Fixture number five for Warwickshire County Darts Organisation in the Premier Division of the Cosmo Darts UKDA National League was an away game against London, a game that the away side were expected to win as they were some four places above their hosts in the league table and twenty-two points better off, but at the end of the day it didn’t quite work out like that.
The weekend got off to a great start for the visiting team as the ladies ‘B’ romped to a 5-1 victory. Chloe McKivett set them on their way with a straight 3-0 win over Sarah Cronin and although Dee Belcher levelled the score with her 3-1 win over Angela Jones Warwickshire took the lead again in the third when Courtney Hine got the better of Carly Townsend with another 3-0 result. The away team had their lead increased in the fourth when their lady of the match Hannah Meek beat Joanne Deamer 3-1, Hannah taking the match award for her 19.80 average.
The win was secured in the penultimate game when Nina Bolt added her 3-1 win against Jane Biggs to their tally and the 5-1 result achieved in the last game when Melanie Jones beat Lynne Biondini 3-0.
The first four games of the men’s ‘B’ match all went with the first throw advantage, Dave Hill giving Warwickshire the lead in the opener with his 4-3 win over Wayne Brown and Dean Buckland levelling the game when he won 4-2 against Pete Hughes. For a second time the away side went ahead, this time thanks to the 4-1 win by Scott Hope over Steve Holt but again the home side drew level when their Peter Gallagher won 4-2 against Martin Tonks after Tonks had gone 2-0 up.
For the first time in the game, London went ahead in the fifth, John Loeber winning 4-1 against Mark Carter but it was all square at 3-3 by the midway point after Karl Reynolds won 4-2 against Craig Watkins.
As the second half got underway it looked odds on Warwickshire would take the lead for a third time when Mark Strong opened up a 3-0 lead over Nick Cocks but the home player held his nerve and went on to win 4-3. A man-of-the-match performance from Nigel Heydon made it 4-4, Heydon winning in four straight legs against Geoff Mortimer in 19,16,18, and 21 darts including a 110 finish in the third giving him an average of 27.08.
From an all-square 4-4 position London then went on to seal victory with three wins in a row as Gene Hill beat Sam Price 4-0, Danny Brown won 4-1 against Adam Hancock and Paul Killington had a 4-2 win against Mark Tomlinson after Tomlinson had come for 1-0 down to lead 2-1.
The final game of the day saw Noah Rose reduce the arrears to 7-5 with a 4-2 win over Harry Kelly.
Marian Conway was first on for Warwickshire’s ladies ‘A’ tie and despite taking a 2-0 lead against Luci Cunningham finished on the wrong side of the 3-2 result. Caroline Pike (Warwickshire) levelled the game with her 3-1 success over Tammy MacKenzie but a 3-1 win from Debs Watling over Donna Pinch followed by a 3-2 win for Mandy Solomons against Sue Gulliver put the hosts within an ace of victory.
The home team’s applause was put on hold as Natalie Gilbert not only reduced the arrears to 3-2 with her 3-0 win over Nikki Patter but at the same time earned her the match award for her 17.28 average.
The sixth and final game went the full legs distance with a 3-2 result that could easily have gone either way but it went to London’s Steph Stutley at the expense of Tammy Montgomery to give the hosts a 4-2 win.
Lee Cocks opened up for London in the first of the men’s ‘A’ games and he gave them the early lead with a 4-0 win against Jenson Walker. Steve Hine went 2-0 up against Lewis McGurn and although he was pegged back to 2-2 went on to win 4-2 to level the game. Tom Martin (Warwickshire) began well as he checked out on 117 in his first leg against Nigel Fisher and then went 3-0 up only to see Fisher take the next three legs and clinch a 4-3 win with a 148 game shot in the decider.
Wayne Mynard was another Warwickshire player to take an early lead and then lose as he went 2-0 up against John Walters to finally go down 4-2. After losing the first leg to Christopher Holt Noel Grant levelled in 16 darts and with a 126 finish went ahead in 15 darts before winning the fourth leg and opening up a 3-1 lead. Holt fought back to level at 3-3 but with a 121 checkout in the seventh Grant won the game 4-3. The last game of the half also went the full seven legs distance, Jamie Hughes (Warwickshire) coming from behind against Matt Wood no fewer than three times before losing 4-3 to give London a 4-2 lead at the break.
It was more bad news for the away side as the second half kicked off with London taking an unbeatable 6-3 lead when Steve Ferguson won 4-3 against Gareth Braham and Tyler Radlett beat Lee Miller 4-2.
Kevin Dowling kept the visitors in the hunt for a draw when he won 4-2 against Tommy Sanwell and with an award-winning performance from Matty Washbrooke who won 4-2 against Liam Hill in 20,15,20 and 15 darts giving him a 27.70 average a draw was still on the cards. However it was not to be as London’s Fred Box won the final game against Jack Wareing 4-1 to give the home side’s men’s ‘A’ a 7-5 win and an overall victory of 19-17 for the weekend.
Although Warwickshire narrowly lost they held on to their fifth position in the table but from trailing the leaders by eighteen points fell twenty-three behind.
—–ENDS—–
Alan Towe writes with the support of Red Dragon Darts
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