Mick Gorst rounded off his title winning season in the Shirley Red Lion Premier League with two 3-1 wins over Dave Hesketh and Tony Daly to give him a total of 87 points ten more than runner up Paul Higgins whose final 2-2 draws with Antony Daly and Mark Gwalchmai were enough to clinch the number two spot with an advantage of three points over third placed Steve Sidwell.
With the final fixtures now complete plans are already in hand to form the eighth season which will get underway on Thursday 2nd March. Anyone interested in joining the league for the forthcoming season or requiring any further information should contact Mark Gwalchmai on 07908-741661.
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The Forest of Arden Winter League staged their singles knockout and from a starting line up of 32 players it was Dan White who lifted the title with a close 2-1 win over Simon Edwards in the final.
Trevor Edwards (Treasurer), Dan White (Winner) and Sue Kingdon (Organiser)
After both players had won the last eight games 2-0, White against Steve Whatmore and Edwards against A.Plant the two finalists were then taken to a deciding leg in the semi’s as Dan White beat Dale Evans and Simon Edwards won against Laura Vann.
Trevor Edwards (Treasurer), Simon Edwards (Runner Up) and Sue Kingdon (Organiser)
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Division two of the South Birmingham League produced a couple of shock results in week nine as leaders Toby Jug drop to third place after they went down 6-3 at home to fifth placed Banbury Flights and second placed The Dog finished on the wrong side of a 7-2 scoreline away to bottom of the table Smithswood Social which sees The Dog go down to fourth in the table.
No such problem for the top three in division one as they all won, top side Erdington Members Club had a 7-2 home win over The Trident while their nearest rivals Mackadown Social were 6-3 winners away to bottom of the division Crown Arrows. Third placed Crown at Shard End also won 6-3 at Banbury Arrows to leave both them and Mackadown on 12 points, four short of Erdington Members Club however Mackadown have two games in hand on Erdington and Crown one.
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Only three teams remain in contention for the first division title in the Four Oaks and District League, current leaders The Boat beat Old Oscott WMC 7-2 to give them 22 points from eleven games while second placed Boldmere St Mikes won 6-3 at Plough and Arrows to keep them within four points of Boat with a game in hand. Not such a clear cut win for Golden Hind who are third in the table, they were 3-0 down at Drakes Drum but fought back and went on to win by a narrow 5-4 to put them on 18 points from eleven games.
In the second division it’s a lot tighter with three teams all tied at the top on 16 points. St Thomas’s Social Club hold pole position but only on average and with a game in hand on their rivals. In their latest fixture St Thomas’s trailed 3-0 at home to Red Lion but eventually won the tie 5-4. The Boot are second and they chalked up a vital 6-3 win at The Fox who are now fourth in the table two points adrift of the leading trio. Making up the top three is Erdington Arrows who did the title hopes no harm at all with a convincing 8-1 win over bottom of the table Rosey Mac’s.
W.Naylor (Golden Hind) hit his third maximum this week and S.Paling (Boldmere St Mikes) his second.
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The Camp Hill League had their Captains and Secretaries competitions on the agenda and in the former it was Matthew Cooper representing league champions Cotterills Lane Club who took the title after beating Bill Carter from Holy Souls in the final.
The secretaries’ knockout title went to Pete Yardley from Hay Mills Social Club Lions with Daniel Lee (Eagle and Ball) the runner up.
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A 25-23 win over What’s The Point leaders of the Winmau Centre Monday Night League was not enough for The Untouchables to hold on to second place as Smash It recorded a massive 40-8 win over Full Monty to leap frog Untouchables with a total of 532 points, nine short of What’s The Point and one more than Untouchables.
Fourth placed The Outcast moved to within two points of Untouchables with the biggest win of the week 45-3 over make Mine A Double.
Individual performances in week sixteen included two maximums for Chris Marshall (The Outcasts) and James Owen (Smash It) plus one each for Andy Croydon (Make Mine A Double), Andy Busby, Simon New (The Untouchables) and Dave Lewis (Keep It In The Family). Best game shot of 130 came from Ben Wellsbury (Here For The Beer).
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After the majority of teams have completed fourteen fixtures in the Warwickshire men’s Super League only six points separate the top three teams. Sutton Sports lead the way with 96 points an advantage of four over second in the table Coventry Bishopsgate who in turn have a two points lead over third placed Coventry Old Ball ‘A’.
Coventry Old Ball ‘B’ are at present bottom of the table, the only team in the league without either a win or a draw so far.
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The Small Heath League played off their End of Season 501 Knockout and taking the honours with a clear cut 2-0 result in the final was D.Heighway with T.White runner up. Both players won their quarter final games 2-1, Heighway beating P.Webster and White with a 180 winning against M.Cooper. The last four games saw Heighway booking his final place with a straight 2-0 win over S.Cain while White was taken to a deciding leg by C.Wyatt before winning 2-1.
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In week four of the Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League no fewer than five of the eleven games played finished with a 7-0 scoreline. Handing out those straight wins were Sam Aitkens, Louis Burley (2), Paul Boddison and Chris Williams who in turn defeated John Edwards, Shane Watters and Rob Montana, Martin East and Mark Bayliss.
Chris Manoila holds on to the number one spot and his unbeaten record adding a 4-3 win over Chris Fox followed by a 6-1 result against Devinder Singh to give him a total of 37 points from seven games. Second in the table Sam Aitkens is also undefeated and his latest 7-0 win leaves him just one point behind Manoila.
Mick Baker reigning champion for the past two seasons is third and like the two players above him has won all of his games and although he is two points adrift of Manoila he has played one game less than him.
The only other unbeaten player in the league is Sam Guest who is slowly but surely making his way up the table, his 6-1 win over Rob Montana giving him 17 points from only three games and puts him thirteenth in the table.
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It’s as you were at the top of the Brierley Hill Friday Night League with all of the top four teams winning in week 17. Brickmakers Arms remain top of the table, their 5-2 win at Netherton Cricket Club ‘B’ pushing their hosts down one place to sixth but maintain their own two points lead over second placed Pensnett Welfare Club ‘A’ who had a similar 5-2 result in their game at the Fox Inn (Lye).
Netherton Cricket Club ‘A’ are third and are on the same 28 points as Pensnett Welfare Club ‘A’ after beating their hosts The Bell again 5-2. Fourth in the table Pensnett Welfare Club ‘B’ like the three teams above them won 5-2 as they accounted for their visitors Britannia.
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The Silver End Sunday Morning League played off the second leg of their Team Knockout and the winners going into the last eight are Railway, Portway, Woodside, The Bell, Pensnett Welfare Club and Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club plus The Bridge and High Acres who both had a bye into the next round.
Portway after taking a 5-3 lead from the first leg were beaten by the same 5-3 margin in the second leg, but then went on to win the 3-a-side decider 2-1.
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The Pip Club League played their Divisional Challenge Cup semi finals and with respective wins over Belgrave Club and Queens Head it will be Globe Trotters and Bulls Head ‘A’ (Polesworth) that will battle it out for the division one title.
The final for the division two contest will be between Globe (Wilnecote) and Royal Oak who in turn accounted for Pip Club and Wigginton Arms.
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The Nutan have been ousted from their pole position and drop to second place in the 501 section of the Bilston and District League after losing 2-1 to Tilted Barrel who take over the top spot with a two points lead over their opponents.
No such problem in the 301 league as Nutan beat third placed Tilted Barrel 4-3 to keep them two points ahead of Lanesfield RBL in second place, Lanesfield winning 6-1 away to 44 Club.
There was a rare win for bottom of the table White Hart who recorded only their second win in seventeen games when they beat Red Lion 6-1, Red Lion are two places above White Hart with a two point’s advantage.
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Andy Roberts (Oakengates) and Johnny Haines (Swindon) were successful in the second round qualifier of the Riley’s UK Open at the Riley’s Wolverhampton branch and now go through to the finals to be played at Minehead.
The last four play off saw Roberts gain a conclusive 5-1 win over Antony Hayman while Haines was taken to a deciding ninth leg before getting his 5-4 verdict.
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The Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League played the quarter finals of their Rickuss Cup which saw the league’s early pacesetters Island Inn beat reigning league champions Dewdrop 4-3 and last season’s runners up Old Hop Pole lose 5-2 to The Wonder who are currently second in the league table.
Joining Island Inn and Wonder in the semi finals will be Merry-Go-Round who beat Waggon and Horses 4-3 and Ivy Bush who were the rounds biggest winners with a 6-1 result against Hayes Social.
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Week four of the new season in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League and just one leg of average separates the top two teams. Ten Arches ‘A’ with a 6-3 home win over Hare and Hounds ‘A’ top the table with eight points followed closely by Gate ‘B’ who won by the same 6-3 margin away to Crestwood.
Kingswinford Conservative Club were the only losers in the top seven teams going down by a convincing 8-1 scoreline away to Bird (Stourbridge), the Conservative Club dropping from third in the table to eighth, Bird move up one to fifth.
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The top two teams in the West Midlands Men’s Super League Crown ‘A’ and Landywood ‘A’ both won 5-0 in week 18, Crown ‘A’ winning at the Cabin and Landywood ‘A’, who also played away won at Old Queens Head.
The Pheasant (formerly ECC) leapfrog Ten Arches into third place with a 5-0 win against Staffordshire Knot, but there was a surprising 3-2 defeat for fourth placed Ten Arches away to Allen’s Sports Bar ‘B’ who are some 34 points behind them in twelfth position.
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Cradley Liberal Club, Ex Serviceman’s ‘A’ and The Bell took their unbeaten runs to three games in the Rowley Monday Night League all three in turn winning 6-3 against Three Diamonds, The Roost and Three Diamonds ‘X’ to keep them two points ahead of the rest of the field.
At the other end of the table there was a first win in three for Fairfield who won 5-4 at Tividale FC to go two points to the good on the bottom three teams Three Diamonds ‘X’, Haden Cross and Loyal Lodge.
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Is anyone in the Darlaston area looking for a venue to host their darts team? Then look no further than The Cottage Spring in Franchise Street Darlaston where Jed and Richard would be delighted to give your team a new home.
Anyone interested should contact Jed or Richard on 0121-531-7191.
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In the third week of the Wednesbury and Darlaston Wednesday Night League Churchill ‘A’ with a 6-3 result not only beat English Oak but also replaced them at the top of the table and are now the only team in the league to have won all of their games, English Oak drop to fourth on four points. An 8-1 win at Horse and Jockey sees Black Horse move into second place two points off the top as are third in the league Nutan who won their home tie with Staffordshire Knot 6-3.
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The Tamworth League played the finals of their League Cup, in the semi finals Sports Bar beat Wigginton Arms ‘B’ 6-1 and Globe Inn were 4-2 winners against Sports Bar ‘180’. The final saw Sports Bar repeat their last four result beating Globe Inn 6-1.
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