In division two of the BDO Inter County Championships Derbyshire began 2015 where they left off 2014, winning. Their first game of the New Year was a home fixture against West Midlands and it turned out to be just the start they needed to keep them well on track for a return to division one.
Both ladies teams finished with a 3-3 draw, the ‘B’ side went one down when Samantha Maiden (West Midlands) beat Dee Fenn 3-0, but wins from Nicola Fletcher and Dawn Buckley, both 3-0 against respective opponents Claire Hobbs and Jacqueline Maiden gave them a 2-1 lead.
West Midlands drew level with yet another straight legs win from Sarah Roberts over Samantha Clarke only to see the home side take the lead again, this time thanks to a 3-1 win by Kelly Dean against Wendy Waine, Kelly’s winning average of 15.87 earning her the team’s match award.
With the result hinging on the final game West Midlands in form player Christine Banks secured a draw when she beat Rachel Ayres 3-0.
The ‘A’ game was much of a similar affair only this time it was Derbyshire who took the early lead when Joanne Oldershaw opened with a lady of the match performance against Kath Jenkins, winning 3-0 and averaging 20.04. Lauren Jackson (Derbyshire) promoted to the ‘A’ side after four consecutive match awards for the ‘B’ doubled her team’s lead with a 3-2 win over Kim Fellows.
West Midlands reply was two in a row from Gemma Barrett and Lisa Astbury. Gemma winning 3-1 against Jackie Sweet and Lisa stopping Jane Densley’s run of four consecutive ‘A’ match awards when she won 3-1.
Sara-Jane Harrison restored Derbyshire’s lead with a 3-1 win against Heather Wright, but a similar 3-1 win from West Midlands Debbie Loon over Rachel Bird put the final score all square at 3-3.
It was cheers all the way for the men’s teams the ‘B’ side getting off to a cracking start with wins in all of the opening six games. Robert Wood got the ball rolling with a 3-1 win over his namesake Robert Thompson. The home team’s long serving Jim Beardmore added his 3-1 win over Mark Allen-Watkiss to the tally before Alan Statham made it three 3-1 wins with his victory over Glen Cullen.
Taking the score along to 4-0 was Paul Williams, a 3-2 success against John Morris before Robin Woolery took out Martin Angell with a 3-0 result. As the first half drew to a close West Midlands looked all set to chalk up their first winner as John Mycock opened up a 2-0 lead against Tony Cresswell, but Cresswell fought back to not only level terms but go on to win the tie 3-2.
Mark Craddock gave West Midlands a boost as the second half got underway, coming back from 2-1 down against Robert Needham to win 3-2. West Midlands joy was short lived as David Allcock turned in a man of the match performance against Justin Evans winning 3-1 and averaging 28.48 to ensure a Derbyshire win as he took the score to 7-1.
Avtar Singh was West Midlands second winner, a 3-1 success against Dean Wilkins before Colin Rich made it 8-2 with his 3-2 win over Paul Price. The away side took the last two games, Lee Stanley and Robert Smith both losing 3-2 in turn to Gary Watts and Jamie Barrowman to give a final score of 8-4 in Derbyshire’s favour.
The first four games of the men’s ‘A’ match all went with the darts advantage, Keith Allman (West Midlands) first on and winning 4-2 against Stephen Pashley after trailing 2-1. The home team’s Wayne Pepper really pulled one out of the fire as he found himself 3-1 down after going 1-0 up against Richard Platt to go on and win 4-3.
Sean Carrol twice behind to Derbyshire’s Paul Bettney put the visitors noses in front again with a close 4-3 win, only to see David Smith-Hayes level the match for a second time when he beat Mark Rollinson 4-0. At this point the sequence was broken and the home side went ahead for the first time, Paul Mellor adding another 4-0 result to the score when he won against Jonathan Platt.
Rounding off the first half of the match Michael Baker won 4-3 against Reece Spurr to put West Midlands back on level terms.
Gavin Baker gave the away team the lead for a third time when he accounted for his namesake Paul Baker with a 4-1 scoreline before Derbyshire took control and stormed into a winning 7-4 lead. Richard Hanson began the comeback when he, after going 3-1 down to Neil Pointon won 4-3, Tim Daniels added his 4-3 win over Christopher Mason after he had been trailing 2-1 and 3-2. Nigel Daniels assured at least a share of the points with another 4-3 win, this time Ian Jones had opened a 3-1 lead and lost before man of the match Gary Fenn, with a 29.04 average and a straight 4-0 win against Danny Coyle took the match beyond West Midlands reach as his win notched up the magical seventh of the match.
The final game went to West Midlands Matthew Dicken, again a winner who had come from behind as he was 2-1 down to Adrian Asprey before going on to win 4-2.
So an overall 21-15 win to consolidate Derbyshire’s pole position and giving them a total of 128 points, eleven more than their nearest rivals Berkshire and 19 ahead of third placed London with four more fixtures to play.
Full Results:(Derbyshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Stephen Pashley 2 Keith Allman 4, Wayne Pepper 4 Richard Platt 3, Paul Bettney 3 Sean Carrol 4, David Smith-Hayes 4 Mark Rollinson 0, Paul Mellor 4 Jonathan Platt 0, Reece Spurr 3 Michael Baker 4, Paul Baker 1 Gavin Baker 4, Richard Hanson 4 Neil Pointon 3, Tim Daniels 4 Christopher Mason 3, Nigel Daniels 4 Ian Jones 3, Gary Fenn 4 Danny Coyle 0, Adrian Asprey 2 Matthew Dicken 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Robert Wood 3 Robert Thompson 1, Jim Beardmore 3 Mark Allen-Watkiss 1, Alan Statham 3 Glen Cullen 1, Paul Williams 3 John Morris 2, Robin Woolery 3 Martin Angell 0, Tony Cresswell 3 John Mycock 2, Robert Needham 2 Mark Craddock 3, David Allcock 3 Justin Evans 1, Dean Wilkins 1 Avtar Singh 3, Colin Rich 3 Paul Price 2, Lee Stanley 2 Gary Watts 3, Robert Smith 2 Jamie Barrowman 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Joanne Oldershaw 3 Kath Jenkins 0, Lauren Jackson 3 Kim Fellows 2, Jackie Sweet 1 Gemma Barrett 3, Jane Densley 1 Lisa Astbury 3, Sara-Jane Harrison 3 Heather Wright 1, Rachel Bird 1 Debbie Loon 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Dee Fenn 0 Samantha Maiden 3, Nicola Fletcher 3 Claire Hobbs 0, Dawn Buckley 3 Jacqueline Maiden 0, Samantha Clarke 0 Sarah Roberts 3, Kelly Dean 3 Wendy Waine 1, Rachel Ayres 0 Christine Banks 3.
Sussex v Derbyshire
Played five, won five that was Derbyshire’s record in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships as they went into their sixth of a scheduled nine fixtures, an away tie with Sussex. The game was never going to be easy as the hosts were also chasing promotion and still in with a realistic chance of winning the divisional title.
There was good, reasonable and bad news from the weekend as Saturday’s ‘B’ games saw the ladies come back from 2-0 down when Samantha Harding and Hayley Gatford won 3-0 and 3-1 against respective opponents Rachel Ayres and Nicola Fletcher to take a 3-2 lead. Dawn Buckley inspired the fight back when she won 3-2 against Bridget Guilford after she had trailed 2-1. Kelly Dean squared the match with her 3-1 success over Julia Saldanha before lady of the match Jennifer Whatmough added her straight 3-0 win and 17.68 average to the tally to put Derbyshire ahead for the first time in the game.
The visitors 3-2 lead was turned into a match winning 4-2 result when anchor player Dee Fenn made short work of the challenge from Rhonda West winning 3-0 to maintain her team’s unbeaten record for the season.
Lee Stanley was first on for Derbyshire in the men’s ‘B’ game and he was made to fight all the way for his 3-2 win over Dave Creasy. Creasy won the first and levelled again in the fourth but eventually lost to Stanley’s double twenty in the fifth. Next on for the away team was Dean Wilkins who kept in the game against Geoffrey Taylor when he won the third and fourth legs after going 2-0 down. However the win was not to be as he missed his doubles in the fifth and Taylor checked out on 20 to win 3-2.
Craig Deeley put Sussex ahead for the first time in the third game with a 3-0 win over Paul Williams only to see Robin Woolery cancel out the lead when he beat Lee Jennings 3-1. The home side went ahead again in the fifth, another straight 3-0 win this time from Dan Grimmett over David Allcock. Nevertheless by the halfway mark the score were even at 6-6, Jim Beardmore beating Ken Sowerby 3-2 after Sowerby had opened up a 2-1 advantage.
Sussex forged ahead again in the second half winning the first two games through Mark Harwood and Peter Stoner, who in turn defeated Mark Walker and Robert Wood. Alan Statham reduced the deficit to 5-4 with a 3-1 win against Connor Levett only to see the hosts move to within an ace of victory when Aegir Bjornsson beat John Clifford 3-0.
Trailing 6-4 with two to play Derbyshire now had their backs to the wall, but keeping them in the game was Robert Smith. Smith lost the first leg to Dan Bradford but levelled in 14 darts and then went 2-1 up with an 18 darts leg. Bradford squared the game in the fourth but Smith came good in the fifth winning it in 15 darts for a 3-2 win and a man of the match winning average of 29.70.
The result was now hinging on the final game between Liam Kipling (Sussex) and Colin Rich. It was nip and tuck all the way, Kipling going 1-0 up, Rich making it 1-1, Kipling then went 2-1 before Colin Rich won the next two legs to win 3-2 and take the final score to 6-6.
Amazingly all of the ladies ‘A’ games were won against the first throw advantage. Lady of the match Trish Kidd (23.57) gave Sussex the lead when she beat Jane Densley 3-1, Rachel Bird won the second for Derbyshire when she had a 3-1 result against Denise Peake. The home team went ahead again when Karen Winter beat Jackie Sweet 3-0, but yet again the advantage was cancelled out this time thanks to a 3-2 win from Sara-Jane Harrison over Kelly Ryan.
Donna Rainsley restored the home team’s lead with a 3-2 win against Lauren Jackson to put the score at 3-2 to the home side but Derbyshire could not have wished for a better player to represent them in the final and decisive game than Joanne Oldershaw, having said that it was a tough ride for Joanne as Laura Macintosh won the first leg, Joanne replied by winning the second, the home player then won the third to go 2-1 up. Joanne then not only won the fourth leg but also the fifth to clinch a hard fought 3-2 win, earn her team a 3-3 draw and win herself the match award with an 18.61 average.
Despite losing the first two games when Aegir Bjornsson beat Nigel Daniels 4-0 and Rod Hawkins doubled the home teams lead with a 4-1 win over Richard Hanson, Derbyshire did not have too bad a first half as from 2-0 down they went into a 3-2 lead.
Drew Smith began the trio of wins with his 4-1 win against Greg Upton, then came a similar 4-1 win for Gary Fenn over Jason Yates. Giving Derbyshire the lead for the first time was David Smith-Hayes, who apart from the one leg did not let his opponent Terry Howse get down to a finishing double. Smith-Hayes won the opening leg in 13 darts and added to that with 17 and 18 darts legs. Although he faltered in the fourth when he missed his finishing doubles he made amends with a winning 20 darts leg in the fifth for a 4-1 win and an award winning average of 28.92.
To round off the first half James Withers, who although he had his 2-0 lead erased by Paul Bettney went on to win 4-2 and put the running score at 3-3.
For Derbyshire the second half was a disaster, Craig Stoner (Sussex) began the half with a 4-1 win over Tim Daniels, Andy Derrick added his 4-2 success over Adrian Asprey to the total before Darren Woolgar and Michael Hammond in turn chalked up 4-3 wins against David Allcock and Keith Cooper to put the hosts into an unassailable 7-3 lead.
Matters got worse for the divisional leaders when Paul Eves beat Reece Spurr 4-3 to take the score along to 8-3, Paul Mellor (Derbyshire) making it a little more respectable at 8-4 when he beat Tony Peters 4-0 in the final game of the weekend.
The men’s ‘A’ defeat ended a run of four consecutive wins and for the squad the overall 19-17 loss their first of the season. Nevertheless, a defeat away to their nearest rivals may not have been what Derbyshire would have wanted but they still remain in pole position in the promotional table with a fifteen points lead over both Sussex and Berkshire, the bad news is that in the remaining three games they play against third placed Berkshire at home, fourth in the table London at home and bring down the curtain on the season with a final game away to fifth placed Northamptonshire, not an easy run in but two out of three fixtures are at home.
Full Results:Sussex Names First):Men’s ‘A’:- Aegir Bjornsson 4 Nigel Daniels 0, Rod Hawkins 4 Richard Hanson 1, Greg Upton 1 Drew Smith 4, Jason Yates 1 Gary Fenn 4, Terry Howse 1 David Smith-Hayes 4, James Withers 4 Paul Bettney 2, Craig Stoner 4 Tim Daniels 1, Andy Derrick 4 Adrian Asprey 2, Darren Woolgar 4 David Allcock 3, Michael Hammond 4 Keith Cooper 3, Paul Eves 4 Reece Spurr 3, Tony Peters 0 Paul Mellor 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Dave Creasy 2 Lee Stanley 3, Geoffrey Taylor 3 Dean Wilkins 2, Craig Deeley 3 Paul Williams 0, Lee Jennings 1 Robin Woolery 3, Dan Grimmett 3 David Allcock 0, Ken Sowerby 2 Jim Beardmore 3, Mark Harwood 3 Mark Walker 2, Peter Stoner 3 Robert Wood 1, Connor Levett 1 Alan Statham 3, Aegir Bjornsson 3 John Clifford 0, Dan Bradford 2 Robert Smith 3, Liam Kipling 2 Colin Rich 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Trish Kidd 3 Jane Densley 1, Denise Peake 1 Rachel Bird 3, Karen Winter 3 Jackie Sweet 0, Kelly Ryan 2 Sara-Jane Harrison 3, Donna Rainsley 3 Lauren Jackson 2, Laura Macintosh 2 Joanne Oldershaw 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Samantha Harding 3 Rachel Ayres 0, Hayley Gatford 3 Nicola Fletcher 1, Bridget Guilford 2 Dawn Buckley 3, Julia Saldanha 1 Kelly Dean 3, Teresa Weir 0 Jennifer Whatmough 3, Rhonda West 0 Dee Fenn 3.