Darts News – Alan Towe's The Line On Darts
On the local scene the Bulls Head and Dudley Sports contested the League Cup in the Netherton Thursday Night League the two teams laying on an excellent night of darts which saw Bulls Head come from 3-1 down to go on and lift the trophy with a 4-3 result The league rounded off their season with the Captains Cup, White Swan representative Jason Southall proved to be a worthy winner, he began the night with a 2-1 win over Martin Rowley (Dudley Sports) and followed that with a 2-0 success against Colin Hickman (Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club) to book his final place. Emerging from the other half of the draw was Johnny Green (Fairfield) who had a 2-1 win over Carl Hadlington (White Horse) and then a 2-0 win against Jon Rose (The Widders) before losing 2-1 to Southall in the final.
Mick Gorst rounded off his title winning season in the Shirley Red Lion Premier League with two 3-1 wins over Dave Hesketh and Tony Daly to give him a total of 87 points ten more than runner up Paul Higgins whose final 2-2 draws with Antony Daly and Mark Gwalchmai were enough to clinch the number two spot with an advantage of three points over third placed Steve Sidwell.
The Forest of Arden Winter League staged their singles knockout and from a starting line up of 32 players it was Dan White who lifted the title with a close 2-1 win over Simon Edwards in the final. After both players had won the last eight games 2-0, White against Steve Whatmore and Edwards against A.Plant the two finalists were then taken to a deciding leg in the semi’s as Dan White beat Dale Evans and Simon Edwards won against Laura Vann. [caption id="attachment_17562" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Forest of Arden league singles winner Dan White, treasurer Trevor Edwards (left) and organiser Sue Kingdon (right)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17561" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Forest of Arden league singles runner-up Simon Edwards, treasurer Trevor Edwards (left) and organiser Sue Kingdon (right)[/caption]
The South Birmingham League played off their singles knockout and it was Neil Parsonage winner of many of the Birmingham league knockouts that added yet another title to his never ending list. Parsonage was taken to a deciding leg in the quarter finals by Alan Whitehouse but then booked his place in the final with a 2-0 success over Tony Whitehouse. From the other side of the draw Glen James made his way to the final with 2-1 wins over both Lance Thompson and Dean Young and then took Neil Parsonage to a deciding leg in the final but in the end had to settle for the runners up prize. [caption id="attachment_17775" align="aligncenter" width="300"] South Birmingham League singles winner Neil Parsonage and organiser Sue Kingdon[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17776" align="aligncenter" width="300"] South Birmingham League singles runner up Glen James and organiser Sue Kingdon[/caption]
The Camp Hill League have completed their domestic programme and winning the league with an eight points advantage were Cotterills Lane Club who brought the curtain down with a 5-2 win at Hay Mills Social Club their nearest rivals who finished as runners up with 26 points. Eagle and Ball took third place their 4-3 defeat by New Inn ending any hopes they had of finishing as runners up, and with the same ten points as Eagle and Ball were Holy Gulp who also lost their final game at Emerald Club 4-3. Champions Cotterills Lane Club then added the League Cup title to their honours list with an 8-1 win over Gulp Tribe in the final. The Consolation Cup final saw Hay Mills Social Club gain a narrow 4-3 victory over New Inn to take the title. In the Captains and Secretaries competitions Matthew Cooper representing league champions Cotterills Lane Club took the Captains Cup title after beating Bill Carter from Holy Souls in the final. The secretaries’ knockout title went to Pete Yardley from Hay Mills Social Club Lions with Daniel Lee (Eagle and Ball) the runner up. The doubles knockout saw Sue Kingdon and her partner Simon Edwards, after winning the Forest of Arden Winter League mixed doubles, made it a fantastic double by adding the Camp Hill title to their winning list. In the final Sue and Simon defeated Lorna and Colin Wyatt. Losing semi finalists were Karon Dempsey and Rob Bailey plus Maureen Hannaran and Neil Parsonage.
Winners of the Small Heath League East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association won their final game of the season at Wagon and Horses 5-4 the win seeing them go through the ten games season undefeated. Mitre also ended the campaign on a high as they won 7-2 at Gulp Tribe to see them finish as runners up with 14 points, six behind the champions. Emerald Club took the wooden spoon completing the ten matches without a single win. League champions East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association added the League Cup to their silverware when theybeat Gulp Tribe 8-1 in the final. The End of Season 501 Knockout was won with a clear cut 2-0 result in the final as D.Heighway beat T.White, both players won their quarter final games 2-1, Heighway beating P.Webster and White with a 180 winning against M.Cooper. The last four games saw Heighway booking his final place with a straight 2-0 win over S.Cain while White was taken to a deciding leg by C.Wyatt before winning 2-1.
The Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League played off their Captain and Secretaries Cup and taking the title with a very close 3-2 result were Reece Cook-Lucas and Justin Evans (Gilberts Bar) with Jimmy Handley and Matt Campbell (Riley’s ‘D’) runners up. In the last four games Reece Cook-Lucas and Evans beat Kev Jones and John McHale (Ukrainian Club) while Handley and Campbell accounted for Phil Mayo and Simon Pritchard from Riley’s ‘C’. The final of the league’s Burrell Shield, which was a contest between the top two teams from the two divisions, saw the semi finals produced a local derby between Riley’s ‘A’ and Riley’s ‘C’ in which the ‘A’ team won 4-3 in a very closely fought game. The other semi saw Gilberts Bar win 4-2 against Sunbeam. The final saw Riley’s ‘A’ win by a convincing 4-1 scoreline with Gilberts Bar finishing as runners up.
The Tamworth League’s final stages of their League Cup saw Sports Bar beat Wigginton Arms ‘B’ 6-1 in the semi finals and Globe Inn win 4-2 against Sports Bar ‘180’. Sports Bar repeated their last four result in the final beating Globe Inn 6-1.
The Britannia, Stourbridge Knockout turned out to be a well supported and well organised affair attracting county super league and local league players. The semi finals both finished with a 5-2 result in which Nick Fullwell beat Richard Hosey and Ian Jones accounted for Chris Fox to set up an intriguing final between two West Midlands County team mates. As it was expected the eleven legs final went the full distance, very entertaining and fiercely contested by both players but it was Ian Jones who got the narrow 6-5 verdict plus the winners £250, Fullwell collected £80 as runner up. The losing semi finalist each received £25 and there was £10 for Gavin Smith, Sam Aitkens, Matt Moore and Dan Haden who all made their exits in the quarter finals.
If anyone in the Darlaston, West Midlands area is looking for a venue to host their darts team then look no further than The Cottage Spring in Franchise Street Darlaston where Jed and Richard would be delighted to give your team a new home.
Anyone interested should contact Jed or Richard on 0121-531-7191.
Andy Roberts (Oakengates) and Johnny Haines (Swindon) were successful in the second round qualifier of the Riley’s UK Open at the Riley’s Wolverhampton branch and now go through to the finals to be played at Minehead. The last four play off saw Roberts gain a conclusive 5-1 win over Antony Hayman while Haines was taken to a deciding ninth leg before getting his 5-4 verdict.