenge of Glen Durrant too demanding. Singh won the opening leg in 18 darts, Durrant replying with 22,18 and 15 darts legs, the last leg including a 125 finish. The second game saw the reverse happen. Mark Eccles (Cleveland) went one up, only to see Ian Hartland win the next three in 21,21 and 18 darts. Another Ian, this time Jones gave the home team a 2-1 lead when he produced some scintillating form against Colin Johnson. Jones began with 180,140 and 135 and won the first leg in fourteen darts. The second with 140 and 100 he won in 18 darts. Johnson took the third with a 100 outshot to reduce the arrears to 2-1. The fourth leg was a cracker. Jones hit a maximum, so did Johnson. Jones then hit two tons and 76 which gave him all the leeway he required as he won the leg with a 45 game shot for another fourteen darts leg, Johnson left without a throw for double sixteen. Jones average, 32.31 which gave him the ‘A’ teams match award.
Paddy Johnson made it 3-1 when he beat Simon Craven in three straight legs. Johnson won the first in eighteen darts with a 103 checkout, the second in seventeen darts and the third again in eighteen darts, this time finishing on 115. Darren Williams also produced some top class finishing in his 3-1 win against Glen Moody. He won the first on 120 ( fifteen darts), the second in seventeen darts and the fourth in eighteen darts with a 116 finish. Continuing in the vein of high finishes, Tony Eccles (Cleveland) beat Nick Walters 3-1, his win including a 148 and 143 checkouts to put the midway score at 4-2 to the West Midlands.
Cleveland reduced the deficit even further when in the seventh game Tony Mitchell came back from 2-1 down against Mick James to win 3-2. Another fine spell from the West Midlands saw Steve Brindley beat Paul Windspear 3-0, Gary Taylor get the better of Jim Bannister in a four legs affair and Adrian Arnold, with his 3-2 success against Rob Grundy chalk up the all important seventh winning game to give his side a 7-3 advantage.
Mangal Singh put up a brave fight against Gary Stephens, but outshots of 101 in the second leg and 116 in the decider were too much for him as he lost 3-2. Anchor man Tom Aldridge was also made to fight all the way by Kenny Dobson, twice having to come from behind until he finally claimed his win in the fifth and final leg. The result a super 8-4 win, unfortunately not enough to avoid an overall defeat.
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On the local league front, the Forest of Arden Winter League have played off their men’s and ladies singles knockout’s at the Sheldon Heath Social Club. Taking the men’s title in an all Red Arrows affair was Simon Edwards, who beat his team mate Alan Price 2-0. Losing semi finalists were, Dave Bellamy (Stechford Social) and Mark Osborne (Hobs Meadow Mixes).
Hobs Meadow’s Noreen Harris won the ladies crown in style as she won title without dropping a single leg. Her final opponent was Pat Hussey who represented the Cock and Hens. Noreen beat Maureen Winters (Hobs Meadow Mixes) in the semi’s and Pat knocked out Julie James (Stechford Social).
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The Aston Darts League took up the challenge from the G.U.L.P. charity team in a bid to raise funds for a young girl suffering from Leukaemia. The result was a fantastic night of darts with the Aston League winning 9-3. However, the result was immaterial as the object was to raise money and that was what they did, a fabulous amount of £800 in their first ever charity game. The league are now setting up future matches to raise monies for other good causes.
League secretary Bill Morris would like to thank everyone involved in the match, officials, the players their friends and all other who helped for such a worthy cause.
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