2012-05-01

What a difference one result makes, that is certainly true for the West Midlands because their most recent fixture away to Dorset saw them go down 19-17 and also saw them drop down into the relegation area. West Midlands are a massive 34 points clear of bottom team Bedfordshire and just one point behind London, so everything rests now on the final game of the season, which see’s the Midland side with the easier of the two fixtures as they have a home tie against Derbyshire, who themselves are only six points ahead of the West Midlands, while London also have a home tie but a much more difficult one against second in the promotional table Surrey, so all may not be lost. However, by the time this article is being read the fate of where West Midlands will be playing next season will have been decided.
The weekend at Dorset began with mixed results as the ladies, for the second consecutive game lost 5-1. Trudy Archer, Julie Boggust and Sarah Chick gave the hosts the perfect start as they all won without dropping a single leg in their respective games against Lisa Maiden, Samantha Maiden and Heather Wright.
Kim Fellows (West Midlands) did win one leg against Suzanna Foulds as she lost 3-1 and Jacqueline Maiden went one better as she won two legs in her 3-2 loss to Lisa Prowse, but the best came in the final game as Shelbie Simmons, in a very close affair with Carol Llewellyn won 3-2 and took the match award with a 17.05 average.
The men’s team were first off the mark as Mark Watkiss beat Kevin Smith 3-2 in a game which could have swung either way. Michael Baker took the score along to 2-0 when he won his tie with Bryan Pearson 3-1. Timothy Poole (Dorest) won the opening two legs against Viv Gould, but Gould restored parity in the fourth leg only to lose out in the decider after leaving double eighteen after 18 darts.
Paul Price was the man who got the West Midlands ball rolling again when he came from 2-1 down to beat Christopher Martin 3-2 and with a 3-1 win from Ryan Herrington, who had trailed 1-0 to Tim Clothier, West Midlands had opened up a 4-1 lead.
Terence Prows reduced the arrears for Dorset with a very close 3-2 verdict over Avtar Singh before Martin Angell made it 5-2 with his 3-1 success against Nigel Lamb. The hosts got their third win when Matthew Read got the 3-2 result against Ian Stanton, but Greg Parkes made certain of at the worst a share of the spoils when he chalked up the six win for the visitors, a 3-2 win over Gordon Fitzpatrick after Fitzpatrick had gone 2-1 up.
Tommy Morris kept Dorset in the match when he got the better of Doug Thompson with a 3-1 result, however the outcome of the match was decided and decided in style in the penultimate encounter between Thomas Chant (Dorset) and Jonathon Platt. With 2×140 Platt won the first leg with a first dart finish on double twenty, his sixteenth dart. He then went two up with another sixteen darts leg hitting 100 and 180 and finishing, again first dart with double eight. Further top shots of 140 and 121 in the third leg saw Platt leave 46 after 18 darts, which he checked out on with his next two darts for a 17 darts leg, a 3-0 win and a match award winning average of 30.67, plus the all important seventh winning game.
Dorset’s Steven Earley won the opening leg against Glen Cullen, but Cullen fought back with winning legs of 20, 18 and 21 darts to snatch a 3-1 win and put the final score at 8-4 in West Midlands favour.
The ladies ‘A’ looked as if they were going to follow the example set by the ‘B’ side when Claire Hobbs and Diane Tolley in turn lost 3-0 to Trina Perry and Alison Dibden, but Lisa Astbury stopped the rot when she, despite being pegged back to level terms by Julie Frampton after leading 2-0, went on to win 3-2 and at the end of the day win the match award with her 17.62 average.
The fourth game could easily have gone to either player, Sally Old (Dorset) or Jackie Crew. Jackie won the firs, Sally the second after Jackie missed her double out. The third went to Jackie Crew and the fourth, after Jackie Crew had failed on her doubles again, went to Sally Old. The fifth and final leg was a clear victory for Dorset as Crew was back on 91 when Old checked out on 60 for a 3-2 win. Valerie Griffths took the score along to 4-1 for the home team when she beat Kath Jenkins 3-2 after Jenkins had missed her chance in the fourth leg to win 3-1, double yet again the downfall.
Sarah Robbins made the result a little more respectable when she registered West Midlands second win, a 3-2 success against Cathryn Campbell after Campbell lead 2-1 in the third. Sarah’s win put the result at 4-2 to Dorset.
The men’s ‘A’ suffered a setback as early as the first game as Mark Rollinson won the first leg against Ben Ward and then went down 4-1. Following this Matthew Dicken also won the first leg in his game with Tony Dunning, lost the next two,
won the fourth with a great 148 outshot, went behind again in the fifth, he then forced a decider by winning the sixth but lost out in the final leg to lose 4-3.
Nick Fullwell, on at number three was West Midlands first winner and he won convincingly with a straight 4-0 result over Trevor Chant. After going 1-0 down to Graham Knight Dean Stewart got his act together and with two maximums went on to win the tie 4-1 to square the match at 2-2.
Dorset then stepped on the gas, John Clark won 4-2 against Danny Coyle, Mark Porter beat Neil Pointon 4-3 after both players had numerous darts at a double in the final leg, Scott Mitchell handed out a very rare defeat to Ian Jones, the scoreline an amazing 4-0 and to take Dorset’s lead to 6-2 was John Bothomley a 3-2 win against Richard Platt who made him fight all the way for his win.
At 6-2 down West Midlands had more than the proverbial mountain to climb, but they began to climb it, first thanks to Peter Wyse who had a 4-1 win over Eddie White. Then came the highlight of the game for the West Midlands, a man of the match performance from Jake Jones. Jones squared up to Wayne Ramsier and with 2×100 won the opening leg in 21 darts. He then, with scores of 97, 97, 180, 99 28 left himself on double fourteen, which he disposed of with his very next dart for a 13 darts leg. Four consecutive tons and 41 left him 60 in the third leg, he wrapped up the leg in 18 darts. Completing his 4-0 win Jones recorded a 19 darts leg in fourth to keep his team mates in the match at 6-4.
The eleventh game was a cracker between Robby Morris (Dorset) and Jonathon Platt, man of the match from the previous day. With the darts Platt won the first leg in 20 darts, he lost the second in 18. He then went 2-1 in 15 darts and lost the fourth in the same amount of darts. At two each Platt then chalked up another 15 darts leg, but again Morris fought back, this time Platt losing in 15 darts as Morris went out in 13, forcing a seventh and deciding leg. Morris got off to the better start, but Platt gradually got back into the game and finally checked out on double twenty in 19 darts for a greatly contested 4-3 win to leave the result hinging on the final game of the day.
Stepping up to the oche for the final game were Richard Perry, representing Dorset and for the West Midlands, Jamie Hughes. Hughes stormed into a 2-0 lead both legs finishing first dart on double twenty and both legs in 16 darts. Perry came a little more into leg number three but nevertheless lost it as Hughes finished in 17 darts and went on to clinch a 4-0 win with a 20 outshot in the fourth.
So from 6-2 down to earn a 6-6 draw what a fantastic fight back by the West Midlands, unfortunately the overall result of 19-17 went to their opponents, Dorset.