Alan Towe’s The Line On Darts – Shropshire v Gloucestershire
In division four of the BDO Inter County Championships despite their home advantage Shropshire’s two match winning run was brought to an end by promotion chasing Gloucestershire.
The ‘B’ games produced a mixed bag of results as the ladies found themselves trailing 3-0 to wins from Cath Brennan, Maria Lock and Sharon Nyland before registering their first winner who came in the shape of Julie Griffiths. Julie was taken the full five legs distance by Christine Marsh before clinching her win, a win that gave her an award winning average of 17.65.
Tracy Bishop (Gloucestershire) was on at number five and her 3-1 success against Kirsty Jenks was the win the put the match beyond Shropshire’s reach as the score then stood at 4-1.
Rounding off the ladies ‘B’ game was Pam Evans for Shropshire who made the result a little more respectable when she accounted for Kirsty Bishop with a straight 3-0 win to give a final score of 4-2 to the visitors.
The men’s ‘B’ were out to protect an unbeaten record, their previous five games producing four wins and a draw and they got off to the perfect start when Phil Austin and Richard Parker each handed out 3-0 defeats to their counterparts Keith Lawrence and James Atkins.
The 2-0 lead was short lived as Gloucestershire’s Rob Long beat Paul Boddison 3-1, Simon Delaney won 3-2 against Dan Humphries and putting the away side 3-2 up was Luke Carpenter with his 3-0 win over Simon Pritchard.
Neil Christopher Powell (Shropshire) levelled the game getting the better of Charlie Millard with a win in the deciding leg of their game. The advantage then swung back in Shropshire’s favour as David Evans recorded a 3-1 win against Kevin Devries.
For the third time in the match the scoreline was levelled, this time it was Gloucestershire’s Mark Turley who took the tally to four each with his 3-1 win over Derek Coulson before his team mate Wesley Cole added his 3-2 win over John Cornmell to give the away team the lead for a second time with only three to play.
Trailing 5-4 the home team needed something special to maintain their undefeated run and something special is what they got as Martin Riggs beat Andrew Hammond 3-0, Neville Quinton laid on a man of the match performance against Ian Beasley to win 3-0 and average 24.24 and making it a hat-trick of 3-0 wins was John Breeze who defeated Andy Neocleous to give his team a 7-5 victory.
Going into Sunday’s games the score stood at 9-9 with both teams still having everything to play for that however quickly changed as the ladies ‘A’ lost their match in the opening four games Vicky Fairbrother won 3-0 against Suzanne Lane, Wendy Booth and Krystal Gibbins both won 3-1 against respective opponents Michele Pritchard and Lorna Wheatley and rounding off a 4-0 lead for Gloucestershire was Louise Bayliss who beat Caroline La-Ffin 3-2.
It was the penultimate game before the home side registered their first winner, Marie Riggs just getting the edge on Jane Smith in a five legs encounter to seal what turned out to be not only a lady of the match award for Marie as she chalked up an 18.09 average but also Shropshire’s solitary win as Katharine McLean lost the final game to Karen Brown 3-1 to give the away side a 5- 1 victory.
The men’s ‘A’ went one down when their Clive Lucking lost by the odd leg to Aaron Dyer, however John Cooper erased Gloucestershire’s lead with a straight 4-0 win against Ben Green and with a further 4-2 win from Dan Astbury over Shaun Hughes the home team were 2-1 up.
Scott Richards (Gloucestershire) levelled the score at 2-2 with a 4-2 win over Eddie Austin, but a second straight 4-0 win for Shropshire, this time from Les Marson against John Raynsford saw the hosts take the lead for a second time.
A close 4-3 win by Chris Jackson at the expense of Glen McGrandle once again tied the match and in the seventh game the visitors took the lead for the first time when Kieran Smith beat Andi Chatter 4-1. Mark Chiswell took the score along to 5-3 in favour of Gloucestershire when he beat Roger Taylor 4-1. Danny James reduced the arrears to 5-4 with a 4-2 win over Joe Griffiths, Danny’s average of 26.03 earning him the match award.
Gloucestershire’s two game buffer was restored in the tenth, a 4-2 win from Ricky Oram over Scott Towers to leave his side requiring just one more win for victory. Mark Jones (Shropshire) won the penultimate tie against Keith Philburn 4-1 but his win only delayed the eventual outcome which was a victory for Gloucestershire as Liam Devries won the last game of the weekend against Antony Stoneman 4-2 to give the away side’s ‘A’ team a 7-5 win and an overall victory of 21-15.
Despite the defeat Shropshire remain in sixth position in the promotional table with 114 points, 20 fewer than their opponents who are third in the table. Shropshire do not have the easiest of run ins as their next two fixtures are away against second in the table Tyne and Wear followed by next to bottom Isle of Wight. They then round off their fixture card with a home tie against Middlesex who are two places and fifteen points above them.
Full Results:Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Clive Lucking 3 Aaron Dyer 4, John Cooper 4 Ben Green 0, Dan Astbury 4 Shaun Hughes 2, Eddie Austin 2 Scott Richards 4, Les Marson 4 John Raynsford 0, Glen McGrandle 3 Chris Jackson 4, Andi Chatter 1 Kieran Smith 4, Roger Taylor 1 Mark Chiswell 4, Danny James 4 Joe Griffiths 2, Scott Towers 2 Ricky Oram 4, Mark Jones 4 Keith Philburn 1, Antony Stoneman 2 Liam Devries 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Phil Austin 3 Keith Lawrence 0, Richard Parker 3 James Atkins 0, Paul Boddison 1 Rob Long 3, Dan Humphries 2 Simon Delaney 3, Simon Pritchard 0 Luke Carpenter 3, Neil Christopher Powell 3 Charlie Millard 2, David Evans 3 Kevin Devries 1, Derek Coulson 1 Mark Turley 3, John Cornmell 2 Wesley Cole 3, Martin Riggs 3 Andrew Hammond 0, Neville Quinton 3 Ian Beasley 0, John Breeze 3 Andy Neocleous 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Suzanne Lane 0 Vicky Fairbrother 3, Michele Pritchard 1 Wendy Booth 3, Lorna Wheatley 1 Krystal Gibbins 3, Caroline La-Ffin 2 Louise Bayliss 3, Marie Riggs 3 Jane Smith 2, Katharine McLean 1 Karen Brown 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Mandy Morgan 0 Cath Brennan 3, Samantha Roberts 1 Maria Lock 3, Leanne Quinton 2 Sharon Nyland 3, Julie Griffiths 3 Christine Marsh 2, Kirsty Jenks 1 Tracy Bishop 3, Pam Evans 3 Kirsty Bishop 0.
The ‘B’ games produced a mixed bag of results as the ladies found themselves trailing 3-0 to wins from Cath Brennan, Maria Lock and Sharon Nyland before registering their first winner who came in the shape of Julie Griffiths. Julie was taken the full five legs distance by Christine Marsh before clinching her win, a win that gave her an award winning average of 17.65.
Tracy Bishop (Gloucestershire) was on at number five and her 3-1 success against Kirsty Jenks was the win the put the match beyond Shropshire’s reach as the score then stood at 4-1.
Rounding off the ladies ‘B’ game was Pam Evans for Shropshire who made the result a little more respectable when she accounted for Kirsty Bishop with a straight 3-0 win to give a final score of 4-2 to the visitors.
The men’s ‘B’ were out to protect an unbeaten record, their previous five games producing four wins and a draw and they got off to the perfect start when Phil Austin and Richard Parker each handed out 3-0 defeats to their counterparts Keith Lawrence and James Atkins.
The 2-0 lead was short lived as Gloucestershire’s Rob Long beat Paul Boddison 3-1, Simon Delaney won 3-2 against Dan Humphries and putting the away side 3-2 up was Luke Carpenter with his 3-0 win over Simon Pritchard.
Neil Christopher Powell (Shropshire) levelled the game getting the better of Charlie Millard with a win in the deciding leg of their game. The advantage then swung back in Shropshire’s favour as David Evans recorded a 3-1 win against Kevin Devries.
For the third time in the match the scoreline was levelled, this time it was Gloucestershire’s Mark Turley who took the tally to four each with his 3-1 win over Derek Coulson before his team mate Wesley Cole added his 3-2 win over John Cornmell to give the away team the lead for a second time with only three to play.
Trailing 5-4 the home team needed something special to maintain their undefeated run and something special is what they got as Martin Riggs beat Andrew Hammond 3-0, Neville Quinton laid on a man of the match performance against Ian Beasley to win 3-0 and average 24.24 and making it a hat-trick of 3-0 wins was John Breeze who defeated Andy Neocleous to give his team a 7-5 victory.
Going into Sunday’s games the score stood at 9-9 with both teams still having everything to play for that however quickly changed as the ladies ‘A’ lost their match in the opening four games Vicky Fairbrother won 3-0 against Suzanne Lane, Wendy Booth and Krystal Gibbins both won 3-1 against respective opponents Michele Pritchard and Lorna Wheatley and rounding off a 4-0 lead for Gloucestershire was Louise Bayliss who beat Caroline La-Ffin 3-2.
It was the penultimate game before the home side registered their first winner, Marie Riggs just getting the edge on Jane Smith in a five legs encounter to seal what turned out to be not only a lady of the match award for Marie as she chalked up an 18.09 average but also Shropshire’s solitary win as Katharine McLean lost the final game to Karen Brown 3-1 to give the away side a 5- 1 victory.
The men’s ‘A’ went one down when their Clive Lucking lost by the odd leg to Aaron Dyer, however John Cooper erased Gloucestershire’s lead with a straight 4-0 win against Ben Green and with a further 4-2 win from Dan Astbury over Shaun Hughes the home team were 2-1 up.
Scott Richards (Gloucestershire) levelled the score at 2-2 with a 4-2 win over Eddie Austin, but a second straight 4-0 win for Shropshire, this time from Les Marson against John Raynsford saw the hosts take the lead for a second time.
A close 4-3 win by Chris Jackson at the expense of Glen McGrandle once again tied the match and in the seventh game the visitors took the lead for the first time when Kieran Smith beat Andi Chatter 4-1. Mark Chiswell took the score along to 5-3 in favour of Gloucestershire when he beat Roger Taylor 4-1. Danny James reduced the arrears to 5-4 with a 4-2 win over Joe Griffiths, Danny’s average of 26.03 earning him the match award.
Gloucestershire’s two game buffer was restored in the tenth, a 4-2 win from Ricky Oram over Scott Towers to leave his side requiring just one more win for victory. Mark Jones (Shropshire) won the penultimate tie against Keith Philburn 4-1 but his win only delayed the eventual outcome which was a victory for Gloucestershire as Liam Devries won the last game of the weekend against Antony Stoneman 4-2 to give the away side’s ‘A’ team a 7-5 win and an overall victory of 21-15.
Despite the defeat Shropshire remain in sixth position in the promotional table with 114 points, 20 fewer than their opponents who are third in the table. Shropshire do not have the easiest of run ins as their next two fixtures are away against second in the table Tyne and Wear followed by next to bottom Isle of Wight. They then round off their fixture card with a home tie against Middlesex who are two places and fifteen points above them.
Full Results:Shropshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Clive Lucking 3 Aaron Dyer 4, John Cooper 4 Ben Green 0, Dan Astbury 4 Shaun Hughes 2, Eddie Austin 2 Scott Richards 4, Les Marson 4 John Raynsford 0, Glen McGrandle 3 Chris Jackson 4, Andi Chatter 1 Kieran Smith 4, Roger Taylor 1 Mark Chiswell 4, Danny James 4 Joe Griffiths 2, Scott Towers 2 Ricky Oram 4, Mark Jones 4 Keith Philburn 1, Antony Stoneman 2 Liam Devries 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Phil Austin 3 Keith Lawrence 0, Richard Parker 3 James Atkins 0, Paul Boddison 1 Rob Long 3, Dan Humphries 2 Simon Delaney 3, Simon Pritchard 0 Luke Carpenter 3, Neil Christopher Powell 3 Charlie Millard 2, David Evans 3 Kevin Devries 1, Derek Coulson 1 Mark Turley 3, John Cornmell 2 Wesley Cole 3, Martin Riggs 3 Andrew Hammond 0, Neville Quinton 3 Ian Beasley 0, John Breeze 3 Andy Neocleous 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Suzanne Lane 0 Vicky Fairbrother 3, Michele Pritchard 1 Wendy Booth 3, Lorna Wheatley 1 Krystal Gibbins 3, Caroline La-Ffin 2 Louise Bayliss 3, Marie Riggs 3 Jane Smith 2, Katharine McLean 1 Karen Brown 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Mandy Morgan 0 Cath Brennan 3, Samantha Roberts 1 Maria Lock 3, Leanne Quinton 2 Sharon Nyland 3, Julie Griffiths 3 Christine Marsh 2, Kirsty Jenks 1 Tracy Bishop 3, Pam Evans 3 Kirsty Bishop 0.