Shropshire v Gwynedd
Home advantage was not enough for Shropshire to avoid defeat against Gwynedd in what was their fourth fixture of the season in division three of the Riley’s BDO Inter County Championships.
Both ladies teams suffered 4-2 defeats, the ‘B’ team opened up with a 3-0 win from Debbie Davies against Louise Griffiths, but Gwynedd then sailed into a winning 4-1 lead as they rattled off four wins in a row thanks to Shereen Downs, Cerian Prysor, Tracy Hindle and Patricia Bailey, who had respective wins over Deanna Worrall, Elaine Banks, Sue Corbett and Rebecca Houston.
Shropshire’s only other win came in the final encounter, on the day keeping the best till last as Pam Evans beat Bethan Roberts 3-1, her 15.70 average giving her the lady of the match award.
The ‘A’ side also won the opening game, Michele Pritchard giving them an early lead as she beat Chrissie Halliday in three straight legs with a creditable 17.89 average. Unfortunately the lead was short lived as Marcia Roberts, Gaynor Williams and Jacqueline Leggatt in turn beat Mandy Morgan, Wendy Talbot and Lorna Wheatley to put the visitors 3-1 up.
In the penultimate game Leanne Loveridge added the hosts second 3-0 win to their tally when she beat Jacky Blanks. Leanne’s win also earned her the match award as she recorded a19.52 average.
Alas the men’s team suffered the same fate as the ladies, the ‘B’ actually began with some promise despite Nik Bloor losing 3-1 in the opening tie with Don Robertson. Danny James laid on a man of the math performance against Ricky Lewis, winning 3-1 with 15, 19 and 20 darts to give him a 27.71 average and level the match.
At number three was Simon Pritchard, who handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to his opponent Barry Jones, Pritchard winning in 19, 21 and 26 darts for another useful 22.77 average and at the same time putting Shropshire ahead for the first time in the game.
Nick Jones (Gwynedd) squared the match once again when he recorded a 3-0 win over Tony Wickham before the home side put together the home team’s best run of the game, three wins in a row. Starting the ball rolling was Neville Quinton with a 3-1 win over Gerwyn Jones, following up was Eddie Austin, who in a five legs thriller beat Iwan Williams 3-2 and giving Shropshire a 5-2 lead was John Breeze, with a 3-0 success over Mark Nellist.
At 5-2 up and five to play the odds were heavily stacked in the hosts favour to at the worst earn a draw, but that was not to be as Gwynedd strung together five successive wins and pull a win out of the jaws of defeat. Two 3-0 wins from Dafydd Williams and Andrew B Jones over respective opponents Nigel Sandbrook and Anthony Stoneman were followed up with two 3-2 wins by Andrew Hayes and Ifor Davies at the expense of Brian Hickman and Matt Williams and clinching a 7-5 victory was Paul Redmond who in the final game beat Danny Humphries 3-0.
The ‘A’ team had an even rougher ride, but kicked off the game with a 4-2 win from Clive Lucking over David Arwyn-Morris. From 1-0 up suddenly they trailed 5-1, three of the five wins going to a deciding leg, which could easily have gone either way. Luckily for Gwynedd they all went their way and were provided by James Dorenbos, John Downs, Heber Thomas, Carwyn Moss Jones and Martin Phillips.
Andy Roberts pulled one back for Shropshire when he beat Steven Lee Williams 4-3 and with a 4-1 win by Daniel Astbury against Carl Hughes Shropshire were back in the game although still trailing 5-3. Astbury’s win not only reduced the arrears but also won him the match award as he chalked up winning legs of 17, 17, 21 and 21 for a 26.54 average.
Barry Tym (Gwynedd) added another 4-3 win to his side’s account when he beat Richard Parker and a 4-2 success from Gareth Jones against mark Jones took the scoreline along to 7-3, a match winning margin for the away team.
The final two games were yer again two more 4-3 results, making it a total of seven in the match, six of them going to Gwynedd, but showing how closely fought the encounter was. Recording the final two wins were Elwyn Jones and Arwel Griffiths, with Andy Powell and Andrew Richardson on the receiving end.
The overall result for the weekend was a 24-12 win for Gwynedd, leaving Shropshire next to bottom of the table on 61 points, eleven ahead of bottom team Bedfordshire, but five behind Cumbria and eight adrift of Buckinghamshire.
Full results:Men’s ‘A’Clive Lucking 4 David Arwyn Morris 2, John Cooper 3 James Dorenbos 4, Kevin Harris 3 John Downs 4, Andi Chatter 0 Heber Thomas 4, Steve Ritchie 3 Carwyn Moss Jones 4, Shane Knight 1 Martin Phillips 4, Andy Roberts 4 Steven Lee Williams 3, Daniel Astbury 4 Carl Hughes 1, Richard Parker 3 Barry Tym 4, Mark Jones 2 Gareth Jones 4, Andy Powell 3 Elwyn Jones 4, Andrew Richardson 3 Arwel Griffiths 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Nik Bloor 1 Don Robertson 3, Danny James 3 Ricky Lewis 1, Simon Pritchard 3 Barry Jones 0, Tony Wickham 0 Nick Jones 3, Neville Quinton 3 Gerwyn Jones 1, Eddie Austin 3 Iwan Williams 2, John Breeze 3 Mark Nellist 0, Nigel Sandbrook 0 Dafydd Williams 3, Anthony Stoneman 0 Andrew B Jones 3, Brian Hickman 2 Andrew Hayes 3, Matt Williams 2 Ifor Davies 3, Danny Humphries 0 Paul Redmond 3, Ladies ‘A’:- Michele Pritchard 3 Chrissie Halliday 0, Mandy Morgan 1 Marcia Roberts 3, Wendy Talbot 0 Gaynor Williams 3, Lorna Wheatley 1 Jacqueline Leggatt 3, Leanne Loveridge 3 Jacky Blanks 0, Katherine McLean 1 Michelle Williams 3, Ladies ‘B’:- Debbie Davies 3 Louise Griffiths 0, Deanna Worrall 1 Shereen Downs 3, Elaine Banks 1 Cerian Prysor 3, Sue Corbett 1 Tracy Hindle 3, Rebecca Houston 0 Patricia Bailey 3, Pam Evans 3 Bethan Roberts 1.
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