Warwickshire County Darts Organisation began their sixth game of the season in the Cosmo Darts Premier Division of the UKDA National League seventh in the table with 100 points, while their hosts Glamorgan were sixth with 105 points from six games.
Playing at the Penydarren Social Club, Alexandra Road, Merthyr, CF47 9AF the ladies ‘B’ got the weekend underway and it was Warwickshire who won the opener when Denise Keyte handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Jen Taylor. The lead was short lived as Glamorgan’s Jo Pugh won 3-1 against Claire Greenwood and Michelle Jones beat Caroline Pike 3-2. Kacie O’Connor (Warwickshire) went one down to Paula Randall but went on to win 3-1 and level the score at two each. With a further 3-1 win for Courtney Hine over Sophie Price the away side were within an ace of victory. That victory came in the final game as Nina Bolt not only won 3-0 against Sarah Teesdale but clinched the match award for her 15.34 average. The final score 4-2 to Warwickshire.
The men’s ‘B’’ had a fantastic start racing into an unassailable 6-0 lead with a clean-sweep of the first half’s six games. Beginning the six wins sequence was Mark Strong with a 4-2 win over Graham Harrison. Karl Reynolds was taken to a deciding leg by Gavin Sterio but sealed his 4-3 win in the seventh leg in 21 darts. A straight 4-0 win for Jnr Joyce over David Neads made it 3-0, Mark Carter adding to that scoreline with his 4-3 win against Lee O’Neill. Taking the score to 5-0 was Ryan Jackson who in his clean 4-0 win against Colin Powell recorded a super 30.36 average which at the end of the day earned him the man of the match award, Going into the break Taylor McGuckian came from 1-0 and 2-1 down to Craig Lewis to go on to win 4-2.
As the second half got underway the home side got their first stripe on the board when Richard Jones, after trailing 3-2 to William Naylor went on to win 4-3.The all-important seventh win was added to Warwickshire’s tally as early as the eighth game when Mark Martin, after losing the first leg to Martyn Fowler wnet on to win 4-1.Adam Hancock opened up 1-0 and 3-2 leads against Hywell Manuel but it was Manuel who got the 4-3 result to double Glamorgan’s number of winners to two. The deficit was reduced even further in the tenth game when Finley Pember won 4-2 against Lloyd Jackson. David Hill (Warwickshire) had a 4-1 win over Keiron Carter in the penultimate encounter and with a 4-0 win for Glamorgan’s Liam Wigley against Lee Miller in the last game of the day the final score was 8-4 to Warwickshire’s men’s ‘B’.
Going into Sunday’s ‘A’ games Warwickshire were holding a 12-6 lead. It was the home side that got the first winner as their Rhian O’Sullivan won 3-1 against Kirsty Hinchliffe. Wendy Adams restored parity as she, with a similar 3-1 result accounted for Sandra Quinn. The hosts went ahead again in the third when Claire Crocombe beat Donna Pinch 3-2 after the away player had taken a 2-1 lead. Natalie Gilbert after going 1-0 and 2-1 up against Donna Thomas suffered a rare 3-2 defeat to put Glamorgan within an ace of victory, and the home team looked all set to achieve that victory when Sue Hall went two up against Marian Conway, but it was not to be as Conway stuck to her task and went on to win 3-2 to leave the result all hinging on the final game. Last on for Warwickshire was Hannah Meek and for Glamorgan Sue Watson. Meek won the first leg but then went 2-1 down as Watson won the next two legs. Hannah Meek levelled in the fourth and with a win in the fifth was the 3-2 winner and with a 20.63 average she also won the lady of the match award. With the result ending at 3-3 Warwickshire still had their six games overall lead and now only required four winners from the men’s ‘A’ to secure a win for the weekend’s fixture.
The first five games of the men’s ‘A’ match all went with the first throw advantage with Danny Lauby, Noel Grant and Sam Whittaker giving Warwickshire a three times lead with James Richards and Richie Edwards replying for Glamorgan. Lauby was pegged back to level terms three times by Dan Thompson before securing his 4-3 win, James Richards cancelling out the win when he defeated Gareth Braham 4-2. Taking the score to 2-1 was Noel Grant who had a 4-3 win over Dean Reynolds, only to see the score levelled for a second time when Richie Edwards beat Jack Wareing 4-3. Warwickshire went 3-2 up when Sam Whittaker added his 4-1 result over John Cook to their account and with a further 4-2 success for Wayne Mynard against Neil Parry, the visitors were 4-2 up at the halfway stage and were now overall winners with a lead of 19-11.
The second half began well for Warwickshire as Jamie Hughes won 4-3 against Liam Meek, Nigel Heydon, after going 2-0 down won 4-2 against Dan Beynon, Matty Washbrooke had a straight 4-0 win over Tim Jones and Kevin Dowling beat Mark Challenger 4-3. The last game of the weekend went to the home team as their Lee Winterburn won 4-1 against Martin Tonks to give a final score of 9-3 to Warwickshire.
The overall result was 24-12 to Warwickshire to see them move up two places in the table to fifth with 127 points and although some sixteen points short of second placed Lancashire, they have a game in hand on three of the four teams above them.
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