2011-11-01

After an opening win in division one of the BDO Inter County Championships, an away victory over Surrey, West Midlands were quickly returned to reality when they played hosts to Devon, newly promoted from division two.
Saturday’s games saw the ladies suffer a reversal of their opening 4-2 win as Christine Kinnaird and Marie Martin, in turn handed out 3-0 defeats to Kim Fellows and Shellbie Simmons. Tammy Chance reduced the arrears with a 3-2 win over Joyce Wilson, Tammy won the first leg and then trailed 2-1 but came back to grab a 3-2 victory.
The visitors bounced back with another two in a row, Moira Mortimer beating Doreen Kaye 3-1, after Doreen won the opening leg and Trisha Penberthy beat Jacqueline Maiden by the same scoreline to give the away team an unassailable 4-1 lead.
Samantha Maiden made the scoreline a little more respectable when in the final game she won her tie with Jane Wiltshire 3-1. Samantha’s 16.50 average earning her the lady of the match award.
The men got off to a cracking start as Lance Hackett began the match with a 3-1 win over Gary Whittles despite Whittles winning the first leg. Jason Kesterton doubled the Midlander’s lead when he won the first against Tom Humphreys, lost the next two and went on to win 3-2. Everything was now looking really good as man of the match Christopher Stanley won a straight legs victory over Shane Joslin. Christopher kicked off with an eighteen darts leg hitting 140 and 100, followed that with a nineteen darts leg and top shots of 2×140, then completed his win with a fifteen darts leg with scores of 81, 180, 85, 139 and an outshot of 16.
With the running score standing at 3-0 to the home team it looked pretty good for the second win in as many games, but then it all went pear shaped and West Midlands lost the remaining NINE games. Jason Hill started the rot when he beat Martin Angell 3-0. Then Phil Stewart came from 2-0 down to Viv Gould to win 3-2 and levelling the match was John Syvret, who lost his first leg to Ian Hartland and went on to win 3-1.
The second half of the match was a disaster as West Midlands found legs difficult to come by. Michael Whatley took just three legs to beat Adam Johnson, and although Matthew Dickinson lost the second leg to Mark Watkiss, he won the tie 3-1. Paul Price looked as though he would put a halt to Devon’s run when he opened up a 2-0 lead over Paul Godbeer, but then lost his way with finishing doubles and Godbeer went on to win 3-2 and take the running tally to 6-3 in Dev0on’s favour.
The match was put beyond West Midlands grasp when in the tenth game Liam Goyne handed out a 3-0 defeat to Gregory Parkes to give the visitors a winning 7-3 advantage. Ian Knight (Devon) faltered in the second leg against John Platt but nevertheless won 3-1 and in the final encounter Avtar Singh (West Midlands) took the first leg off Terence Ashton, but then went down 3-1 to give a final 9-3 win to Devon and an overall 13-5 lead on the day.
Sunday’s ladies game almost followed the pattern of the previous day as Devon once again opened up a 2-0 lead as Maria O’Brien came from 2-1 down against Heather Wright to win 3-2 and Merryl Dennis, who was 1-0 down against Jackie Crew won 3-1.
Long serving West Midlands player Diane Tolley halved the deficit when she chalked up a 3-1 win over Karen Atkinson, Karen winning the second leg. However, the cheers were short lived as yet again Devon fought back, this time it was Annette Lord’s 3-0 win over Lisa Astbury that restored their two game buffer and a guarantee of at the worst a share of the spoils.
In the penultimate game West Midlands recorded their second winner in the shape of Sarah Robbins. Sarah began with great style against Michelle Andrews hitting a maximum with her first visit to the oche and following that with a 100. Further top scores of 95 and 71 and a game shot of 25 saw Sarah win the first leg in 18 darts. Another two winning legs saw Sarah clinch a 3-0 win and her very creditable 21.17 average earn her the lady of the match award and at the same time keep hopes alive of a possible draw for her team mates.
A narrow lead of 3-2 to the away team and one to play, the contestants, Kath Jenkins for the West Midlands against Devon’s Tracy Ware. The first leg went to Kath, Tracy won the second. Kath went 2-1 up and was still on course to grab a draw, but then her finishing doubles deserted her and Tracy Ware won the following two legs to win 3-2 and give the visitors another 4-2 ladies win.
The men’s ‘A’ had a tremendous task as the overall scoreline stood at 17-7 in their opponents favour after both ladies and the men’s ‘B’ results had been added together. Nevertheless they were given a fantastic start as Nick Fullwell got the ball rolling with a 4-1 success against Lee Bryant. Nick, with 2×100 and 140 won the first leg in 20 darts. He then hit 100, 180 and checked out on 106 to go two up in 15 darts. The third leg, despite scores of 125 and another 180, he lost in just twelve darts, leaving 64 as Bryant shot out on double twenty in 13 darts.
Fullwell then took control again hitting 125 and his third maximum of the game to win the leg with a 40 game shot in 17 darts. Bryant had first throw in the fifth leg and had top shots of 140, 100 and 100. Fullwell meanwhile hit 81, 140,100 and 118 to leave 22 as his opponent threw for 80. Bryant missed his outshot and gave Fullwell the chance he needed to checkout on his eighteenth dart and a 4-1 win, plus the match award for his 29.77 average.
Dean Stewart appeared to be about to double the lead when he went 3-0 up against Ryan Searle, but Searle then moved up a gear and went on to win 4-3. Jamie Hughes restored West Midlands slender lead one game when he accounted for John Imrie, Hughes twice coming from behind before clinching his 4-2 win. Taking the score along to 3-1 was Peter Wyse. Wyse was made to fight all the way for his 4-3 win, going 2-0 up then 2-2, 3-2 up to 3-3 before winning the final leg with a 76 game shot after Imrie had missed his double.
Anthony Hayman beat Danny Coyle 4-2 to reduce the lead to just one game again, but a narrow 4-3 win from Mark Rollinson over John Syvret, after Syvret had taken the lead twice, gave the hosts a little breathing space and a 4-2 advantage.
Lee Watts (Devon) took the lead twice against Andrew Forrester, but in the end lost out 4-2 in the seventh game to extend the lead to 5-2 before Devon’s best spell of the match. Andrew Jackson, although made to fight all the way by Neil Pointon came out on top with a 4-3 win, then another Andrew, this time Steed, despite losing the first and third legs went on to win 4-2 against Ian Stanton to take the score along to 5-4 to West Midlands.
Matthew Dicken stormed into a 3-0 lead against Richard Dennis in 14, 20 and 18 darts. Dennis fought back with outshots of 115 and 80, but it was not enough as Dicken registered his 4-2 win in the sixth leg with a 17 darts winner. Andy Aspinall (Devon) won his first leg against Ian Jones in fourteen darts with scores of 95, 140, 140, 114 and 12 game shot. As ever Ian Jones stormed back and levelled with his own version of a fourteen darts leg, hitting TWO CONSECUTIVE maximums, then 92, missed his finish, but wrapped up the leg with a 20 checkout. Jones then took the lead with a fifteen darts leg and scores of 60, 85, 140,100 and a 116 finish. Aspinall kept himself in the game as he squared the game in 16 darts, his scores, 96, 80, 140, 140, 37 and double four. Both players struggled on a finishing double in the fifth leg but it eventually went to Jones with a 12 game shot.
In the sixth leg incredibly Jones hit another TWO CONSECUTIVE maximums, starting with 60, 180, 180, 49 and double sixteen for a 13 darts 4-2 winner and a very creditable 28.89 average, Aspinall not far behind with a 28.37. Ian Jones win confirming a men’s ‘A’ victory as he chalked up the all important winning seventh game.
Taking the result to 8-4 for the Midlanders was another Jones, this time Jake. Jake took on Andrew Taylor and recorded the only straight 4-0 win of the match.
So the final score was a 24-15 win to Devon, which saw them leap frog West Midlands, going from fifth to third in the promotion table and a total of 47 points, while West Midlands have dropped from second to fourth and are seven points adrift of Devon.