Derbyshire v Gloucestershire
After suffering their first defeat in the opening five games of the season in Division Three of the BDO Inter County Championships when they lost playing away to Somerset, who at the time were leaders of the division, what a way to bounce back as Derbyshire romped to a home victory over Gloucestershire in their very next fixture.
The first day’s ‘B’ games got the weekend off to a great start for Derbyshire although the ladies didn’t have a good beginning as Emily Jones after twice taking the lead against Debbie McGauley lost 3-2. An award winning performance from Jennifer McCormick levelled the score, Jennifer beating Lin Smith in straight legs with a 17.48 average.
Sara-Jane Harrison gave the hosts the lead for the first time in the third when she accounted for Emma Clutterbuck with a 3-2 result, Cluttebuck levelling in the fourth after trailing 2-0.
It was all square again in the fourth when Wendy Booth (Gloucestershire) won 3-0 against Katrina McAleney but for a second time the home team went ahead when Rose Mort won 3-1 against Sharon Brewer and with a further 3-2 win from Carol Western over Kirsty Dixon in the final game Derbyshire had won 4-2, their second win in six games.
Following their defeat against Somerset the men’s ‘B’ were hoping to return to winning ways and that was exactly what they did. Darren Webster opened up for the home side but was unable to cash in after going from 2-0 down to 2-2 as Easton won the decider.
Andrew Gillott was the man to square the game as he handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Dean Terry before James Parkin put Derbyshire’s noses in front with his 3-1 success over Andy Reid. That lead was extended to 3-1 when Nigel Daniels added his 3-0 win against Elliot Seddon to Derbyshire’s tally only to see the score at the halfway all square at three each after Gloucestershire’s Marcus Castle won 3-0 against Ian Clarke and Matthew Kerry beat Timothy Rippon 3-1.
The visitors looked to be on their way to taking the lead for the first time as the second half got underway,, Rob Long going one up against David Fritchely and then levelling the game in the fourth but it was Fritchley who got the 3-2 verdict when he won the final leg in 20 darts.
Derbyshire’s third straight 3-0 win was provided by Peter Burgoyne in the eighth when he accounted for John Raynsford and with a 3-1 win from Connor Hodgkinson over Paul Clift in the ninth Derbyshire were 6-3 up and within an ace of victory,
Richard Hughes was the man to add the vital seventh win to the hosts account, he began his game against Samuel Brough with a 100 game shot and although Brough then won the next two legs Hughes completed his 3-2 win with two 22 darts legs.
A win for Gloucestershire in the penultimate game came from Mark Wellington when he won 3-2 against Benjamin Holmes but taking the final score to 8-4 in favour of Derbyshire was their man of the match Robert Hawker whose 3-0 win over Dean Thomas was achieved in 15,20 and 16 darts to give him a superb 29.47 average.
There were mixed fortunes for the ‘A’ teams as the ladies ‘A’ began brightly with a 3-1 win for Rebecca Hoyland over Louise Hall and then went two up when Jane Densley who was making her return to the county after a couple of seasons away not only won 3-1 against Jane Price after going 1-0 down but did what she was renowned for for Derbyshire by winning the lady of the match award for her 21.01 average.
Game three saw Gloucestershire earn their first stripe on the board when Elaine Powell won 3-1 against Rachel Ayres and then they levelled the game in the fourth when Maria Lock beat Jackie Sweet 3-1.
For the first time in the game the away side took the lead in the fifth when Karen Brown came from 2-1 down to Louise Rawson to win 3-2 and with a final 3-0 win for Vicky Fairbrother against Sammie Marshal the 4-2 result went to Gloucestershire.
The men’s ‘A’ had suffered close 7-5 defeats in their previous two outings and were desperate to get back on a winning track and the first half of the game suggested that was going to be somewhat of a formality
Opening up for Derbyshire with a 4-2 win over Mark Johncock was Ian Allcock who had winning legs of 19,18,12 and 20 darts, hitting two maximums in his 12 darts leg giving him a man of the match winning average of 28.17. Doubling the advantage was Gary Fenn who after losing the first leg to Harry Williams then went on to win 4-1.
James Hurrell reduced the arrears for Gloucestershire when he won 4-2 against Lee Stanley but the two games lead was quickly restored for the hosts when Michael Ryall won 4-3 against Joe Griffiths after Griffiths had gone from 1-0 down to lead 3-1 before Ryall won the last three legs.
By the midway point Derbyshire’s lead was taken to 5-1 as both Henry Coates and Tim Daniels in turn won 4-1 against Mark Turley and Ben Green.
A share of the spoils was guaranteed in the seventh when Tim Daniels gave the home side a winning start to the second half when he beat Kieran Smith 4-1 before the away side had their best run of the match, two wins in a row supplied by Shaun Hughes and Liam Devries who in turn won 4-3 against Andrew Houghton and 4-2 against Richard Hanson.
Stephen Paling at number ten lost the first leg to Keith Lawrence and although he lost again in the fourth and sixth won the seventh for a 4-3 win to put the score beyond the reach of the visitors as they now trailed 7-3.
The last but one game saw Gloucestershire’s Andy Poole win 4-0 against Paul Williams and in the final game of the weekend Ashley Hurrell looked as though he would reduce the shortfall even further as he opened up a lead of 3-0 over Steven Soar in 19,18 and 17 darts but Soar stuck to his task and fought back to win the last four legs in 16,18,18 and 20 darts for a tremendous 4-3 win to give Derbyshire men’s ‘A’ an 8-4 win and the county an overall 22-14 victory.
The win keeps Derbyshire still in the hunt for promotion as they are just eight points short of leaders Cleveland and only four behind second placed Somerset. However they do have a couple of tough games to end the season, the penultimate one being at home against Buckinghamshire who despite being placed fifth in the table have just one point fewer than Derbyshire and the final fixture will see them play away to current leaders Cleveland. Not an easy run in!!!
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Wiltshire v Derbyshire
Five places higher up in the promotional table and with a 30 points lead on their hosts Wiltshire was not enough for Derbyshire to push home their fifth victory of the season.
Against the darts April Polden put Wiltshire’s first stripe on the board when she beat Carol Western 3-0 and although Sara-Jane Harrison was quick to reply for Derbyshire with her straight 3-0 win over Nipaporn Smith it was the hosts who took the lead again in the third when Sue Lane won 3-1 against Holly Wright.
Taking the home team’s lead to 3-1 was Debbie Hughes who came back from one down to Dee Fenn to win 3-1.
Making it two successive lady of the match awards and keeping Derbyshire still in with an outside chance of a draw was Jennifer McCormick. Jennifer recorded a 3-0 win over Linzi Holton and took the award for her 13.79 average.
The final game was nip and tuck all the way with Jill Little (Wiltshire) having her lead cancelled out twice by Rose Mort before winning the fifth and deciding leg to put the final score at 4-2 to Wiltshire.
The men’s ‘B’ team had only lost one of their previous six outings and were still well in with a chance of extending that record at the halfway stage of the game as it was all square at 3-1. Dan Ford had given Derbyshire the early lead with a 3-0 win over Garth Hodgkiss, the home team’s reply was 3-1 wins from Andy Jones and Ian Greenaway who in turn defeated James Parkin and Gary Barker.
Nigel Daniels restored parity in the fourth when he beat Eddie Tott (Wiltshire) 3-1 and with a 3-0 win for Connor Hodgkinson over Ashley Presley Derbyshire were 3-2 up. The man to level the game in the sixth was Andrew Southam who came from 2-0 down to another Andrew, Derbyshire’s Andrew Houghton to win 3-2.
For a second time Wiltshire took the lead, on this occasion it was down to Pete Keen’s 3-1 win over Ryan Hassell. Then extending that lead to 5-3 was Bob Phillips who won 3-0 against Andrew Gillott.
Scott Millin won the first leg against David Fritchley but in 19 and 20 darts Fritchley reversed the advantage to lead 2-1. Millin took the game to a decider when he won the fourth leg only to see his Derbyshire counterpart win the decider in 18 darts and take the match award for his 22.92 average.
The hosts moved to within one game of victory when in the tenth Tony Moulden beat Richard Hughes 3-1 and with a similar 3-1 result for Stuart Clarke over Scott McCabe the home team were home and dry with a lead of 7-4.
The last game of the day went to Derbyshire’s Benjamin Holmes, a 3-1 success against Lewis Gibson to give a result of 7-5 to the home team.
All six of the ladies ‘A’ games went with the first throw advantage, Derbyshire taking leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 thanks to Rachel Ayres beating Tasha Borton 3-1, Jane Densley winning 3-0 against Julie Newman and Jackie Sweet adding her 3-1 win over Tina Rowlands to their account. In response there were wins for Wiltshire from Shirley Castle who won 3-2 against Rebecca Hoyland, Joanna Hooke beat Louise Rawson 3-0 and sealing a 3-3 result was anchor player for Wiltshire Stacey Day who won 3-2 against Sammie Marshall who was unlucky to lose the last game after leading 2-1 and then missing her finishing doubles.
In their last outing Derbyshire welcomed back to the ladies ‘A’ Jane Densley who justified her return with a lady of the match performance. Her second outing against Wiltshire saw her repeat that feat as a 16.70 average in her 3-0 win over Julie Newman was enough to take the match award once again.
The men’s ‘A’ match saw Wiltshire go one up with a 4-2 win from Luke Humphries over Richard Hanson then Derbyshire level the match with a 4-3 win from Henry Coates who defeated Josh McCarthy. Michael Ryall had a tremendous 161 finish in the second leg against Dion Newman and went on to win the tie 4-0 to put his team 2-1 up. Seb Parker with a similar 4-0 victory over Steve Soar cancelled out Derbyshire’s lead and with a 4-3 win by Connor Hughes against Sean Lambert the home side had taken the lead once again, but only to see the scores all square by the halfway point as a 4-3 win for Ian Allcock against Matt Harris made it 3-3.
Stephen Paling began the second half for the away team and after winning the first leg against Gary Court went down 4-1. Game number eight was a repeat of game seven but with the result going in the opposite direction as Lee Stanley fought back in style after going one down to Luke Yates to go on and win 4-1 in 23,19,19 and 16 darts.
With just four more games to play the score was delicately balanced at four each, but not for long as Lee Evans beat Nigel Daniels 4-2 and James Clifton won 4-3 against Gary Fenn to put Wiltshire within an ace of winning the game.
A man of the match showing from Robert Hawker delayed any celebrations the hosts may have had as he won a fierce tussle with Juan Hopkins 4-3. Hawker had winning legs of 14,15,15 and 21 darts which gave him a super average of 28.55 and his second ‘A’ team award of the season.
Dave Wicks (Wiltshire) in 17 and 21 darts went 2-0 up against Paul Williams and although Williams clawed his way back to level terms in 19 and 16 darts the next two legs went to Wicks giving him a 4-2 win and his team a 7-5 success.
The overall 21-15 scoreline for the weekend went to Wiltshire and as a result of their loss Derbyshire dropped from third to fifth in the table, the defeat leaving them nine points off a promotion place with just two more fixtures to play.
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