Shropshire v Isle of Wight
It just had to happen and happen it did as Shropshire for the first time in twelve games in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships won.
In a tight battle between the bottom two teams in the division, next to bottom of the table Shropshire played hosts to bottom of the table Isle of Wight and it was thanks to the ladies teams for the well awaited victory.
The ladies ‘B’ gave Shropshire a cracking start as Allison Gallagher and Debbie Davies, the first two players for Shropshire both won in straight 3-0 games against respective opponents Judi Angus and Jackie Gardener.
Cally Jones added her 3-1 win over Angie Cotton before lady of the match Sue Lane chalked up the match winner as early as the fourth game when she beat Fiona Pickin 3-1 with a 15.04 average.
Lisa Wills (Shropshire) went one up against Val Emm and then 2-1 down but she recovered to win the next two legs and the game 3-2.
The last game for the ladies ‘B’ saw Charlotte Collins (Isle of Wight) win 3-0 against Cheryl Owen to give a final score of 5-1 to Shropshire ladies ‘B’ their best win since April 2017 when on that occasion their opponents were once again Isle of Wight.
After starting the season with three defeats, the men’s ‘B’ with two wins and a draw had begun to string together some good results but the first half of their game against Isle of Wight had no suggestion of continuing that trend.
Shropshire’s Matt Williams and Rob Trumper in turn lost 3-1 to Dan Green and Sean Morrissey and despite Scott Meyrick coming from one down to Jason Collins and winning 3-1, by the halfway stage he turned out to be the only winner as Gordon Penn, Brian Meszynski and Gordy Crews in turn recorded 3-1 wins over Neil Powell, Martin Riggs and Andy Gilbert.
The second half began with more promise Andy Mullinder beat Graeme Dutton 3-0 and Darryl Sheldon won 3-1 against Michael Wilkes but the revival didn’t last long as Callum Francis (Isle of Wight) beat Neville Quinton 3-1 and with a 3-2 success for Dale Grove over Joe Cook the result was put beyond Shropshire’s reach as Isle of Wight were then in an unassailable 7-3 lead.
It was the eleventh game before Shropshire’s man of the match was decided and it was Andre Knox (21.78) who provided that man of the match performance as he handed out a 3-0 defeat to Connor Greenaugh when he recorded his team’s fourth win.
The last game of the day also finished 3-0 but going in the opposite direction to Isle of Wight’s David Witts with Craig Capewell on the receiving end putting the final score at 8-4 to the away team.
After a 3-0 defeat for Steph Clarke by Brenda Dyer it was one way traffic for the ladies ‘A’ as Julie Griffiths cancelled out Dyer’s win with a 3-1 victory over Sam Pink, Michele Pritchard handed out a 3-0 whitewash to her opponent Alison Rowe, Kat McLean beat Dawn Basill 3-2 and with another 3-0 win from Marie Riggs, who checked out on 130 in the third leg against Charlotte Collins, the game was won by the fifth as the hosts were then 4-1 up.
Although there was four wins in the opening five games the lady of the match was not decided until the final game as Sophie Fawcett, with her team’s third 3-0 win defeated Bonnie Bentley and took the award for her 15.82 average, at the same time emulating the ladies ‘B’ result of 5-1.
The men’s ‘A’ team have not had the best of season’s as their first six games have produced just two draws and four defeats. The opening four games saw the home player win the first leg but of those four players Adam Thackray was the sole winner.
Opening up for Shropshire was Andi Chatter who narrowly lost out 4-3 to Mark Edwards. Thackray was on at number two he also was taken the full seven legs distance but won his game against Jim Lynott 4-3.
Isle of Wight took the lead again in the third when Carl Hiscock beat Chris Fox 4-2, then taking the away team’s lead to 3-1 was Callum Francis who had a 4-3 win over Simon Pritchard.
By the halfway point the score were level at 3-3 after Pete Eley won 4-1 against Liam Ridout and Kevin Harris beat Darren Andrews by the same margin.
Phillip Burt gave the visitors the lead again in game seven as he won 4-3 against Danny James after James had won the first and drawn level in the sixth. However the score was levelled at 4-4 by Brian Hickman when in six legs he accounted for Dave Robinson.
In the ninth game Shropshire took the lead for the first time in the match when Derek Coulson made it two consecutive man of the match awards, a 4-1 win over Peter Collins with winning legs of 17,18,19 and 20 darts giving him a 28.06 average.
The lead was short lived as Alex Hall and Mark Breakspear in turn won close 4-3 games against Nathan Storar and Paul Bromley and to round off a 7-5 win for Isle of Wight was Gene Bagley who defeated Richard Parker 4-0 in the final game of the weekend.
Despite both men’s teams losing the two 5-1 wins from the ladies teams gave an overall result of 19-17 to Shropshire, increasing their advantage over their opponents in the league table to twelve points with a game in hand.
Full Results: Shropshire v Isle of Wight (19-17):(Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Andi Chatter 3 Mark Edwards 4, Adam Thackray 4 Jim Lynott 3, Chris Fox 2 Carl Hiscock 4, Simon Pritchard 3 Callum Francis 4, Pete Eley 4 Liam Ridout 1, Kevin Harris 4 Darren Andrews 1, Danny James 3 Phillip Burt 4, Brian Hickman 4 Dave Robinson 2, Derek Coulson 4 Peter Collins 1, Nathan Storar 3 Alex Hall 4, Paul Bromley 3 Mark Breakspear 4, Richard Parker 0 Gene Bagley 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Matt Williams 1 Dan Green 3, Rob Trumper 1 Sean Morrissey 3, Scott Meyrick 3 Jason Collins 1, Neil Powell 1 Gordon Penn 3, Martin Riggs 1 Brian Meszynski 3, Andy Gilbert 1 Gordy Crews 3, Andy Mullinder 3 Graeme Dutton 0, Darryl Sheldon 3 Michael Wilkes 1, Neville Quinton 1 Callum Francis 3, Joe Cook 2 Dale Grove 3, Andre Knox 3 Connor Greenaugh 0, Craig Capewell 0 David Witts 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Steph Clarke 0 Brenda Dyer 3, Julie Griffiths 3 Sam Pink 1, Michele Pritchard 3 Alison Rowe 0, Kat McLean 3 Dawn Basill 2, Marie Riggs 3 Charlotte Collins 0, Sophie Fawcett 3 Bonnie Bentley 0, Women’s ‘B’:- Allison Gallagher 3 Judi Angus 0, Debbie Davies 3 Jackie Gardener 0, Cally Jones 3 Angie Cotton 1, Sue Lane 3 Fiona Pickin 1, Lisa Wills 3 Val Emm 2, Cheryl Owen 0 Charlotte Collins 3.
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