Snakebite Remains Unbeaten After Narrow Dublin Win
Peter Wright admitted he “got away with it” to remain unbeaten in the Unibet Premier League.
The World No.3 was mean in mohican green in Dublin to come from 3-0 down to win 7-5 against home boy ‘Contender’ Steve Lennon at the 3Arena.
It was a clash of Ireland v Scotland - Lennon and McDartney - and the result was vital for Wright for the long and winding road of the arduous league campaign.
Wright said: “I got away with it. Steve played really well and obviously he can play a lot better than that. He didn’t miss for the first half of the match, didn’t give me a chance.
“He kept starting with a 180 or 140 and then follow with two 60s but he won’t do that in the future. It’s a brilliant experience for Steve. I think I was more nervous than he was!
“He’s played on telly a few times before, he’s pushed and beaten Michael Van Gerwen in the past. This man can play darts and I’m honoured to play him in his home country
The 9,000 fans at the 3Arena gave Lennon a sensational welcome and he didn’t disappoint. The Irishman blitzed Wrighty early doors and was soon 3-0 up.
A turning point was when Lennon missed a dart to increase his lead. Snakebite pounced and hit back to reel off five successive legs to silence the boisterous green army.
Lennon, to his credit, hung in there to force a decider. But Wright kept his cool to hit double 10 for his first win of the league and remain unbeaten.
He said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better reception to be fair. I didn’t expect to get many chances when I was 3-0 up. But I kept missing doubles, I thought about it too much, I should have just relaxed.”
Gerwyn Price also produced a sensational comeback from 5-2 down to grab a gritty draw with classy James Wade.
After a topsy turvy opening, Wade eased into a classy 5-2 lead averaging 102. But somehow Price came roaring back with two breaks of throw and a cracking 88 finish with bullseye to level it up at 5-5.
Price’s grit and determination was once again reward with tops to go in front for the first time and guarantee a point. But a wonderful 129 with double 12 finish saw Wadey grab a point.
The Welshman said: “For me I think it’s a good result, for James probably bad. He should have won that game. I didn’t play well at all but like last week Barney pinched a point off me and I’ve done that this week.
“Last week in Glasgow and then at the weekend in Wigan I played really well. I’m scoring well and sometimes bombing doubles. Tonight I didn’t score at all, one or two doubles went alright for me. I might have played OK but in my head I didn’t do well at all.”
Wade said: “I’ve just spoke to him and he didn’t think he’d played that well. I thought he played really well when it really mattered. I think he’s beat himself up a little bit.
“At the end of the game I nicked a point so I’m quite happy with it. I think he needs to look at it again because he played alright.
“It’s neither here nor there the last leg. Those finishes come easy sometimes, it was one of those. I’m happy just to get a draw.”
Daryl Gurney hit 15 140s to beat Michael Smith 7-5 and has now moved up to second place in the Premier League.
Mighty Michael Van Gerwen’s seemingly relentless march towards another title continued with a comfortable 7-2 win over Rob Cross.
MVG said: “I think my finishing was incredible at the beginning of the game. I wasn’t playing perfect but I think Rob played his worst game out of his three performances in the Premier League so far.
“I needed to take advantage to win 7-0 but I missed two darts at double four and it wasn’t even close.
“Then it gets harder and harder because you just want to get the game over the line, it gets more difficult for yourself.
“You need to have a ruthless mentality otherwise you cannot be in the position I am in. Whoever they are. It’s a one-man game, you need to perform as good as you can. I try to get better all the time. It’s hard because the field is quite strong. But a win is a win.
“I think I will hit a nine-darter in this Premier League. I love playing in front of big crowds and if they support me enough I love to perform. That drives me.”
Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld came from 5-1 to draw 6-6 with Mensur Suljovic.
RVB said: “I thought I was 5-1 down and my last time in Dublin so fight and give it all back. I never felt comfortable tonight apart from the crowd support.
“The crowd reception is amazing every week, they love the Barney Army. I want to give them more. Last week and tonight I was lucky again. I should have lost both weeks.
“I know I can do better, I’m battling every single week. I want to give the fans the old Barney back.
“The motivation is there. I cannot play darts without motivation from the fans.”
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)
Gerwyn Price also produced a sensational comeback from 5-2 down to grab a gritty draw with classy James Wade.
After a topsy turvy opening, Wade eased into a classy 5-2 lead averaging 102. But somehow Price came roaring back with two breaks of throw and a cracking 88 finish with bullseye to level it up at 5-5.
Price’s grit and determination was once again reward with tops to go in front for the first time and guarantee a point. But a wonderful 129 with double 12 finish saw Wadey grab a point.
The Welshman said: “For me I think it’s a good result, for James probably bad. He should have won that game. I didn’t play well at all but like last week Barney pinched a point off me and I’ve done that this week.
“Last week in Glasgow and then at the weekend in Wigan I played really well. I’m scoring well and sometimes bombing doubles. Tonight I didn’t score at all, one or two doubles went alright for me. I might have played OK but in my head I didn’t do well at all.”
Wade said: “I’ve just spoke to him and he didn’t think he’d played that well. I thought he played really well when it really mattered. I think he’s beat himself up a little bit.
“At the end of the game I nicked a point so I’m quite happy with it. I think he needs to look at it again because he played alright.
“It’s neither here nor there the last leg. Those finishes come easy sometimes, it was one of those. I’m happy just to get a draw.”
Daryl Gurney hit 15 140s to beat Michael Smith 7-5 and has now moved up to second place in the Premier League.
Mighty Michael Van Gerwen’s seemingly relentless march towards another title continued with a comfortable 7-2 win over Rob Cross.
MVG said: “I think my finishing was incredible at the beginning of the game. I wasn’t playing perfect but I think Rob played his worst game out of his three performances in the Premier League so far.
“I needed to take advantage to win 7-0 but I missed two darts at double four and it wasn’t even close.
“Then it gets harder and harder because you just want to get the game over the line, it gets more difficult for yourself.
“You need to have a ruthless mentality otherwise you cannot be in the position I am in. Whoever they are. It’s a one-man game, you need to perform as good as you can. I try to get better all the time. It’s hard because the field is quite strong. But a win is a win.
“I think I will hit a nine-darter in this Premier League. I love playing in front of big crowds and if they support me enough I love to perform. That drives me.”
Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld came from 5-1 to draw 6-6 with Mensur Suljovic.
RVB said: “I thought I was 5-1 down and my last time in Dublin so fight and give it all back. I never felt comfortable tonight apart from the crowd support.
“The crowd reception is amazing every week, they love the Barney Army. I want to give them more. Last week and tonight I was lucky again. I should have lost both weeks.
“I know I can do better, I’m battling every single week. I want to give the fans the old Barney back.
“The motivation is there. I cannot play darts without motivation from the fans.”
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)