Derbyshire
With just one win in their last seventeen BDO Inter County Championship fixtures Derbyshire have certainly seen the tide turn since their highly successful 2014 – 2015 season when they lost just two of their games and won promotion to division one.
Nowadays playing in division two Derbyshire have still not recovered from their division one experience whereby they lost all nine fixtures and that run of bad luck has continued with them throughout the current season in division two where they have won one, drawn one and lost four the latest of which being a home tie with Worcestershire.
The ladies ‘B’ game saw Kera Astle chalk up a 3-1 win over Kim Jones in the first game but it was not until the last game that they recorded their second winner. Steph Konys (Worcestershire) beat Emily Jones 3-2, Debbie Beamand won 3-1 against Amy Clifton and Janet Farley won 3-0 against Alison Shilton before Melissa Daly added her 3-0 win over Michelle Cunningham to put the away team into a winning 4-1 position.
The final game for the ladies produced a match award for Derbyshire’s Louise Rawson as she after going 1-0 down to Kelly Gibbs went on to win 3-1 with a 16.53 average.
The men’s ‘B’ were fresh off the back of two consecutive wins and should have been full of confidence. The encounter began with a man of the match game from the home team’s Richard Hanson who after losing the first leg to Terence Hancox stormed back with winning legs in 16,16 and 21 darts for a 3-1 win and a 26.82 average.
Paul Fackrell levelled for the visitors, a 3-2 win over Loz Barnes who had taken 1-0 and 2-1 leads. The third game swayed one way then the other as Ian Allcock (Derbyshire) won the first leg, Mark Luscott the following two, Allcock came back with 19 and 21 darts legs to seal a 3-2 win and put the host ahead for a second time.
A 3-0 win over Alan Statham by Ashley Hykin levelled the game at two each before Shaun Meek with a 3-2 win over Colin Rich gave Worcestershire the lead for the first time, Hykin coming from 2-0 down.
It was now the turn of the home team to level the score and the win was supplied by Andrew Gillott, a straight 3-0 success against his namesake Andrew Pullen.
Jim Swallwell restored Worcestershire’s lead when he beat Richard Hughes 3-0 and moving the score along to 5-3 was Kevin Mason with his 3-2 victory over Scott Parkin who had won the first two legs.
The away side looked all set to increase their lead when Tom White opened up 1-0 and 2-1 leads over Adam Fern but it was Fern who won the final two legs for a 3-2 win and with a 3-1 win from Adrian Asprey against Paul Wallace Derbyshire were back in the game at 5-5 with two to play.
Two to play but 3-0 defeats for Brian Snell and Alan Clegg in turn at the hands of Gary Whitby and Tony Young ended the ‘B’ teams winning run and gave Worcestershire a 7-5 victory.
The ladies ‘A’ are still seeking their first win this season but unfortunately it was not to be in this fixture. Jennifer McCormick lost the opener 3-0 to Worcestershire’s Lynne Arnold and despite a 3-0 win for Dee Fenn over Jackie Evans to level the score Jennifer Jones won 3-0 against Jackie Sweet to restore the visitors lead and Jenny Shail took the running score to 3-1 with a 3-2 win against Lauren Jackson.
Terri Bellamy kept Derbyshire’s faint hopes of a draw alive when she turned on a lady of the match performance against Nicola Ellis, Bellamy winning 3-1 with a 17.46 average. Alas it was not enough as Worcestershire’s top lady player Zoe Jones wa on at number six and her 3-0 win over Samantha Marshall gave the away team a 4-2 win.
Like the men’s ‘B’ game the ‘A’ began with a man of the match display for Derbyshire as Sean Lambert, who trailed three times to Phil Whitlock went on to win 4-3 with a 26.10 average. The cheers from the home crowd were short lived as Worcestershire rattled off four consecutive wins started by Dave Honey when he won 4-3 against Ben Holmes. Liam Kelly was the visitors second winner beating Keith Cooper 4-0 and with 4-2 wins for Neil Parsonage and Chris Jennings against respective opponents Tim Daniels and Peter Burgoyne to put the away team 4-1 up.
Derbyshire added a second win to their tally in the sixth when Adam Fern beat Richard Hosey 4-2 and the arrears were reduced to 4-3 with a 4-2 win from Lee Stanley over Ian Mackenzie with winning legs of 19,17,19 and 20 darts.
Worcestershire’s Paul Bailey made it 5-3 when he accounted for Darran Sinfield with a 4-1 result and although Gary Fenn won the first two legs against Anthony Butler it was Butler who got the final 4-3 win.
A straight 4-0 win over Ashley Spencer by Lee Furneaux gave the visitors the all important seventh stripe on the board. Terence Webster took the score along to 8-3 with a4-2 win over Steven Soar, the result being 8-4 when Derbyshire’s Andrew Baker won the last game of the weekend a 4-1 success against Mark Smith.
The overall result was 23-13 in favour of Worcestershire to leave Derbyshire firmly rooted at the foot of the table on 90 points fourteen short of safety with only three remaining fixtures.
Full Results:Derbyshire v Worcestershire (13-23)🙁Derbyshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Sean Lambert 4 Phil Whitlock 3, Ben Holmes 3 Dave Honey 4, Keith Cooper 0 Liam Kelly 4, Tim Daniels 2 Neil Parsonage 4, Peter Burgoyne 2 Chris Jennings 4, Adam Fern 4 Richard Hosey 2, Lee Stanley 4 Ian Mackenzie 2, Darran Sinfield 1 Paul Bailey 4, Gary Fenn 3 Anthony Butler 4, Ashley Spencer 0 Lee Furneaux 4, Steven Soar 2 Terence Webster 4, Andrew Baker 4 Mark Smith 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Richard Hanson 3 Terence Hancock 1, Loz Barnes 2 Paul Fackrell 3, Ian Allcock 3 Mark Luscott 2, Alan Statham 0 Ashley Hykin 3, Colin Rich 2 Shaun Meek 3, Andrew Gillott 3 Andrew Pullen 0, Richard Hughes 0 Jim Swallwell 3, Scott Parkin 2 Kevin Mason 3, Adam Fern 3 Tom White 2, Adrian Asprey 3 Paul Wallace 1, Brian Snell 0 Gary Whitby 3, Alan Clegg 0 Tony Young 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Jennifer McCormick 0 Lynne Arnold 3, Dee Fenn 3 Jackie Evans 0, Jackie Sweet 0 Jennifer Jones 3, Lauren Jackson 2 Jenny Shail 3, Terri Bellamy 3 Nicola Ellis 1, Samantha Marshall 0 Zoe Jones 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Kera Astle 3 Kim Jones 1, Emily Jones 2 Steph Konya 3, Amy Clifton 1 Debbie Beamand 3, Alison Shilton 0 Janet Farley 3, Michelle Cunningham 0 Melissa Daly 3, Louise Rawson 3 Kelly Gibbs 1.
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Derbyshire County Darts Organisation moved into the final third of the season in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships with an away fixture against Northumberland desperately needing points to get away from the foot of the table.
Saturdays ladies ‘B’ match began with 3-1 defeats for Rebecca Hoyland and Alison Shilton who in turn lost to Louise Kidd and Joy Wanless. Rachel Ayres momentarily stopped the rot with a 3-0 success against Jen Craney, Rachel’s 16.34 average earning her the match award as she turned out to be the sole winner on the day.
Ang Turnbull added her 3-1 win against Emily Jones to the Northumberland tally and Casey Stephenson chalked up the match winning fourth game with a 3-0 victory over Dawn Buckley. Angela Best with a 3-2 win against Louise Rawson rounded off the 5-1 win for Northumberland, Best coming back from 2-0 down to Rawson.
Not one of the first half games for the men’s ‘B’ went with the darts advantage Paul Sinclair opened up for the home side with a 3-0 win over Keith Cooper. Ian Clarke’s 3-2 win against Joseph Reed levelled the score until Arran Samuels won the third game for the hosts when he beat Andrew Gillott 3-2 after Gillott had twice taken the lead.
By the fourth game the match was level again as Darran Sinfield got the better of Tony Wood with the third consecutive 3-2 result, but again the home team went ahead this time through Tommy Norton who beat Loz Barnes 3-1. On at number six for Derbyshire was Brian Snell who wiped out Northumberland’s lead in style as after losing the first leg to Scott McParlin levelled in 21 darts and took the following two in 18 and 17 darts for a 3-1 win and an award winning average of 26.57.
The sequence continued as the second half got underway with the home team taking the lead for a fourth time when Paul Bell after losing the first leg won 3-1 against John Elliott but then the cycle was broken as John Brannan came from 2-0 down to Colin Rich and win 3-2 to give the home side a 5-3 lead.
With their backs against the wall Derbyshire’s men then fought back Richard Hughes won 3-2 against Chris Mathews, Scott Parkin beat Graham Shell 3-1 and for a fourth time the game was all square with just two to play.
Tony Cresswell (Derbyshire) lost the first to Chris Harvey then went 2-1 up, Harvey forced a decider with a win in the fourth but it was Cresswell who won the final leg for a 3-2 win and a lead for Derbyshire for the first time in the game.
The last game of the day was between Kenny Phillipson (Northumberland) and Adrian Asprey, Asprey took the first leg in 23 and followed that with an 18 darts game in which he checked out on 100. Phillipson won the third but Asprey wrapped up a 3-1 win in the fourth and at the same time a tremendous 7-5 win for his team in a terrific comeback from 5-3 down.
Sunday’s games didn’t bring much joy as the ladies fell to a 6-0 defeat all started by a 3-0 win from Phonsawan Whillis who beat Dee Fenn 3-0. Ann Marie Potts added a second 3-0 win when she accounted for Samantha Marshall and with two further 3-1 wins from Toni Longstaff and Jemma Reay against Respective opponents Lauren Jackson and Jackie Sweet the match was won as the hosts were 4-0 up.
Angie Mann added her 3-0 win against Terri Bellamy to Northumberland’s score and a final 3-1 win from Claire Stainsby at the expense of Jennifer McCormick completed the rout.
The men’s ‘A’ like the ladies ‘A’ are without a win so far this season but giving them the ideal start was Lee Stanley who after conceding the first leg to Stephen Wanless went on to win the tie 4-2. Derbyshire’s lead was short lived as Roger Brown and John Young chalked up 4-1 wins over Rob Wood and Tim Daniels, Daniels down to a double in every one of his losing legs.
Steven Soar put the score level at 2-2 when he won 4-1 against Callan Rydz and with the next two games going against the darts Paul Hodge’s (Northumberland) 4-2 win over Ben Holmes was cancelled out by a 4-3 success for Richard Hanson against Jimmy Blakey to put the score all square at 3-3 by the halfway point.
The home side took the lead again in the seventh when Simon Tate beat Adam Fern 4-0 but a 4-1 win against Micky Lynn by Nigel Daniels took the running score to 4-4.
Ian Gleeson gave Northumberland the lead for a fourth time when he won 4-1 against Sean Lambert and with a 4-2 success for John Watson over Ian Allcock the home team were just one win away from victory.
Holding back the cheers for the hosts was Derbyshire’s Gary Fenn who kicked off his game against Craig Tweddell with a 118 finish in 18 darts. Fenn then added two more wins in 19 and 20 darts before Tweddell recorded his one and only winning leg in the fourth as Fenn took the fifth in 18 darts for a 4-1 win and his third man of the match award of the season with his 27.58 average.
With the outcome now resting on the final game Mark Stephenson in 16,18,18 and 18 darts beat Andrew Baker 4-0 to give the hosts a 7-5 victory and an overall 23-13 win for the weekend.
Derbyshire’s fifth defeat in seven games leaves them stranded at the foot of the division two table with 103 points, 16 fewer than next to bottom Berkshire but more importantly 17 away from safety with just two more games to play.
Full Results:Northumberland v Derbyshire (23-13)🙁Northumberland names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Stephen Wanless 2 Lee Stanley 4, Roger Brown 4 Rob Wood 1, John Young 4 Tim Daniels 1, Callan Rydz 1 Steven Soar 4, Paul Hodge 4 Ben Holmes 2, Jimmy Blakey 3 Richard Hanson 4, Simon Tate 4 Adam Fern 0, Micky Lynn 1 Nigel Daniels 4, Ian Gleeson 4 Sean Lambert 1, John Watson 4 Ian Allcock 2, Craig Tweddell 1 Gary Fenn 4, Mark Stephenson 4 Andrew Baker 0, Men’s ‘B’:- Paul Sinclair 3 Keith Cooper 0, Joseph Reed 2 Ian Clarke 3, Arran Samuels 3 Andrew Gillott 2, Tony Wood 2 Darran Sinfield 3, Tommy Norton 3 Loz Barnes 1, Scott McParlin 1 Brian Snell 3, Paul Bell 3 John Elliott 1, John Brannan 3 Colin Rich 2, Chris Mathews 2 Richard Hughes 3, Graham Shell 1 Scott Parkin 3, Chris Harvey 2 Tony Cresswell 3, Kenny Phillipson 1 Adrian Asprey 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Phonsawan Whillis 3 Dee Fenn 0, Ann Marie Potts 3 Samantha Marshall 0, Toni Longstaff 3 Lauren Jackson 1, Jemma Reay 3 Jackie Sweet 1, Angie Mann 3 Terri Bellamy 0, Claire Stainsby 3 Jennifer McCormick 1, Women’s ‘B’:- Louise Kidd 3 Rebecca Hoyland 1, Joy Wanless 3 Alison Shilton 1, Jen Craney 0 Rachel Ayres 3, Ang Turnbull 3 Emily Jones 1, Casey Stephenson 3 Dawn Buckley 0, Angela Best 3 Louise Rawson 2.
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