Week 4 Recap

Report by Olly Nunn

This week’s recap starts at the Station Hotel, where the Railwaymen played at home against the Riverside Warriors. Geoff Higgs got Station off to a winning start, beating Ian Webster by 3 legs to 1 in the first game. The second game was less than comfortable for the hosts, as Pete Roebuck and Paul Brittle’s match went all the way to a fifth-leg decider. In the end it was Roebuck who took it to win 3-2, giving the Railwaymen a 2-0 lead. This would soon become 4-0, as Glen Payne and Gav Pilling (who hit 21 and 16 darters and a 180) both won their games for the Station. A walkover for Angie Brittle in the last singles gave the Riverside their sole point of the night, and from there the Railwaymen won both pairs games 2-0 to finish the night with a 6-1 victory.

Some seven miles south, the Swallownest Miners hosted the Uni Arms Academicals. The first game, between the Accy D’s Jack Newton and the Miners’ Ian Gilmartin, went all the way to a fifth leg. After Newton wired (sort of) a 135 checkout, the match ended in a tense double 1 vs double 2 standoff, which Newton took to win 3-2. Two of the next three games then went to the Accy D’s, with Adam Warner winning 3-0 (hitting 21 and 16 darters) and Tom Jepson winning 3-1. This set up the visitors to win the tie in the last singles, as Luke Davies beat Tim Whiting 3-0, with an 18 darter in the second leg. The teams split the pairs between them, with Warner and Jack Lewis taking the first for the Accy D’s and Swallownest beating Joe Burniston and Olly Nunn to take the second. With all games played, the score was 5-2 to the Accy D’s.

The closest tie of the night came between Thorncliffe’s Finest and Foxhill and District A’s. In a mirror of last week, the first four games were split between the two sides, with Ben Cooper and Morgan Mullins winning for Foxhill and Josh Hall and Oliver Perframent winning for the Thorns. Unlike last week, however, it was the Thorns who took the all-important fifth game, with Logan Higgins beating Dale Blackwell in a narrow 3-2 contest. On the brink of their first win, the Thorns did not have to wait long, as Higgins and Dylan Farmer won the first doubles to settle the tie. Cooper and Jack Walker won the second doubles for Foxhill, but the final score was 4-3 overall to the Thorns.

At the Uni Arms, the Understudies were at home against the Raging Bull. Bolstered by new recruits and a fresh approach from acting captain Jack Stoddard, the Understudies were hoping to rebound after last week’s loss. The Raging Bull, though, were in fine form after their maiden win, and 3-1 wins for Liam Kent, Adam Chadwick, and Brian Jones set the visitors off on a good start. Nathan Okeeffe got the Understudies a win on the board, beating Steve Griffiths 3-0, and the hosts nearly made it two in a row, as the game between Patrick Hopkins and Matty Pierce went to a last-leg decider. It was ultimately Pierce who took it 3-2 for the Raging Bull, and the away side clinched two further wins in the pairs. A good day in the office for the Raging Bull, then, who came away with a 6-1 win.

The second leg of the Woodbourne derby began with a win for the Mouses, as Jimmy Haslam beat Vintage's Chris Keane 3-0, with a 20 darter to seal it. Russ Simons made things even, winning the second game (also 3-0) against Glynn Harris. Thereafter, though, the advantage was with the Mouses, as John Cartledge (who hit a 15 darter) and Steve Caley recorded further straight-leg wins, beating Rich Brown and Tom Briggs respectively. The final singles game was between Dave Cliffe for Vintage and James Thomas for the Mouses. Cliffe won the first leg, but Tank responded by taking the next three, finishing with an 18 darter, to win 3-1. This guaranteed the win for the Mouses, but, as with last week, Vintage enjoyed some consolation in the pairs, with wins for Simons and Mick Hulley and Brown and Briggs bringing the overall score from 4-1 to 4-3 at the end of the night.