Shropshire v West of England
Shropshire began their campaign in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships with an encouraging 18-18 draw away to Tyne and Wear, their second fixture of the nine match season was a home tie with West of England, last season’s away fixture ending with a 24-12 win for the home team.
The ladies ‘B’ got the weekend off to a fine start as Cally Jones opened up their account with a straight 3-0 win over Yvonne Savery, Cally taking her team’s match award for her 17.89 average. Doubling Shropshire’s lead was Tracey Knox, who despite being taken to a deciding leg by Alison Golding won the game 3-2.
West of England chalked up their first winner in game number three when Laura Phillips won 3-0 against Suzie Barnham only to see the home side have their two games buffer restored when Debbie Davies beat Sue Brown with the third 3-0 win of the game.
Julie Griffiths began her encounter with Louise Ballatyne by checking out on 113, she then went 2-0 up and although Ballatyne won the third the 3-1 win went to Julie Griffiths in the fourth to give Shropshire a 4-1 lead and put the result beyond their opponents reach.
The final game was won by Millie Hooper, a 3-2 win over Jenna Ball after Ball had twice cancelled her lead. The final score 4-2 to Shropshire.
Mike Hampson was first on in the men’s ‘B’ game and with a 3-0 result beat Dom Taylof to put the home team one up. The lead was quickly erased as Paul Meyer, with a similar 3-0 scoreline accounted for Adam Thackray.
The hosts took the lead again in the third when Steve Blewitt won 3-1 against Rory Bisp but again in the fourth the result went against the darts advantage and West of England drew level when Luke Durham had a 3-1 win over Shane Knight.
Game number five was the first one in which a player won with the first throw advantage, Liam Dawe putting the away team ahead for the first time when he beat Rob Trumper 3-2, Trumper having come from two down to level terms before losing the decider.
By the halfway stage the visitors had opened up a 4-2 lead, Simon Lloyd extending their advantage with a 3-1 win over Chris Hill, Lloyd checking out on 151 in the second leg after Hill had won the first.
Rob Henderson momentarily reduced the arrears for Shropshire when in the opening game of the second half he won 3-1 against James Cook only to see Darren Purnell win 3-1 against Richard Parker and Paul Smith beat Simon Pritchard 3-2, Pritchard taking him to a decider after trailing 2-0.
Neville Quinton delayed the away team’s celebrations as he won the tenth game against Alan Thatcher 3-2. However it was all over in the penultimate game as Ryan Cox got the better of Scott Meyrick with a 3-0 result to take his team’s lead to an unbeatable 7-4.
The final game of the day saw Reece Cook-Lucas with a 3-1 result defeat Chris Manning to take the final score to 7-5 in favour of West of England but the overall score for the day was 9-9 with both teams having it all to play for.
The ladies ‘A’ had a similar start to the ladies ‘B’ as they won four of the opening five games. Stephanie Clarke, like Cally Jones for the ‘B’ team kicked the game off with a lady of the match performance as she swept aside the challenge of Mev Kelly to win 3-0 with a super 21.17 average.
Michele Pritchard lost the first leg of her game to Emma Bowles but responded in tremendous fashion as she won the second leg with a 101 finish. Michele then went ahead in the third leg and despite losing the fourth went on to clinch her 3-2 win in the final leg to put the hosts 2-0 up.
Once again it was Laura Phillips to the rescue for the West of England as she followed up her match award for the ‘B’ team the previous day with her second award of the weekend when she came from 1-0 and 2-1 down to Sophie Fawcett to go on and win 3-2.
Sue Lane assured the home team of a share of the points when she beat Maria Barker 3-1 and with a 3-2 success for Allison Gallagher over Jane Fitzgerald Shropshire had won the game as they led 4-1.
The last game for the ladies went to the home team as Tracey Webb lost 3-0 to Marie Riggs to give a final score of 5-1 to the Shropshire ladies.
The men’s ‘A’ team didn’t have the best of starts as Andy Jervis lost by the odd leg to Wayne Allen (4-3) and Lee Hodgkiss went down 4-2 to Jerry Abbott.
Dan Astbury put a temporary halt to the visitors charge as he beat Robbie Long in straight legs 4-0 but it was West of England who then got back on track as Kieran Grimmitt beat Danny James 4-2 and Darren Purnell won 4-1 against Martin Price before the score was taken to 4-2 at the midway point when Jamie Barrowman won 4-1 against Gary Grimmitt. Barrowman took the first leg in 15 darts with a superb 167 outshot, Grimmitt then levelled in 19 darts only to see the Shropshire man romp to his win with further winning legs of 22, 23 and 21 darts.
Two 4-1 wins in the opening two games of the second half from Dom Taylof and Ricky Harding over Derek Coulson and Luke Griffiths took West of England into a 6-2 lead. A 4-2 win from Justin Evans (Shropshire) against Josh Allen only delayed the visitors their win as in the very next game Andrew White’s 4-1 success over Clive Lucking took them into an unassailable 7-2 lead.
Sam Hamilton (Shropshire) came from 2-0 and 3-1 down to Martyn Lansdown to square the game in the sixth with a 109 finish but unfortunately he lost the decider and went down 4-3 in what was a very close game.
The last game of the weekend produced the home team’s man of the match as Keith Allman, making his return from a spell with the West Midlands, won 4-2 against Phil O’Connell. Allman actually lost the first leg to O’Connell but squared the game in 17 darts. He then went ahead in 16 and although after 15 darts in the fourth he lost to O’Connell who levelled the game for a second time, a fantastic 145 game shot saw him creep ahead again in15 darts before he wrapped up a great 4-2 win in 17 darts to give him a 28.33 average.
The final score after all games had been played was 18-18 but it transpired that West of England had played an ineligible player on Sunday and because of that had points deducted and the result amended to a 19-17 win for Shropshire.
Full Results: Division Four:Shropshire v West of England (19-17)🙁Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Andy Jervis 3 Wayne Allen 4, Lee Hodgkiss 2 Jerry Abbott 4, Dan Astbury 4 Robbie Long 0, Danny James 2 Kieron Grimmitt 4, Martin Price 1 Darren Purnell 4, Jamie Barrowman 4 Gary Grimmitt 1, Derek Coulson 1 Dom Taylof 4, Luke Griffiths 1 Ricky Harding 4, Justin Evans 4 Josh Allen 2, Clive Lucking 1 Andrew White 4, Sam Hamilton 3 Martyn Lansdown 4, Keith Allman 4 Phil O’Connell 2, Men’s ‘B’:- Mike Hampson 3 Dom Taylof 0, Adam Thackray 0 Paul Meyer 3, Steve Blewitt 3 Rory Bisp 1, Shane Knight 1 Luke Durham 3, Rob Trumper 2 Liam Dawe 3, Chris Hill 1 Simon Lloyd 3, Rob Henderson 3 James Cook 1, Richard Parker 1 Darren Purnell 3, Simon Pritchard 2 Paul Smith 3, Neville Quinton 3 Alan Thatcher 2, Scott Meyrick 0 Ryan Cox 3, Reece Cook-Lucas 3 Chris Manning 1, Women’s ‘A’:- Stephanie Clarke 3 Mev Kelly 0, Michele Pritchard 3 Emma Bowles 2, Sophie Fawcett 2 Laura Phillips 3, Sue Lane 3 Maria Barker 1, Allison Gallagher 3 Jane Fitzgerald 2, Marie Riggs 3 Tracey Webb 0, Women’s ‘B’:- Cally Jones 3 Yvonne Savery 0, Tracey Knox 3 Alison Golding 2, Suzie Barnham 0 Laura Phillips 3, Debbie Davies 3 Sue brown 0, Julie Griffiths 3 Louise Ballatyne 1, Jenna Ball 2 Millie Hooper 3.
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Clwyd v Shropshire
Following a draw and a win in their first two fixtures Shropshire’s third encounter in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships was an away game against Clwyd, a game they lost 21-15 at home last season.
The hosts got off to the better start in the ladies ‘B’ game as Becky Jones and Del Stapley handed out 3-0 defeats in turn to Jenna Ball and Sophie Fawcett. Lyn Chadwick looked to be on the way to making it 3-0 when she opened leads of 1-0 and 2-1 against Debbie Davies however Debbie stuck to the task and with wins in the last two legs won the tie 3-2.
Game four was another 3-0 win to Clwyd as Jackie Brighton beat Tracey Knox, but keeping Shropshire in with a chance of a draw was Cally Jones who for the second successive fixture won the ladies ‘B’ match award. Cally lost the first leg to Jo Toye but won the next two. Toye won the fourth to force a decider but it was Cally Jones who won it and the game 3-2 with a 17.10 average.
The final game saw Clwyd record their fourth 3-0 win when Abi Hamilton took the score to a final 4-2 to Clwyd when she defeated Cloey Davies, this being Shropshire ladies ‘B’ team’s first defeat in three.
Craig Billingsley was the hosts first winner in the men’s ‘B’ game as he came from one down against Neville Quinton to win 3-1.
The home team’s lead was cancelled out in the best possible way by the visitors as their man of the match Clive Lucking won 3-1 against Paul Gillam, once again it was the player who won the first leg that lost 3-1 as Lucking came from one down to win with a respectable 24.47 average. Scott Towers added to Lucking’s win when he beat Daniel Reeves 3-2 to give Shropshire their first lead with the score at 2-1.
Now trailing the home side then won the following three games as David Davies kicked off the trio of wins when he beat Luke Griffiths 3-1, then with 3-0 wins from Pete Watkins and Josh Robinson over their respective opponents Nik Bloor and Scott Meyrick, Clwyd went into the break with a 4-2 advantage.
As the second half got underway Shropshire reduced the deficit with a 3-1 win from Mike Hampson who accounted for Phil Wilcock but the hosts two games advantage was restored when Jon Darlington won a hard fought five games affair against Simon Pritchard.
Game number nine was another one that went the full distance as Richard Parker (Shropshire) won by the odd leg against Aaron Argyle to take the running score to 5-4 in Clwyd’s favour with both counties still having everything to play for.
The home side moved to within an ace of victory in the tenth when their Simon Roberts won 3-1 against Adam Thackray and looked all set to celebrate their win when Colin Snead opened up a 2-0 lead over Chris Hill, but it was not to be as Hill won the next three legs for a 3-1 win and at the same time take the contest to the final game of the day.
Anchor man for Clwyd was John Thomas and for Shropshire Andre Knox. Thomas won the first leg in 19 darts and could have lost the second as Knox had failed darts at a finishing doubles, but Thomas eventually won it with a 15 game shot to give Clwyd a very close 7-5 win.
Shropshire’s ladies ‘A’ team, like their ‘B’ side had drawn and won and got this their latest fixture off with a win from Marie Riggs. Marie won the first leg but then lost the next two to Rachel Kingdon. After levelling her game in the fourth Marie then went on to win 3-2 with a final 21 darts leg.
Natalie Davey was Clwyd’s first winner, a 3-1 success against Michele Pritchard who with a little more luck on finishing doubles could easily have won the tie.
The away team took the lead again in the third when Sue Lane won in three straight legs against Glad Davies. Julie Griffiths (Shropshire) went one up against Izzy Thomas only to see Thomas fight back and win 3-1, and with a further 3-1 win for Paula Collins over Allison Gallagher Clwyd were 3-2 up with one to play.
A win looked on the cards for the hosts as their Bethan Jones went 2-0 up against Stephanie Clarke, but with her never say die attitude Stephanie fought back and went on not only to win 3-2 but make it two consecutive match award wins with her 20.42 average as she won the final three legs in 19,23 and 22 darts to give a final result of 3-3.Sam Hamilton was Shropshire’s opener in the men’s ‘A’ game and although he won the first leg against Paul Hughes he then found himself trailing 3-1. With a 112 outshot Hamilton reduced the arrears and then levelled the game in 17 darts before recording the best leg of the day an eleven darts game in which he hit 180,85,140 and checked out on 96 in two darts for a super 4-3 win.
The visitors lead was short lived as Dafydd Edwards beat Martin Price 4-1 and Dave Roberts won 4-2 against Rob Henderson.
Dan Astbury restored parity as he handed out a 4-0 whitewash to Steve Gilbert and the away team looked all set to take the lead for a second time when Jamie Barrowman went 3-0 up against Craig Spriggs, however it was the home layer that got the 4-3 result as he went on to win the last four legs.
Clwyd were 4-2 to up at the halfway mark as Mike Warburton added his 4-1 win over Derek Coulson to their tally.
Derek Williams extended the home team’s lead to 5-2 when he began the second half with a 4-0 win over Reece Cook-Lucas and with leads of 1-0 and 2-1 David Routledge looked as though he would make it 6-2 with a win against Andy Jervis but Jervis bouned back and after levelling the game in the six in 16 darts won 4-3 when he checked out in 17 darts in the final leg.
David Harrold opened up a 3-0 advantage over Keith Allman and despite Allman reducing that to 3-2 Harrold went on to win the encounter 4-2.
Shropshire’s hopes of a draw were kept alive when Steve Blewitt added his 4-2 win over Chris Ware to their account and those hopes were increased when in the penultimate game Justin Evans laid on a man of the match performance for Shropshire as he won 4-1 against Paul Reilly. Evans began in style when he won the opening leg in 15 darts with a tremendous game shot he then won the next legs in 18 and 14 darts before Reilly pulled one back when he won the third leg in 21 darts. Evans wrapped up his win in the fifth with an 18 darts leg giving him a superb 29.31 average and leaving his opponent still requiring 146.
The final game of the weekend and indeed the one to decide the outcome of the men’s ‘A’ game was between Jason Wilcock (Clwyd) and Lee Hodgkiss. Hodgkiss opened leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but with wins in the last three legs it was Wilcock who got the 4-2 verdict to take the final score to 7-5 to Clwyd.
The overall scoreline for the weekend was a 21-15 win for Clwyd but despite the defeat Shropshire only drop one pace in the table to sixth on 56 points.
Full Results: Division Four:Clwyd v Shropshire (21-15)🙁Clwyd names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Paul Hughes 3 Sam Hamilton 4, Dafydd Edwards 4 Martin Price 1, Dave Roberts 4 Rob Henderson 2, Steve Gilbert 0 Dan Astbury 4, Craig Spriggs 4 Jamie Barrowman 3, Mike Warburton 4 Derek Coulson 1, Derek Williams 4 Reece Cook-Lucas 0, Dave Routledge 3 Andy Jervis 4, David Harrold 4 Keith Allman 2, Chris Ware 2 Steve Blewitt 4, Paul Reilly 1 Justin Evans 4, Jason Wilcock 4 Lee Hodgkiss 2, Men’s ‘B’:- Craig Billingsley 3 Neville Quinton 1, Paul Gillam 1 Clive Lucking 3, Daniel Reeves 2 Scott Towers 3, Dave Davies 3 Luke Griffiths 1, Pete Watkins 3 Nik Bloor 0, Josh Robinson 3 Scott Meyrick 0, Phil Wilcock 1 Mike Hampson 3, Jon Darlington 3 Simon Pritchard 2, Aaron Argyle 2 Richard Parker 3, Simon Roberts 3 Adam Thackray 1, Colin Snead 2 Chris Hill 3, John Thomas 3 Andre Knox 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Rachel Kingdon 2 Marie Riggs 3, Natalie Davey 3 Michele Pritchard 1, Glad Davies 0 Sue Lane 3, Izzy Thomas 3 Julie Griffiths 1, Paula Collins 3 Allison Gallagher 1, Bethan Jones 2 Stephanie Clarke 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Becky Jones 3 Jenna Ball 0, Del Stapley 3 Sophie Fawcett 0, Lyn Chadwick 2 Debbie Davies 3, Jackie Brighton 3 Tracey Knox 0, Jo Toye 2 Cally Jones 3, Abi Hamilton 3 Cloey Davies 0.
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