Gloucestershire v Derbyshire
After a run of eight consecutive defeats Derbyshire came up trumps against Tyne and Wear in their division three BDO Inter County Championships fixture beating them 22-14 and were looking to add to that win in the following game which was an away tie with Gloucestershire.
The home side had the better start as Jane Price gave the ladies ‘B’ a 1-0 lead when she beat Terri Bellamy 3-1. Maria Lock doubled the hosts lead with a 3-0 success against Dee Fenn before Sara-Jane Harrison chalked up Derbyshire’s first stripe when she handed out a 3-0 defeat to Tracey Dix.
The fourth game saw Gloucestershire move to within an ace of victory as Kirsty Dixon won 3-0 against Emily Jones and it took a lady of the match performance from Lauren Jackson to keep the away side in with a chance of salvaging a draw as she won 3-0 against Christine Marsh with an 18.56 average.
The final game was another 3-0 result, the fifth of the match and it went to Derbyshire’s Holly Wright when she accounted for Jo Goodman to put the final score all level at three each.
The men’s ‘B’ team kicked off with wins from Benjamin Homes and Tim Rippon, Holmes beating Joe Griffiths 3-0 and Rippon winning 3-1 against Matthew Kerry. The home term pulled one back in the third when John Raynsford beat Henry Coates 3-2 after Coates had gone 2-0 up, however the two games buffer was restored in the fourth when Stephen Paling, after trailing 2-0 to Samuel Brough went on to win 3-2.
By the halfway mark the scores were level at 3-3 after Keith Lawrence beat Connor Hodgkinson 3-1 and Andy Hammond won 3-0 against Colin Rich.
Derbyshire began the second half in style with four consecutive wins begun by Ian Clarke when he won 3-0 against Andy Parker. Andrew Gillott took the away team’s advantage to 5-3 with a 3-1 success over Mark Turley and ensuring at the worst a draw was Derbyshire’s man of the match Paul Williams. Williams won the opening leg against Andy Poole in 17 darts and with further wins in 18 and 14 darts wrapped up a 3-0 win and the match award for his tremendous 30.67 average.
The win was not long awaited as on at number ten was Robert Hawker his 3-0 win against Gary Price taking the running total to 7-3.
The last two games of the day went to Gloucestershire as James Atkins won 3-2 against Keith Cooper then taking the result to 7-5 was Richard Hawkins with his 3-1 win against Gary Barker.
Derbyshire ladies ‘A’ could not have wished for a much better game as they swept away their opponents with a crushing 5-1 victory. However the match didn’t look as though it was going to go that way when Gloucestershire’s opener Vicky Fairbrother, despite being pegged back to level terms twice by Rebecca Hoyland went on to win 3-2. The game was squared when the visitor’s lady of the match Jackie Sweet accounted for Wendy Booth with a 3-1 result and a 17.88 average to give Jackie her first award of the season.
Samantha Marshall doubled Derbyshire’s lead with a 3-2 win over Louise Hall after Hall had come from two down to level at 2-2 and ensuring a share of the spoils was Rachel Ayres who beat Elaine Powel 3-1 after Powell had gone one up.
The match was won in the fifth when the all-important fourth stripe was added by Louise Rawson who got the better of Sharon Brewer with a 3-1 result and taking the final score to 5-1 was Jennifer McCormick with her straight 3-0 win over Amy Collins to give the ‘A’ team their first win of the campaign.
Just four winners were required from the men’s ‘A’ side to give Derbyshire an overall win for the weekend and opener Steve Soar reduced that to three as he beat Andrew Tompkins 4-2. The home side were quick to respond as they rattled off wins in the next three games. Ben Green and Mark Johncock in turn won 4-2 against Andrew Baker and Lee Stanley, Stanley coming from two down to level terms before losing, then with a 4-1 win from Richard Bambridge against Tim Daniels Gloucestershire were 3-1 up. Nevertheless by the halfway mark the scores were level as with a 4-3 result Paul Baker defeated Ashley Hurrell and Sean Lambert beat Dean Thomas 4-2.
For the first time since the opening game Derbyshire went ahead again in the seventh when Nigel Daniels added his 4-2 win over Aaron Dyer to their tally and with man of the match Gary Fenn beating Steve Poulter 4-1 Derbyshire had clinched the overall win and the men’s ‘A’ were just one more win short of sharing the points. In his win Fenn recorded winning legs of 16,11,17 and 20 darts for a superb 29.35 average.
The ninth game between Andy Reid (Gloucestershire) and Ian Allcock was nip and tuck with Allcock going 1-0 up then 3-1 down, he pulled back to 3-3 but then lost the deciding leg. Peter Burgoyne (Derbyshire) lost 4-1 to Josh Lewis and Richard Hanson (Derbyshire) after going within a whisper of winning as he won the first three legs against Mark Blandford lost 4-3.
The final score was taken to 7-5 to Gloucestershire when their Shaun Hughes won the last game of the day against Ryan Hassell 4-1 but the major overall result of 20-16 for the weekend went to Derbyshire.
With two wins in a row things are now looking brighter for Derbyshire, the win lifting them off the foot of the table where they have been residing for most of the season.
Full Results:Gloucestershire v Derbyshire (16-20)🙁Gloucestershire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Andrew Tompkins 2 Steven Soar 4, Ben Green 4 Andrew Baker 2, Mark Johncock, 4 Lee Stanley 2, Richard Bambridge 4 Tim Daniels 1, Ashley Hurrell 3 Paul Baker 4, Dean Thomas 2 Sean Lambert 4, Aaron Dyer 2 Nigel Daniels 4, Steve Poulter 1 Gary Fenn 4, Andy Reid 4 Ian Allcock 3, Josh Lewis 4 Peter Burgoyne 1, Mark Blandford 4 Richard Hanson 3, Shaun Hughes 4 Ryan Hassell 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Joe Griffiths 0 Benjamin Holmes 3, Matthew Kerry 1 Tim Rippon 3, John Maynsford 3 Henry Coates 2, Samuel Brough 2 Stephen Paling 3, Keith Lawrence 3 Connor Hodgkinson 1, Andy Hammond 3 Colin Rich 0, Andy Parker 0 Ian Clarke 3, Mark Turley 1 Andrew Gillott 3, Andy Poole 0 Paul Williams 3, Gary Price 0 Robert Hawker 3, James Atkins 3 Keith Cooper 2, Richard Hawkins 3 Gary Barker 1, Women’s ‘A’:- Vicky Fairbrother 3 Rebecca Hoyland 2, Wendy Booth 1 Jackie Sweet 3, Louise Hall 2 Samantha Marshall 3, Elaine Powell 1 Rachel Ayres 3, Sharon Brewer 1 Louise Rawson 3, Amy Collins 0 Jennifer McCormick 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Jane Price 3 Terri Bellamy 1, Maria Lock 3 Dee Fenn 0, Tracey Dix 0 Sara-Jane Harrison 3, Kirsty Dixon 3 Emily Jones 0, Christine Marsh 0 Lauren Jackson 3, Jo Goodwin 0 Holly Wright 3.
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