Shropshire v Bedfordshire
The month of April saw Shropshire play two fixtures in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships the first of which was a rearranged home fixture against Breconshire.
The weekend got off to a fine start as the ladies ‘B’ opened up a 2-0 lead with Allison Gallagher beating Helen Thomas-Evans 3-2 and then lady of the match Cally Jones (16.16) won in three straight legs against Jan Layton giving Cally her first match award of the campaign. Unfortunately from there on in it all went a little pear shaped as Louisa Fox beat Sharon Harris 3-0, Sharon Hill won 3-2 against Debbie Davies after Debbie came from 2-0 down to levelled the game at 2-2, Jane Smith beat Sue Lane 3-1 and in the last game in the women’s ‘B’ match Cheryl Owen (Shropshire) went 2-0 up then lost 3-2 to Ruth Bailey-Harris to give Breconshire a 4-2 win and leave the home team pondering over evasive finishing doubles.
Breconshire opened up the men’s ‘B’ game with a 3-1 win for James Johnstone over Andre Knox and although Darryl Sheldon cancelled out Breconshire’s lead as he defeated Adam Griffiths 3-0 and at the same time take the team’s match award for his 22.43 average, that was where the revival ended for the hosts as their opponents took the following ten games.
Kevin Holvey beat Scott Meyrick 3-0, Rob Price had a 3-1 success against Martin Riggs, there were 3-0 wins for Graham Jenkins and Jason Williams against respective opponents Trevor Smith and Neil Powell to give the away side a 5-1 lead at the midway point of the match.
As the second half began Craig Capewell looked all set to reduce the arrears as he went two up against Wayne Glover only to finish on the wrong side of the 3-2 result. Andrew Kerry beat Neville Quinton 3-0 and although Andy Gilbert came from 2-0 down to level at two each against Adam Smith he lost the decider and went down 3-2. Andy Mullinder took the lead twice against Ben Watkins but again like Gilbert, Mullinder lost 3-2.
In the final two games of the day Liam Addison won 3-1 against Matt Williams and with a 3-0 win for Ian Evans over Rob Trumper Breconshire won the game 11-1.
The first four games of the ladies ‘A’ match all went in favour of the first throw advantage, Carol Bufton (Breconshire) won 3-1 against Michele Pritchard only to see Stephanie Clarke (Shropshire) win by the same margin against Kaye Hales to cancel out the visitors lead and give Stephanie the match award for her 20.56 average, wrapping up her win with a sixteen darts leg. Joy Toghill restored Breconshire’s lead when she came back from one down against Julie Griffiths to win 3-1, the third consecutive 3-1 result of the match. Sophie Fawcett was the player to re-establish parity in the game, a straight 3-0 win over Sue Price to take the running score to 2-2.
It was game number five before the sequence was broken and it was Shropshire’s Kat McLean who broke run as she beat Natalie Evans 3-1 after she had checked out on 124 in the opening leg.
A win appeared to be on the cards for the home team as Marie Riggs, winner of two previous match awards went 1-0 and 2-1 up against Emmylou Owen, but as it has been in many of Shropshire’s defeats finishing doubles became elusive and it was Emmylou Owen who got the final 3-2 result to give her team a share of the points in a 3-3 draw.
Similar to the ladies ‘A’ match the men’s ‘A’ also saw the opening games go with the first throw advantage, but unlike the ladies, whose run went four games, the men’s went to five. Breconshire once again were first to take the lead as Kevin Hunter won 4-1 against Chris Fox only to see Nathan Storar beat Martin Ashton by the same margin to level the score. Paul Bordeway added his 4-1 win over Jamie Barrowman to the visitors tally before Brian Hickman with a fourth 4-1 result defeated Steve Davidson to square the match for a second time. Then giving Breconshire a 3-2 lead was John Brandon who accounted for Paul Bromley with a 4-3 scoreline after Bromley had cancelled out his lead no fewer than three times.
By the halfway mark the away team were 4-2 up, Adam Wardell (Breconshire) adding his 4-2 win against another Adam, Adam Thackray.
The visiting team were first off the mark as the second half got underway with Dave Williams beating Danny James 4-2 after James had gone 2-1 up, but their lead was reduced to 5-3 in the eighth when Pete Eley, after going 2-0 down to Derek Howells bounced back not only to win 4-2 but also take his first ‘A’ team match award of the season for his 24.96 average with winning legs of 24,16,18 and 19 darts.
The arrears were reduced even further in the ninth when Derek Coulson, with a neat 4-0 win over Richie Williams made it 5-4 with just three to play. Kevin Harris opened up 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads but was unable to consolidate his position and eventually lost 4-3 to Mark Salmon
Keeping Shropshire in the hunt for a share of the points in the penultimate game was Simon Pritchard who took the score to 6-5 when he defeated Chris Austin-Hill 4-1, but it was the away team who got the final 4-0 result when Richard Langlois beat Andi Chatter to give Breconshire a very close 7-5 win and an overall 25-11 victory.
Full Results:Shropshire v Breconshire (11-25)🙁Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Chris Fox 1 Kevin Hunter 4, Nathan Storar 4 Martin Ashton 1, Jamie Barrowman 1 Paul Bordeway 4, Brian Hickman 4 Steve Davidson 1, Paul Bromley 3 John Brandon 4, Adam Thackray 2 Adam Wardell 4, Danny James 2 Dave Williams 4, Pete Eley 4 Derek Howells 2, Derek Coulson 4 Richie Williams 0, Kevin Harris 3 Mark Salmon 4, Simon Pritchard 4 Chris Austin-Hill 1, Andi Chatter 0 Richard Langlois 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Andre Knox 1 James Johnstone 3, Darryl Sheldon 3 Adam Griffiths 0, Scott Meyrick 0 Kevin Holvey 3, Martin Riggs 1 Rob Price 3, Trevor Smith 0 Graham Jenkins 3, Neil Powell 0 Jason Williams 3, Craig Capewell 2 Wayne Glover 3, Neville Quinton 0 Andrew Kerry 3, Andy Gilbert 2 Adam Smith 3, Andy Mullinder 2 Ben Watkins 3, Matt Williams 1 Liam Addison 3, Rob Trumper 0 Ian Evans 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Michele Pritchard 1 Carol Bufton 3, Stephanie Clarke 3 Kaye Hales 1, Julie Griffiths 1 Joy Toghill 3, Sophie Fawcett 3 Sue Price 0, Kat McLean 3 Natalie Evans 1, Marie Riggs 2 Emmylou Owen 3,Women’s ‘B’:- Allison Gallagher 3 Helen Thomas-Evans 2, Cally Jones 3 Jan Layton 0, Sharon Harris 0 Louisa Fox 3, Debbie Davies 2 Sharon Hill 3, Sue Lane 1 Jane Smith 3, Cheryl Owen 2 Ruth Bailey-Harris 3.
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Middlesex v Shropshire
The final fixture of the season was an away match against Middlesex a game Shropshire lost at home last season 22-14 with the ladies ‘B’ the only winners out of the four teams as the other three all lost.
Leanne Palmer gave the hosts the early lead as she beat Julie Pugh 3-1 only to see Sue Lane cancel out the home teams lead when in straight legs she won 3-0 against Dee Jules-Stock. Shropshire got their noses in front in the third thanks to a terrific performance by Tracey Knox who after losing the first two legs to Coreen Loffler came fighting back to win 3-2 and earn herself the team’s match award, her first of the season for her 15.25 average.
Levelling the score at 2-2 was Harry Moore (Middlesex) with her 3-1 win over Lisa Wills and with a 3-0 success for Jenny Sallans against Cheryl Owen the home team were in an unbeatable 3-2 position with just one to play.
It was a game of nerves and doubles in the final encounter in which either player could have easily taken the 3-0 result but it was the Shropshire player Allison Gallagher who actually got it over Katherine Dolman to put the final score all square at three each.
After their previous 11-1 defeat to Breconshire it had to be asked would or could things get any worse for the men’s ‘B’ team and the answer was no they wouldn’t but alas neither did they get any better!!
Rob Trumper gave Shropshire the ideal start when he chalked up a 3-2 win over Nick Ellis after Ellis had levelled the game in the second and fourth legs. A 19-63 average at the end of the day earning Trumper the match award.
From 1-0 up to yet again another 11-1 defeat as Middlesex added the next ten games to their account with wins from Chris Grannell, Mick Seager, John Maudesley, Chris Hogg, Adam Finch, Terry Ough, Gary Middleton, Joshua Burksfield, Tony Cox, Scott Robertson and Brandonn Monk who in turn won against Chris Burford (3-0), Glen Selwell (3-1), Neil Powell (3-2), Craig Capewell (3-2), Andre Knox (3-2), Darren Manning (3-0), Martin Riggs (3-1), Andy Gilbert (3-1), Trevor Smith (3-0), Darren Lane (3-0) and Darryl Sheldon (3-0).
It was a case of keeping the best of the day till last for the ladies ‘A’ game as Shropshire found themselves trailing 4-0 before they got a stripe on the board.
Vickie Kiely was the first winner for Middlesex, , Kat McLean pegging her back to 2-2 after taking a 2-0 lead before she eventually won 3-2. A 3-0 win for Lisa Brosnan over Julie Griffiths made it 2-0 and although Michele Pritchard won the first leg against Margaret Sutton it was Sutton who got the 3-1 result to put the home team 3-0 up. The win came as early as the fourth game for Middlesex as Tina Moran, who had gone 2-0 down to Sophie Fawcett went on to win 3-2.
In the penultimate encounter Marie Riggs not only chalked up Shropshire’s first win but also won her third lady of the match award as she beat Sindy Stiles 3-1 with a 17.54average.
Making the final score a little more respectable at 4-2 for Shropshire was Debbie Davies who added her 4-2 win over Jennette Collins to their tally, Debbie coming from 1-0 and 2-1 down to achieve her win.
Shropshire men’s ‘A’ got off the mark with a man of the match performance from Derek Coulson who picked up his third award of the season for a 4-1 win against Andy Turnbull in 19,19,17 and 15 darts giving him a 27.09 average.
Unfortunately Derek’s win was the only highlight of the first half as Middlesex rattled off the next five winners in the form of Steve Hyatt, Craig De Almeida, Mick Duggan, John Scott and Jason Neville who in turn defeated Adam Thackray (4-1), Chris Fox (4-0), Paul Bromley (4-0), Brian Hickman (4-0) and Danny James (4-3), James fighting back from 3-0 down to draw level at 3-3 before losing the decider after darts at a finishing double.
The hosts began the second half where they left off the first as Richie Davis beat Nathan Storar 4-1 to assure Middlesex of at the worst a draw though a draw was never to be as four more wins were added to the Middlesex score thanks to their George Wilkinson, Allen Bond and Chris Moore, all three of them winning 4-1 against respective opponents Pete Eley, Richard Parker and Andi Chatter and rounding off the four wins was Brian Green with his 4-0 success against Simon Pritchard to take the running score to 10-1.
The last game of the weekend produced a win for Shropshire’s Jamie Barrowman who won 4-2 against Roy Peacock to give a result of 10-2 to Middlesex plus an overall 28-8 win to the home team.
Full Results:Middlesex v Shropshire (28-8)🙁Middlesex names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Andy Turnbull 1 Derek Coulson 4, Steve Hyatt 4 Adam Thackray 1, Craig De Almeida 4 Chris Fox 0, Mick Duggan 4 Paul Bromley 0, John Scott 4 Brian Hickman 0, Jason Neville 4 Danny James 3, Richie Davis 4 Nathan Storar 1, George Wilkinson 4 Pete Eley 1, Allen Bond 4 Richard Parker 1, Chris Moore 4 Andi Chatter 1, Brian Green 4 Simon Pritchard 0, Roy Peacock 2 Jamei Barrowman 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Nick Ellis 2 Rob Trumper 3, Chris Grannell 3 Chris Burford 0, Mick Seager 3 Glen Selwell 1, John Maudesley 3 Neil Powell 2, Chris Hogg 3 Craig Capewell 2, Adam Finch 3 Andre Knox 2, Terry Ough 3 Darren Manning 0, Gary Middleton 3 Martin Riggs 1, Joshua Burksfield 3 Andy Gilbert 1, Tony Cox 3 Trevor Smith 0, Scott Robertson 3 Darren Lane 0, Brandonn Monk 3 Darryl Sheldon 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Vickie Kiely 3 Kat McLean 2, Lisa Brosnan 3 Julie Griffiths 0, Margaret Sutton 3 Michele Pritchard 1, Tina Moran 3 Sophie Fawcett 2, Sindy Stiles 1 Marie Riggs 3, Jennette Collins 2 Debbie Davies 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Leanne Palmer 3 Julie Pugh 1, Dee Jules-Stock 0 Sue Lane 3, Coreen Loffler 2 Tracey Knox 3, Harry Moore 3 Lisa Wills 1, Jenny Sallans 3 Cheryl Owen 0, Katherine Dolman 0 Allison Gallagher 3.
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