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Article: Alan Towe's The Line - A Look Back to 1st March 2016

Alan Towe's The Line - A Look Back to 1st March 2016

With a home tie against Worcestershire in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships West Midlands were looking to get back on course following their 20-16 defeat away to Berkshire in their last outing, their one and only defeat in the opening four games of the season.

With two wins and two draws in the first four games the ladies ‘B’ side were looking to keep their unbeaten run intact but the opening game saw their Shellbie Simmons lose 3-2 to Debbie Bearmand. However Worcestershire’s lead didn’t last long as Jacqueline Maiden after going 1-0 up and 2-1 down beat her opponent Rachel Gallagher 3-2. The next two games saw both West Midlands players Samantha Maiden and Kirsty Shaughnessy lose the first legs to respective opponents Janet Farley and Brenda Ellis but both players fought back and went on to win 3-2 to put the hosts within an ace of victory.

Jenny Place reduced the arrears for the visitors when she beat Heather Wright 3-2 after Wright had opened up a 2-1 lead, the result leaving the outcome of the game dependent upon the final encounter between West Midlands Sophie Singh and Lynne Arnold.

Sophie Singh won the first leg Lynne Arnold the second then Singh wrapped up not only her personal 3-1 win and the team’s 4-2 win but also her third lady of the match award with her 19.29 average.

The men’s ‘B’ side like their ladies had won two and drawn two and they too were in no mood to surrender their unbeaten record but again like the ladies they lost the opening game as Mick Hoult finished on the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline to Keith Simpson.

The turnaround was immediate as John Morris won 3-0 against Paul Wallace and Daniel Nicholls won by the same 3-0 margin against Elliot Hancox. The third win was added in style by Ashe Khayat, he lost the first leg to Mark Luscott in eighteen darts then produced a trio of seventeen darts legs to beat Luscott 3-1 and earn himself the team’s match award with his 28.58 average.

Scott Baker moved the score along to 4-1 with a 3-1 win over Neil Parsonage before Paul Bailey (Worcestershire) made it 4-2 at the midway point when he won 3-1 against John Mycock. The gap was reduced even further as the second half began Andrew Pullen beating Mark Rollinson 3-1.

West Midlands then strung together another couple of wins Paul Price got the better of Wayne Thomas with a 3-1 scoreline and Jonathan Platt who went 2-0 up was pegged back to 2-2 by Philip Randell then won the tie 3-2 to give the home side a 6--3 lead.

As Worcestershire players Anthony Butler and Kevin Mason in turn recorded 3-0 wins over Robert Smith and Glen Cullen the score moved to a very close 6-5 to West Midlands to set up a nervous end to the match the outcome all dependent on the final game.

Neil Pointon won the first leg for West Midlands against Nick Evans but when Evans made it 1-1 the tension got even greater, however there was no need for concern as Pointon won the last two legs for a 3-1 win and a 7-5 success for the team.

The ladies ‘A’ with one win and three draws were fast becoming the draw specialists and the way the first four games went which was all against the first throw advantage looked all set for another draw. Kath Jenkins won the first for the home team a 3-1 win over Jackie Evans who had won the first leg. Allison Gallagher levelled the game with her 3-0 win against Gemma Barrett. For a second time West Midlands went ahead this time thanks to Sarah Roberts whose straight 3-0 win over Nicola Ellis produced an average of19.78 and earned Sarah her third lady of the match award in the five games played.

Zoe Jones was the second away player to cancel out West Midlands lead beating Debbie Loon 3-0 and although Lisa Astbury twice cancelled out Jenny Shail’s lead it was the Worcestershire player that broke the match sequence by winning 3-2.

After her performance the previous day Sophie Singh was promoted to the ‘A’ team and for the second consecutive day she was faced with a vital decider as yet again the outcome of her game would have a crucial effect on the result, her victory for the ‘B’ side giving them a 4-2 win and a win for the ‘A’ would give them a share of the points.

It was nip and tuck all the way as Sophie won the first leg Kim Jones the second. Singh went ahead again in the third only to see Jones erase her lead again and take the tie to a fifth and deciding leg. The last leg could not have been closer, either of the players could have won it but it was Sophie Singh who did to give her team mates a 3-3 draw and a share of the spoils.

From the word go the men’s ‘A’ team were struggling James Hurrell gave Worcestershire the ideal start has he beat Lewis Venes 4-1 and took the visitors match award with his 29.00 average. Graham Hall doubled the away teams lead with a 4-3 win over Keith Allman after Allman had opened leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Gareth Watts (West Midlands) had a couple of chances to win a leg against Phil Whitlock but failed and Whitlock went on to win 4-0.

At 3-0 down the home side then recorded their first winner, Michael Baker in a game with Terence Webster saw the lead go one way and then the other as Baker won the first and Webster the next two. With a 146 checkout Baker levelled in the fourth and went 3-2 up in the fifth only to see Webster win the sixth and take the game to a deciding leg. With top shots of 121 and 140 Baker opened up a lead and won the leg in 14 darts with Webster way back on 201, the win and 27.17 average earning Baker the West Midlands match award.

Matthew Dicken looked all set to add a second win to West Midlands tally as he went 3-0 up against Chris Jennings but missed doubles allowed Jennings in to clinch a 4-3 win. Dave Honey took the score along to 5-1 in Worcestershire’s favour by the halfway mark as he accounted for Avtar Singh with a 4-3 scoreline.

It got worse as the second half began Ian Mackenzie making it 6-1 with his 4-1 win over Sam Hamilton but then the home side strung together their best run of the game three wins in a row started by Shaun Carroll when he won 4-1 against Tom White.

Ian Jones had his lead cancelled out three times by Patrick Sinnett before he sealed a 4-3 win with a 17 darts deciding leg. Reducing the arrears to 6-4 was Christopher Mason who with a straight 4-0 result defeated Lee Furneaux.

Mark Craddock looked all the way to be West Midlands fifth winner as he went 2-0 and 3-1 up against Richard Hosey but Hosey won the next two legs and with both players throwing for a finishing double in the final leg it was Hosey who got it to win 4-3 and put Worcestershire into an unassailable 7-4 lead.

The final game of the weekend went to the home team Gavin Baker beating Mark Jones 4-1 to put the final score at 7-5 to the visitors.

The men’s ‘A’ result apart it was a good weekend for the West Midlands recording an overall 19-17 win to give them a total of 113 points and a lead of five over second in the table Berkshire, third placed Suffolk, who are West Midlands next opponents are ten points behind them.

Full Results:(West Midlands names first): Men’s ‘A’:- Lewis Venes 1 James Hurrell 4, Keith Allman 3 Graham Hall 4, Gareth Watts 0 Phil Whitlock 4, Michael Baker 4 Terence Webster 3, Matthew Dicken 3 Chris Jennngs 4, Avtar Singh 3 Dave Honey 4, Sam Hamilton 1 Ian Mackenzie 4, Shaun Carroll 4 Tom White 1, Ian Jones 4 Patrick Sinnett 3, Christopher Mason 4 Lee Furneaux 0, Mark Craddock 3 Richard Hosey 4, Gavin Baker 4 Mark Jones 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Mick Hoult 1 Keith Simpson 3, John Morris 3 Paul Wallace 0, Daniel Nicholls 3 Elliot Hancox 0, Ashe Khayat 3 Mark Luscott 1, Scott Baker 3 Neil Parsonage 1, John Mycock 1 Paul Bailey 3, Mark Rollinson 1 Andrew Pullen 3, Paul Price 3 Wayne Thomas 1, Jonathan Platt 3 Philip Randell 2, Robert Smith 0 Anthony Butler 3, Glen Cullen 0 Kevin Mason 3, Neil Pointon 3 Nick Evans 1, Women’s ‘A’:- Kath Jenkins 3 Jackie Evans 1, Gemma Barrett 0 Allison Gallagher 3, Sarah Roberts 3 Nicola Ellis 0, Debbie Loon 0 Zoe Jones 3, Lisa Astbury 2 Jenny Shail 3, Sophie Singh 3 Kim Jones 2, Women’s ‘B’:- Shellbie Simmons 2 Debbie Bearmand 3, Jacqueline Maiden 3 Rachel Gallagher 2, Samantha Maiden 3 Janet Farley 2, Kirsty Shaughnessy 3 Brenda Ellis 2, Heather Wright 2 Jenny Place 3, Sophie Singh 3 Lynne Arnold 1.

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Congratulations to former West Midlands and current Warwickshire county player Jamie Hughes who for a second successive year has won the Romanian Classic Open.

On the way to the final Hughes had win over Mamix de Beer 4-0, Chris Mason 4-1 and Matt Dickinson 4-2 to set up a semi final with Krzysztof Ratajski which Hughes won 5-1 hitting two maximums in the process. He then went on to retain his title with a final 6-1 victory over Alan Bell, Hughes had opened up a 5-0 lead before Bell won the sixth, but with a double ten outshot the title once again went to Jamie Hughes.

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On the local scene the January Riley’s Solihull Last Sunday in the Month Knockouts saw West Midlands county star Nick Fullwell clinch the top prize with a final 6-1 win against a somewhat surprising opponent in the form of twelve years Matthew Cain who actually won the first leg against Fullwell. Fullwell had beaten Dan White 5-3 in the semi’s while Cain had an amazing 5-1 result against another top class player Matt Padgett, Matthew Cain certainly a name to look out for in the future.

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The South Birmingham League staged their singles knockout which attracted an encouraging 68 players and produced some top class darts throughout, the man at the top of his form was Robbie Earl, however he was pushed all the way with 2-1 wins from the last sixteen to the final. Robbie beat D.Whitehouse and Mick Noonan then booked his final spot against Chris Millward jnr with a last four win over Alan Mayell.

The final saw Earl lift the title with a 2-0 win with Chris Millward jnr.

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The Forest of Arden Winter League’s men’s singles was contested by 35 players with Andy Hutchings the eventual winner after beating Simon Edwards 2-1 in the final. Hutchings had won his semi final against Steve Shepard 2-0, Edwards winning by the same margin against Rob Vann

Winning the ladies singles was Sue Kingdon, a straight 2-0 success against Noreen Harris giving Sue the title. Sue had won her last four game against Laura Vann with the same 2-0 scoreline, runner up Harris was taken to a decider by Diane Hudson before winning 2-1.

The youth knockout was won by Alex Edwards who had a 2-0 result against Michaela Walker in the final.

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Alan Moreton (Bird ‘A’, Stourbridge) produced a six darts game in his team’s 8-1 win over New Inns in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League. Moreton kicked off with a 160 break and followed that with a 141 outshot for a perfect game of 301 darts.

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Kevin Harris and his son Robert have won the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League doubles knockout for the past two seasons but they were unable to make it three in a row as they were knocked out in the semi finals this season by N.Donaldson and G.Marson who in turn were beaten 3-2 in the final by N.Fullwell and K.Chambers.

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The Netherton Thursday Night League played off their singles knockout and taking the title with a final straight 2-0 win over Fairfield’s T.Johnson was Phil Tonks from Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club.

Both semi finals went to a deciding third leg Tonks beating fellow Ex Serviceman player D.Brown and Johnson winning against A.Dimmock from the Bulls Head.

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The knockout staged at the Dudley Sports Club, Brierley Hill saw Matt Tedstone walk away with the £150 top prize after he beat Liam Kelly in a close 5-4 final, Kelly as runner up receiving £80.

In the last four play off Tedstone had a narrow 4-3 win against West Midlands player Shaun Carroll while Kelly had a more straightforward 4-2 victory, each of the losing semi finalists picked up £50.

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Riley’s, Wolverhampton played off the first of their scheduled two qualifiers for the UK Open and with two players going through Warwickshire county player Dean Stewart made it a seventh consecutive time when he beat Mike McFall 5-1 in his final. From the other half of the draw Swindon’s Mark Cox was the winner booking his place with a 5-3 win over Carl Sparrow.

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The Harborne and District League staged their doubles knockout and taking the honours on the night with a final 2-1 victory over P.Green and P.Brookes were Ashley Hykin and Richard Hosey.

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A 2-0 result in the final against M.O’Sullivan has seen C.Wyatt win the Captains Cup in the Small Heath League, the Secretaries Cup title went N.Parsonage who had a similar straight 2-0 win over L.Stanton in the final.

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After playing 37 games in division one of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League, Wednesfield FC have wrapped up the title with a final 6-1 win over Wednesfield Conservative Club. ECC who are two points adrift of the champions finish as runners up following their 4-3 win at Corpus, they ended the season twelve points ahead of third placed Victoria.

In division two its Whitmore Reans WMC who take the title, a 5-2 win at Woodfield Social giving them 60 points from their 35 games, second placed Roebuck lost 4-3 at Boat ‘B’ but have finished second four points to the good on third placed Pheasant.

The doubles knockout was won by the ECC pairing of John Mycock and Simon Meredith who beat Mark Footman and Derek Marston from Corpus in the final.

ECC not only provided the winners but also both of the losing semi finalist pairings of Simon Potts and Karl Hughes plus Sam Guest and Ashe Khayat.

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In the Camp Hill League’s Captains Cup Craig Jones (Lady Westminster) took the title when he beat Mick O’Sullivan (Holy Gulp) in the final. Taking the Secretaries title was Peter Yardley (HMS Lions) with Richard Cooper (Cotterills Lane Club) runner up.

The Ladies Competition was an all Devil’s Club affair with Jean Forde taking the crown after beating her team mate Danielle Whitmore in the final.

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