Tyne and Wear v Shropshire
With eight defeats and only one win in last season’s nine fixtures in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships Shropshire’s new look squad began the new campaign with a well-deserved draw when they played away against Tyne and Wear who played last season in division three. An encouraging feature was wins in their county debut for 17 years old Reece Cook-Lucas (23.48), James Mansell (20.71), Chris Hill (21.88), Lee Hodgkiss (22.02) and Cloey Davies (13.31) all good prospects for a brighter future for Shropshire.
Saturday’s ladies game got off to a good start as Cally Jones won 3-1 against Marie Seagon after Seago had won the opening leg, then doubling Shropshire’s lead was Cloey Davies who after trailing 2-1 went on to beat Flo Kippen 3-2.
Caroline Dorothy reduced the arrears for Tyne and Wear when she came from 2-1 down to Tracey Knox to go on and win 3-2 but the away team’s two games lead was restored in the fourth when lady of the match Julie Griffiths (13.52) beat Debbie Waugh 3-2.
Suzie Barnham (Shropshire) won the first leg against Tracy Curry only to see Curry take the next three to keep the home team in the game and with a 3-0 win for Laura Patton in the final game against Jenna Ball the match finished all square at 3-3.
Reece Cook-Lucas gave Shropshire the ideal start to the men’s ‘B’ game as he chalked up a straight 3-0 win over Jack Male. Unfortunately the lead was short lived as Michael McBain won 3-2 against Andy Gilbert after Gilbert had twice pegged him back to level terms. Following McBain was Dean Kippen who beat Trevor Smith by the same 3-2 margin after Smith had gone 2-1 up to give Tyne and Wear a 2-1 lead.
Simon Pritchard (Shropshire) lost the opening leg to Graham Mullen but fought back in style to win 3-1 and then with a similar 3-1 verdict Scott Towers accounted for Darren Patton to put the visitors 3-2 in front. By the midway point Shropshire were 4-2 up as Neville Quinton added his 3-0 win against Alan Jordan to their account.
As the second half got underway Mike Hampson looked all set to increase the away team’s lead when he opened up a 2-0 advantage over Connor Corkindale but the Tyne and Wear man stuck to his task and went on to win 3-2, then with a further 3-1 win for David Hatch over Nathan Storar the hosts were back in the game with the score level at four each.
Going into the last four games Rob Trumper gave Shropshire the lead for a third time when he handed out a 3-0 whitewash to Dan Mock. James Mansell (Shropshire) went one down to David Borthwick then 2-1 up and 2-2 before he won the game 3-2 to put his team within a whisker of winning at 6-4.
Chris Hill was made to fight for his 3-2 win by John Kippen jnr as he won the first then trailed 2-1 before winning the last two legs to ensure victory for his team.
Taking the final score to 8-4 for Shropshire was man of the match Adam Thackray who had a straight 3-0 win over Peter Rutherford and averaged 24.64.
The ladies ‘A’ match did not begin well as Ann Marie Urwin won 3-1 against Sue Lane then Cheryl Roper and Toni Strauhgan in turn accounted for Sophie Fawcett and Debbie Davies with 3-0 scorelines to ensure at the worst a draw for the home side.
Marie Riggs, winner of three match awards last season added yet another award to her list when she stopped the rot with a 3-1 win over Michelle Ellie, Marie taking the lady of the match for her 19.22 average. Allison Gallagher kept hopes alive for a draw for Shropshire when she came from 1-0 down to Maureen Purvis to win 3-1, nevertheless all appeared lost in the last encounter when Jean Stanley went two up against Michele Pritchard but never say die Pritchard kept her cool and went on to win the following three legs and the game 3-2 to secure a 3-3 draw for her team.
With just the men’s ‘A’ result to be added Shropshire were 14-10 up and even a 7-5 defeat for the men would be good enough for an overall victory.
The opener saw John Rutter (Tyne and Wear) win a close game with Jamie Barrowman 4-3 but the cheers were short lived for the home team as Danny James won 4-3 against Lee Rump and Lee Hodgkiss handed his opponent David Maitland a straight 4-0 defeat to put Shropshire 2-1 up.
Two 4-0 wins in a row from Andy Chalmers and David Stokell over their respective counterparts Andy Jervis and Justin Evans restored Tyne and Wear’s lead and with a further win from Pete Kenny, who after trailing 2-1 to Rob Henderson went on to win 4-2, the hosts were 4-2 up at the halfway point of the match.
The home team continued to extend their lead as the second half got underway Billy Robson beating Richard Parker 4-1 and Geoff Murray winning 4-2 against Sam Hamilton to open up a commanding 6-2 advantage.
Clive Lucking (Shropshire) was pegged back to level terms no fewer than three times by Dean Kippen before he won the final leg for a close 4-3 win but his win only delayed Tyne and Wear’s celebrations as in the very next game their victory was confirmed when Chris Vaughan won 4-2 against the man making his return to Shropshire County Darts Keith Allman. Allman’s fifth leg was very impressive as he hit scores of 45, 180, 180 and checked out on 96 for a superb eleven darts leg.
Taking the score along to 8-3 was David Hatch who had a 4-0 win over Luke Griffiths before Shropshire’s anchor man Derek Coulson produced his team’s best performance of the day. Coulson defeated Davy Richardson 4-3 and took the match award for his 26.70 average giving a final score of 8-4 to Tyne and Wear.
The overall 18-18 result for the weekend was very encouraging putting Shropshire fifth in the table, the highest position they have held for the four seasons I have been writing their reports.
Full Results:(Tyne and Wear names first):Men’s ‘A’:- John Rutter 4 Jamie Barrowman 3, Lee Rump 3 Danny James 4, David Maitland 0 Lee Hodgkiss 4, Andy Chalmers 4 Andy Jervis 0, David Stokell 4 Justin Evans 0, Pete Kenny 4 Rob Henderson 2, Billy Robson 4 Richard Parker 1, Geoff Murray 4 Sam Hamilton 2, Dean Kippen 3 Clive Lucking 4, Chris Vaughan 4 Keith Allman 2, David Hatch 4 Luke Griffiths 0, Davy Richardson 3 Derek Coulson 4, Men’s ‘B’:-Jack Male 0 Reece Cooke-Lucas 3, Michael McBain 3 Andy Gilbert 2, Dean Kippen 3 Trevor Smith 2, Graham Mullen 1 Simon Pritchard 3, Darren Patton 1 Scott Towers 3, Alan Jordan 0 Neville Quinton 3, Connor Corkindale 3 Mike Hampton 2, David Hatch 3 Nathan Storar 1, Dan Mock 0 Rob Trumper 3, David Borthwick 2 James Mansell 3, John Kippen 2 Chris Hill 3, Peter Rutherford 0 Adam Thackray 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Ann Marie Urwin 3 Sue Lane 1, Cheryl Roper 3 Sophie Fawcett 0, Toni Strauhgan 3 Debbie Davies 0, Michelle Ellie 1 Marie Riggs 3, Maureen Purvis 1 Allison Gallagher 3, Jean Stanley 2 Michele Pritchard 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Marie Seago 1 Cally Jones 3, Flo Kippen 2 Cloey Davies 3, Caroline Dorothy 3 Tracey Knox 2, Debbie Waugh 2 Julie Griffiths 3, Tracy Curry 3 Suzie Barnham 1, Laura Patton 3 Jenna Ball 0.
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