Warwickshire went into their fifth fixture of the season in the Cosmo Darts Premier Division of the UKDA National League lying eighth in the league table with seventy-four points but with a game in hand on all but one of the teams above them. The fixture was a home game against Hampshire who prior to the game were three places above Warwickshire with ninety-seven points from five games, both teams keen to record a win to lift them higher in the table.
The ladies ‘B’ got the weekend off to a fine start roaring into a 3-0 lead as opener Kacie O’Conner began the game with a lady of the match performance beating Cara Rimmer 3-0 with a 21.17 average. Doubling the home team’s lead was Denise Keyte who accounted for Dawn Simmonds with a 3-2 result after trailing 2-0 and assuring the hosts of a share of the points was Jodie Rigg who won 3-0 against Joanne Senior. Hampshire got their first winner in the fourth when Sue Power, after losing the first leg to Nina Bolt went on to win 3-2 and with a similar 3-2 win for Emily Pratt over Chloe McKivett-Saunders the away side were still in with a chance of ending the game with a draw. Caroline Pike made sure that didn’t happen as she won her first leg against Neve Turner with a superb 126 game-shot in fifteen darts and then went on to win the game 3-1 giving Warwickshire ladies ‘B’ a 4-2 victory.
As did the ladies ‘B’ the men’s ‘B’ also opened up a 3-0 lead as Ryan Jackson began the game with a 4-2 win over Arron Monk. Lee Miller made it 2-0 when he beat Richard North 4-1 and the third win was chalked up when man of the match Karl Reynolds won 4-1 against Andy Mitchell with a 29.67 average. Spencer Rooney was Hampshire’s first winner, getting the better of Lloyd Jackson with a 4-2 result. Warwickshire’s three games buffer was restored in the fifth when Jnr Joyce added his 3-2 win over Ady Wright to their account. By the midway point the home team had a 4-2 lead as the half was completed with a 4-1 win for Sam Rooney over Mark Faulkner.
The home side went 5-2 up as the second session got underway, William Naylor beating Aaron Turner 4-2 and although Mike Symes pulled one back for the away team when he beat Adam Hancock 4-2 Mark Strong made sure of at least a share of the points for the hosts when he won 4-2 against Mark Bower. With Warwickshire having a 6-3 lead, Hampshire then had their best run of the match winning the last three games as Graham Chalk began the trio of wins when he won 4-2 against Mark Martin, David Moule then added his 4-0 win against Dave Hill and with a final 4-1 success for Justin Bradshaw over Mark Carter the game finished all-square at 6-6.
The first four games of the ladies ‘A’ match all went against the first throw advantage, Hannah Meek giving Warwickshire the early lead when she won 3-1 against Abi Jurd then Pennie Lewis restoring parity when she won 3-2 against Donna Pinch but only to see the hosts forge ahead for a second time when Kirsty Hinchliffe beat Sue Lowther 3-2 after losing the first two legs. Courtney Hine opened up a 2-0 lead over Tracy North but it was North who got the 3-2 result to take the score to 2-2. Like Hine, team-mate Marian Conway also won the first two legs but then finished on the wrong side of the 3-2 result which went to Hampshire’s Jane Monaghan who gave the visitors the lead for the first time in the match. Sue Power (Hampshire) went 1-0 up against Wendy Adams in the last game but Adams stuck to her task and went on to win 3-1 and give Warwickshire a share of the spoils with a 3-3 result.
The men’s ‘A’ stormed into a 4-0 lead which saw Nigel Heydon win 4-1 against Steve Musson, Gareth Braham hand out a straight 4-0 defeat to Paul Walker, Sam Whittaker beat Mike Gillet 4-2 and Martin Tonks win 4-1 against Ryan Groves. It was game five before Hampshire got their first stripe on the board, Chas Barstow winning 4-1 against Matty Washbrooke. At the halfway stage the home team were leading 5-1 with Steve Hine closing the half with a 4-0 win over Sam Dyke.
Taking Warwickshire into an unassailable 6-1 lead was man of the match Jamie Hughes who in his 4-1 win over Dave Bonnett he recorded a 30.95 average. Hampshire gained their second winner in game eight when Andy Jurd won 4-0 against Wayne Mynard but from there on in it was all Warwickshire Noel Grant winning 4-1 against Luke Getty, Samuel Price beating Rob Doran 4-0, Kevin Dowling winning 4-3 against Kev Woodward and rounding off a superb 10-2 victory was Danny Lauby with his 4-1 win over Davis Moule.
The overall score for the weekend was 23-13 to Warwickshire which saw them move up one place in the table to seventh, but more importantly seeing them reduce the point’s arrears on second place from what was thirty-one to now twenty-five with a game in hand.
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