Shropshire v Pembrokeshire
Last season in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships Shropshire lost 21-15 away to Pembrokeshire, this season they have had a better start to their campaign and were hoping to reverse that result with home advantage on their side.
The weekend didn’t get the best of starts as Sophie Davies opened Pembrokeshire’s account with a 3-0 win over Trish Ball however the score was levelled in the second tie when Caroline Powell came from 1-0 and 2-1 down against Liz Williams not only to win 3-2 but also take the team’s match award for her 15.32 average.
With the score at one each it all then went a little pear shaped for the home team as Cheryl Owen lost 3-1 to Eirwen Lewis after winning the first leg, Rachael Mooney was leading 2-0 and went down 3-2 to Ruth Bailey-Harris and putting the visitors into an unassailable position was Rhian Evans with her 3-1 win over Debbie Davies.
The final game saw Angharad Bessant take the result to 5-1 to Pembrokeshire with a 3-1 win over Cally Jones, Jones having won the first leg.
After an opening day win at Tyne and Wear the men’s ‘B’ side have lost the last two gamesWest of England and Clwyd but despite Chris Hill losing the opener against Leigh White 3-1, Chris Fox squared the game with his 3-2 win over Ian Hopkins and then man of the match Pete Eley accounted for Paul Babb with a 3-1 result to put the hosts 2-1 up. Babb actually went one up in 18 darts but Eley after levelling in 16 darts then won the next two legs in 22 and 18 to give him an award winning average of 26.59. Neville Quinton was well on the way to taking the score to 3-1 when he opened leads of 1-0 and 2-1 against Roger James only to see James take the next two legs for a 3-2 win.
Shropshire went ahead again in the fifth when Clive Lucking won 3-1 against Jeffrey Maynard but the score was level at the halfway point after Les Morgan (Pembrokeshire) beat James Mansell 3-1.
The second half was nothing like the close first half as the away team took the 3-3 score to 8-3 as they stormed into an unbeatable lead. Mark Allchin and Lewy Williams in turn handed out 3-0 defeats to Luke Griffiths and Andi Chatter, Ryan Jones beat Scott Towers 3-1 and Ash Richards was another 3-0 winner in his game against Richard Parker.
In the penultimate tie Andy Gilbert (Shropshire) pushed his opponent Cellan Jones all the way but it was Jones who got the very close 3-2 win. The final game of the day saw Mike Hampson (Shropshire) make the result a little more respectable as he beat Steve Castle 3-1 to give the visitors an 8-4 win.
With two draws and a win under their belts the ladies ‘A’ are enjoying quite a good start to their campaign and although they went one down when Julie Griffiths lost 3-2 after leading 2-1 against Hayley Francis-Owen they came fighting back to go 3-1 up.
Marie Riggs kick started the trio of wins when she beat Tracey Hawkins-Greene 3-1, Sue Lane trailed 2-0 to Natalie Alker but she bounced back in style to win the game 3-2. The third win was put up by Stephanie Clarke who made it three consecutive lady of the match awards when she won 3-2 against Julie Gore with a 20.28 average. Stephanie won the opening two legs and Gore the next two but with a 14 outshot she left her opponent stranded on 125 in the fifth as she wrapped up her 3-2 win.
Tracey Davies reduced the arrears for the away side when she won 3-0 against Allison Gallagher but the final score was taken to 4-2 in the home team’s favour when Michele Pritchard came from one down to Lesley Phillips to go on and win 3-1.
With one 8-4 and two 7-5 defeats the men’s ‘A’ are struggling to get their season underway and lady luck once again didn’t appear to be on their side as Andy Jervis looked a winner all the way against Phil Gooch as he raced to a 2-0 lead and then went 3-1 up but it was Gooch who took the last three legs for a very close 4-3 win.
Sam Hamilton levelled the score in a game that swayed one way then the other with Nathan Burdett. Hamilton won the opening leg in 21 darts only to see Burdett go 2-1 up in 20 and 14 darts. A 103 finish in 15 darts saw Hamilton draw level and then go ahead in 18 darts however for a second time Burdett levelled the score and took the game to a decider which Hamilton won to give him the 4-3 victory.
The away team went 2-1 up when Steven Smith came from 1-0 and 2-1 down to Lee Hodgkiss then go on to win 4-2 and despite Keith Allman (Shropshire) levelling the score at 3-3 with a magnificent 167 game shot against Harvey Boswell it was Boswell who won the last leg in 13 darts for a 4-3 victory. Mickey Rees made it 4-1 to the visitors with his 4-2 result against Rob Henderson.
Shropshire doubled their number of winners in the sixth when Derek Coulson added his win to their account. Coulson won the first leg in 20 darts, his opponent Mike Rowlands restored parity with a 17 darts leg only to see Coulson race to a 4-1 win in double quick time with winning legs of 17,18 and 18 darts to earn himself the team’s match award for his 28.19 average, his second award in the four games played this season.
The second half began with real promise as Justin Evans narrowly missed out on the man of the match award as he recorded a 28.01 average. He won the first two legs against Paul Hood in 15 and 18 darts, Hood then went 3-2 up but it was Evans with 14 and 20 darts in the last two legs who got the 4-3 result.
A 4-1 win by Dan Astbury over Kieron Harris squared the game at 4-4 before Shropshire, for the first time in the game took the lead when Martin Price won 4-1 against Andrew Smith.
At 5-4 up the ‘A’ team appeared to be well on track for their first win, alas it was not to be as Jason Davies won a seven legs hard fought tussle with Steve Blewitt to level for Pembrokeshire, Steve Alker beat Jamie Barrowman 4-1 and Wayne Evans made it 7-5 to the away team when he won the last game of the weekend against Reece Cook-Lucas 4-2.
Despite the defeat Shropshire hold on to sixth place in the table but seventh placed Leicestershire are on the same 70 points and Tyne and Wear who are placed eighth are only three points behind them.
Full Results:Division Four:Shropshire v Pembrokeshire (14-22):Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Andy Jervis 3 Phil Gooch 4, Sam Hamilton 4 Nathan Burdett 3, Lee Hodgkiss 2 Steven Smith 4, Keith Allman 3 Harvey Boswell 4, Rob Henderson 2 Mickey Rees 4, Derek Coulson 4 Mike Rowlands 1, Justin Evans 4 Paul Hood 3, Dan Astbury 4 Kieran Harris 1, Martin Price 4 Andrew Smith 1, Steve Blewitt 3 Jason Davies 4, Jamie Barrowman 1 Steve Alker 4, Reece Cook-Lucas 2 Wayne Evans 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Chris Hill 1 Leigh White 3, Chris Fox 3 Ian Hopkins 2, Pete Eley 3 Paul Babb 1, Neville Quinton 2 Roger James 3, Clive Lucking 3 Jeffrey Maynard 1, James Mansell 1 Les Morgan 3, Luke Griffiths 0 Mark Allchin 3, Andi Chatter 0 Lewy Williams 3, Scott Towers 1 Ryan Jones 3, Richard Parker 0 Ash Richards 3, Andy Gilbert 2 Cellan Jones 3, Mike Hampson 3 Steve Castle 1, Women’s ‘A’:- Julie Griffiths 2 Hayley Francis-Owen 3, Marie Riggs 3 Tracey Hawkins-Greene 1, Sue Lane 3 Natalie Alker 2, Stephanie Clarke 3 Julie Gore 2, Allison Gallagher 0 Tracey Davies 3, Michele Pritchard 3 Lesley Phillips 1, Women’s ‘B’:- Trish Ball 0 Sophie Davies 3, Caroline Powell 3 Liz Williams 2, Cheryl Owen 1 Eirwen Lewis 3, Rachael Mooney 2 Ruth Bailey-Harris 3, Debbie Davies 1 Rhian Evans 3, Cally Jones 1 Angharad Bessant 3.
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