Shropshire v Isle of Wight
What a transformation Shropshire have had in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships after winning just one game in the opening five this season they have now won the last three the latest one being against Isle of Wight.
The ladies ‘B’ romped to an unbeatable 3-0 lead all started by opener Kirsty Jenks who after going 2-0 up against Judi Angus was pegged back to 2-2 and then won the deciding leg for a 3-2 success. Kirsty was followed by Grace Angell who had a straight 3-0 win in her game against Jackie Gardener and making it three was Caroline Jones who again was a 3-0 winner in her tie with Angie Cotton, Caroline also clinching the ‘B’ teams match award with her 18.79 average.
Dawn Basill pulled one back for the visiting team when she beat Suzanne Lane 3-1 but the hosts confirmed their win in the fifth when Sophie Fawcett won 3-0 against Valerie Emm.
The final game went to Isle of Wight their Amanda Weldon winning 3-1 against Lynne Watton to give a result of 4-2 to Shropshire.
The men’s ‘B’ team had a somewhat slow start as David Robinson put Isle of Wight one up with a 3-2 win over Brian Hickman who won the second leg and checked out on 151 in the fourth. Derek Coulson squared the game with a similar 3-2 result against Darren Andrews and although Robert Harris won the first leg against Gordon Penn it was the away player who got the 3-1 result to give the visitors the lead for a second time.
It was from game three onwards that the home team took command of the match Mick O’Neill began a sequence of five consecutive wins when he chalked up a straight 3-0 win over Dale Groves. Martin Angell gave Shropshire the lead for the first time in the match when he beat Edward Mitchell 3-1 after Mitchell had won the first. A 3-0 win over Brian Meszynski by Paul Boddison moved the score along to 4-2 then Nathan Storar added his 3-1 win over Tony Parker to the tally, Parker going 1-0 up but Storar levelling in style with a 141 checkout in the second before going on to win.
Putting a win beyond the reach of the away team was Neil Christopher Powell whose 3-2 win over Mark Breakspear opened up a 6-2 lead for the home side.
Isle of Wight won their third game in the ninth a 3-0 win from Graeme Dutton over Martin Riggs but that turned out to be their final win as Ian Pallet with a 119 finish in the third leg beat Gene Bagley 3-1, Paul Bromley won by the same margin against Michael Wilkes after Wilkes had won the first leg and taking the final score to a tremendous 9-3 win was Andre Knox who beat Mark Whates 3-0 giving the ‘B’ side only their second win of the season but their best win in the eight played.
The ladies ‘A’ were on the back of two 4-2 wins and despite losing the opening game when Mandy Morgan lost 3-2 to Maria Agozzino went one better with a 5-1 victory.
Marie Riggs won the second against Sam Pink 3-1 and Katharine McLean made it 2-1 with her 3-0 success against Dawn Basill. Stephanie Clarke was pegged back to level terms twice by Brenda Dyer but went on to win 3-2 and the winning game was added in style with a lady of the match showing from Michele Pritchard who won her first leg against Shirley Smith with a 106 checkout and then went on to win 3-1, Smith winning the third leg. Michele’s 19.00 average winning her, her first award of the season.
Rounding off the 5-1 result was Julie Griffiths who lost the opener to Cloey Alcroft but won the next three for her 3-1 victory.
First throw advantage proved to be the deciding factor in the first four games of the men’s ‘A’ match as Isle of Wight twice took the lead first through Darren Hawken’s 4-2 win over Brian Hickman and then it was David Witts who won 4-1 against another Brian this time Matthews in the third. Shropshire’s reply began with man of the match Louis Burley (25.12) who beat Tim O’Shea after O’Shea had gone 3-1 up then in the fourth Clive Lucking levelled the game at 2-2 with his 4-1 win against Mark Edwards who had won the first leg.
John Cooper broke the sequence as his 4-2 win over Kirk Bain gave the home side the lead for the first time in the game but it was short lived as by the halfway stage the score was all square at 3-3 with a further win for the away team from Paul O’Sullivan who won 4-3 against Neville Quinton in a game that swayed one way then the other as O’Sullivan won the first two legs, Quinton the next three then O’Sullivan the last two.
The second half was mainly all Shropshire as they stormed to an 8-3 lead with five in a row from Andrew Chatter who despite having his lead cancelled out three times by Simon Smith won 4-3, Kevin Harris had a straight 4-0 win over Sean Morrissey, Martin Riggs went 3-0 up against Alexander Hall, was pulled back to 3-3 and then won the last leg for a 4-3 win and Matt Williams in the penultimate encounter of the day beat John Gibson 4-2.
The last game of the weekend went to Isle of Wight with Gordon Crews winning 4-2 against Peter Eley to give a final score of 8-4 to Shropshire.
Shropshire’s revitalisation has seen them move up from the bottom of the table to a lofty fourth position and sees them just one point behind third placed Bedfordshire, both teams will play away in the final game of the season Shropshire will travel to take on Middlesex who are just three points behind them and Bedfordshire will take on bottom of the table Isle of Wight.
Full Results: Shropshire v Isle of Wight (26-10):Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Brian Hickman 2 Darren Hawker 4, Louis Burley 4 Tim O’Shea 3, Brian Matthews 1 David Witts 4, Clive Lucking 4 Mark Edwards 1, John Cooper 4 Kirk Bain 2, Neville Quinton 3 Paul O’Sullivan 4, Danny James 4 Kevin Woodward 2, Andrew Chatter 4 Simon Smith 3, Kevin Harris 4 Sean Morrissey 0, Martin Riggs 4 Alexander Hall 3, Matt Williams 4 John Gibson 2, Peter Eley 2 Gordon Crews 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Brian Hickman 2 David Robinson 3, Derek Coulson 3 Darren Andrews 2, Robert Harris 1 Gordon Penn 3, Mick O’Neill 3 Dale Groves 0, Martin Angell 3 Edward Mitchell 1, Paul Boddison 3 Brian Meszynski 0, Nathan Storar 3 Tony Parker 1, Neil Christopher Powell 3 Mark Breakspear 2, Martin Riggs 0 Graeme Dutton 3, Ian Pallett 3 Gene Bagley 1, Paul Bromley 3 Michael Wilkes 1, Andre Knox 3 Mark Whates 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Mandy Morgan 2 Maria Agozzino 3, Marie Riggs 3 Sam Pink 1, Katharine McLean 3 Dawn Basill 0, Stephanie Clarke 3 Brenda Dyer 2, Michele Pritchard 3 Shirley Smith 1, Julie Griffiths 3 Cloey Alcroft 1, Women’s ‘B’:- Kirsty Jenks 3 Judi Angus 2, Grace Angell 3 Jackie Gardener 0, Caroline Jones 3 Angie Cotton 0, Suzanne Lane 1 Dawn Basill 3, Sophie Fawcett 3 Valerie Emm 0, Lynne Watton 1 Amanda Weldon 3.