Week 10 Report

Report by Olly Nunn

The recap of week ten starts at the Riverside, where the hosts were up against the Woodbourne Mouses. In the first game, the Warriors’ Ian Webster got off to a good start, taking the first two legs, and while the Mouses’ Jordan Caley took one back in the third, Webster was able to finish things off in the fourth to win 3-1. The Mouses responded, though, taking the next three games, with comfortable 3-0 wins for Glynn Harris against Colin Johnson and John Cartledge against Angie Brittle and a closer 3-2 win for Tom Wright versus Barry Brittle. The fifth singles was between the two captains, James Thomas and Paul Brittle. Tank started well, going 1-0 up, but Brittle then reeled off two legs to take the lead. Taking the fourth leg, Tank forced a decider, but it would be Brittle who won out 3-2. Although denied an early win, the Mouses were able to clean up in the pairs, winning the two doubles games 2-0 and 2-1 to end the night 5-2.

Elsewhere, Foxhill and District As were at home versus the Uni Arms Understudies. The match between the Understudies’ Tom Graham and Foxhill’s Morgan Mullins was decided in the fifth leg, as Graham held his nerve to win 3-2 and put the visitors ahead. But the hosts rebounded, with Dale Blackwell and Ben Cooper (who hit a 180) both winning 3-0, against Nathan Okeeffe and Damien Reed. Patrick Hopkins then gave the Understudies’ their own straight-legs victory as he beat Jack Walker. In the final singles, Jack Quinn got an important 3-1 win for the visitors versus Martin Bridge, hitting a 180 and a 19 dart leg along the way. Much like last week, a win for Foxhill in the first pairs, with Cooper and Karl Howden beating Jack Stoddard and Elliot Hopkins 2-0, meant that the tie would come down to the last game. This Thursday, however, it was the Understudies who came out on top, with Quinn and Patrick Hopkins’ 2-0 win against Blackwell and Mullins giving them their second win of the season. “It was a team performance, everyone put in a shift”, was what Captain Stoddard had to say of the Understudies’ efforts.

In the tie between Thorncliffe’s Finest and the Swallownest Miners, it was the Miners who started with a win. Tim Whiting and Jack Pink shared the first two legs between them, but from there Whiting kicked on to win 3-1. Oliver Parfrement put the Thorns back on level terms as he beat Matt Spank in the second game 3-0, only for the Miners to edge ahead again as Tom Tingle saw off Logan Higgins 3-1. Dan Ashton then gave the Thorns their second straight-legs win of the night versus Kev Allison, meaning the fifth game would be key in deciding who would go into the pairs with an advantage. And it would prove to be a close encounter, as the Thorns’ Dylan Farmer and the Miners’ Kev Hatfield traded legs until they reached the decider. Ultimately, it was Hatfield who won out to clinch a 3-2 for the Miners. The Swallownest side now needed only one more win for the overall, but the Thorns ensured it would come down to the final match as Ashton and Higgins beat Whiting and Spank 2-0 in the first pairs. In the second pairs, Hatfield and Tingle got the Miners over the line, with a 2-0 win over Parfrement and Farmer to bring the final score to 4-3 to Swallownest.

At the Uni Arms, the Academicals faced off against Station Railwaymen. Up first was Geoff Higgs for Station and Olly Nunn for the Accy D’s, and although Nunn took the first leg, Higgs then reeled off three on the bounce (with 19 and 20 darters) to win 3-1. Second was Pete Roebuck for Station against Jack Newton for the Accy D’s. Roebuck broke throw to take the first, but Newton responded, breaking back with a 118 checkout. From there, however, Roebuck pushed on to win 3-1, with an 18 darter in the final leg. The Accy D’s got a win on the board in the third game, as Luke Davies beat Lee MacDonald 3-0, although in the fourth game Gav Pilling produced a win by the same margin against Tom Jepson to put the Railwaymen 3-1 up. The final singles game was the anticipated rematch between the Accy D’s Adam Warner and Station’s Ryan Goffin. Warner began with a 17 darter before taking the next leg to go 2-0 up. Goffin won the third, before Warner produced a 16 darter to seal the match 3-1. In the first doubles, the Accy D’s pairing of Warner and Jack Lewis took the first leg and had a match dart, but Station’s Goffin and Higgs came back to win 2-1 and guarantee an overall win for the Railwaymen. And the visitors signed off with a 2-0 win in the last pairs, with Pilling and Roebuck beating Lewis Forrest and Joe Hopkins, making the final score 5-2 to Station.

Our recap ends at the Woodbourne, where Vintage were against the Raging Bull. Having won 7-0 last week, the visitors started where they left off, as Liam Kent beat Chris Keane 3-0 and Mark Thomson, who had a successful night with a 19 darter and two 180s, secured a 3-1 win in the second game. Vintage’s Dave Cliffe won the first two legs in the third game, but Raging Bull’s Adam Chadwick fought back, taking three on the spin to win 3-2. This meant Bri Jones could guarantee the win for the Raging Bull in his game against Russ Simons, and he did just that, with 18 and 16 darters on the way to a 3-0 victory. The fifth singles was between Rich Brown for Vintage and Matty Pierce for the Raging Bull. Brown won the first two legs, only for Pierce to take the third. Yet Brown fired in a 20 dart leg to end the match 3-1, giving Vintage their first win of the night. The two sides then split the pairs between them, as Thomson and Jones beat Simons and Mick Hulley 2-0 and Brown and Cliffe won by the same margin versus Steve Griffiths and Jason Marsh.

This made the final score 5-2 to Raging Bull, a win that keeps them second in the table with 46 points. Either side of them are the Railwaymen in first with 58 and the Mouses with 42. The Accy D’s are in fourth, followed by Foxhill in fifth, the Miners in sixth, Vintage in seventh, and the Thorns in eighth. Their second win of the season has put the Understudies up to ninth, while the Warriors round out the table in tenth.

Week 9 Report

Report by Olly Nunn

Going into week nine, only two teams were undefeated so far in the season – Station Railwaymen in first and the Uni Arms Academicals in second. This would change on Thursday, however, as the two met in a top of the table clash. And it was the Railwaymen, playing at home, who were in charge from the outset. 20 and 19 darters helped Geoff Higgs to a 3-0 win over the Accy D’s Tom Jepson, and Pete Roebuck doubled the hosts’ advantage, beating Luke Davies 3-1 in the second game. Gav Pilling made it three from three as he beat Olly Nunn 3-1, and then Glenn Payne secured the win for Station in a closely fought game against Jack Lewis that went all the way to a deciding leg. Adam Warner got a win on the sheet for the Accy D’s in the final singles game, as he produced a fine display with 21, 20, and 13 darters to beat Ryan Goffin 3-0. It was back to winning ways for Station in the doubles, though, as Roebuck and Higgs beat Davies and Jack Newton and Pilling and Goffin beat Warner and Joe Burniston to bring the overall result to 6-1 for the Railwaymen.

Thorncliffe’s Finest made the trip to Swallownest this week to play the Miners. Both the Miners and the Thorns were coming into the tie off of back-to-back wins in their previous fixtures, yet it was the Swallownest side who got off to the better start. Kev Hatfield, Tim Whiting, and Kev Allison all took wins for the Miners, beating Dylan Farmer, Josh Hall, and Logan Higgins by 3-1, 3-0, and 3-1 respectively. The Thorns, however, were able to keep the tie alive going into the pairs, as Oliver Parfrement took a 3-0 victory against Matt Spank and Dan Ashton came from a leg down to beat Rich Tingle 3-1. In the first pairs, Whiting and Hatfield took leg one against Higgins and Ashton, putting them on away from sealing the tie. Higgins and Ashton took the second leg to keep the Thorns’ hopes alive, but the Miners duo held their nerve and took the third to win 2-1, guaranteeing the Swallownest side’s victory. In the second pairs, Allison and Tingle beat Parfrement and Hall 2-0, giving the Miners’ their fifth win of the night to the Thorns’ two.

Woodbourne Vintage were away against the Raging Bull, and the tie began with a high-quality match between Mark Thomson and Trevor Burkhill. Vintage’s Burkhill began with an 18 darter, to which the Raging Bull’s Thomson responded with a 17 darter. In the third leg, Burkhill had a 17 of his own, but Thomson forced a decider with an 18. And in the last leg Thomson was able to edge out to win 3-2. Following this was a 3-1 for Adam Chadwick against Rich Brown, giving the Raging Bull their second win of the night. In the third singles there was another close game, as the Bull’s Steve Griffiths survived a comeback from Vintage’s Dave Cliffe to take the match 3-2. Up next was Matty Pierce versus Chris Keane, and after splitting the first two legs, Pierce fired in 20 and 21 darters to win 3-1 and clinch the overall win for the Raging Bull. Short on players, Vintage had to concede the last singles and a doubles game, meaning Thomson and Pierce’s 2-1 win over Brown and Cliffe ensured a 7-0 victory for the home side.

At home against Foxhill and District As, the Uni Arms Understudies came close to their second win of the season this week. Jack Walker and Ben Cooper (who hit 20 and 18 darters) put the visitors two up, with 3-1 and 3-0 wins against Patrick Hopkins and Elliot Hopkins. Yet the host rebounded, with wins from Nathan Okeeffe (who hit a 180 in his game against Dale Blackwell), Cory Van Tongeren (who came from 2-0 down to beat Morgan Mullins in the decider), and Jack Quinn (against Martin Bridge). With the scoreline 3-2 to the Understudies going into the doubles, Foxhill replied with a win for the pairing of Cooper and Karl Howden against Adam Butcher and Damien Reed, meaning things would come down to the last game. And although Quinn and Okeeffe won the first leg to go one away, ultimately the Foxhill duo of Walker and Martin Schimeld took two legs in reply, securing the match and a hard-fought 4-3 win overall for the visitors.

Finally, at the Woodbourne, the Mouses were against the Riverside Warriors, and it was relatively plain sailing for the hosts in the singles. Only dropping three legs over the course of the five games, there were wins for Glynn Harris, Jordan Caley, Jimmy Haslam, Tom Wright, and John Cartledge, against Colin Johnson, Ian Webster, Angie Brittle, Barry Brittle, and Paul Brittle. Along the way the Mouses also produced moments of quality, including a 20 darter and 110 checkout from Harris and a 16 darter and 180 from Haslam. The Warriors ensured they would not be going home empty-handed as Johnson and Webster won the first pairs 2-0 against Steve and Jordan Caley, although the Mouses made the score 6-1 overall as Haslam and Wright secured a 2-0 victory against Angie and Nicola Brittle in the final pairs.

So, after their strong performance this week, the Mouses are back up to third in the league table with 37 points. After their defeat to Station, the Accy D’s have dropped down to fourth with 36 points, while the Raging Bull reached second with 41 points. In fifth is Foxhill, followed by the Miners, Vintage, Thorns, Warriors, and Understudies. Now with wins over all other top four teams, the Railwaymen are eleven points clear of the field, on 53, putting them in a strong position as we head into week ten.

Week 8 Recap

Report by Olly Nunn

Week eight began a day early as the Riverside Warriors played their home game against the Swallownest Miners on Wednesday. It was the visitors who got off to the better start, with wins for Matt Spank against Ian Webster, Kev Hatfield (whose 3-0 win featured a 21 darter and two 180s) against Colin Johnson, Kev Allison against Angie Brittle, and Tim Whiting against Barry Brittle. This ensured the Miners had the tie secured with a game to spare. Paul Brittle was able to get one back for the Riverside with a win over Ian Gilmartin in the fifth singles, but in the doubles the Miners added to their tally with victories for the pairings of Hatfield and Tom Tingle and Sam Weston and Rich Tingle. So, at the end of the night, the Miners had their second win of the season, by a margin of 6-1.

Moving on to Thursday’s action, perhaps the biggest surprise came from the Raging Bull, who hosted the Woodbourne Mouses. Liam Kent got the Raging Bull on the sheet with a 3-1 win, featuring a 19 darter, against Steve Caley, and Mark Thomson doubled the hosts’ advantage, beating Tom Wright 3-0, with 19 and 21 darters along the way. Glynn Harris won 3-1 for the Mouses in the third game, against Adam Chadwick, with a 19 darter to seal it. The visitors’ hopes were still alive, then, going into the fourth game, but a close 3-2 win for the Raging Bull’s Bri Jones against the Mouses’ John Cartledge put the hosts one away. And it was the Bull’s captain, Matty Pierce, who clinched the win, beating James Thomas 3-1 in a game where all legs were won with 21 darts or less (a 20 darter for Tank and 17, 21, and 19 darters for Pierce). Two further wins for the Raging Bull in the pairs, by Jones and Kent and Pierce and Thomson, brought the tie to a close with a scoreline of 6-1 to the home side. As well as the low-dart legs, the tie also saw a 108 checkout from Thomson and a 180 from Cartledge, so overall it was a high-quality night at Aughton.

After a closely-fought 4-3 match last week, Thorncliffe’s Finest were quicker to start against the Uni Arms Understudies in the reverse fixture, with 3-1 wins for Josh Hall and Dan Ashton against Elliot Hopkins and Damien Reed, and a close 3-2 win for Lewis Wroe against Cory Van Tongeren. Two 3-0 victories for the Understudies, courtesy of Nathan Okeeffe and Jack Quinn, meant the tie was still to be won going into the pairs. Yet it was here that the Thorns pressed on, with a 2-0 win for Ashton and Logan Higgins over Quinn and Van Tongeren guaranteeing them their third win of the season. The final pairs also went to the Thorns, with Oliver Parfrement and Hall seeing off Jack Stoddard and Adam Butcher (who hit a 171), bringing the home side’s win tally to 5 against the Understudies’ 2.

In the Uni Arms Academicals’ home game against Foxhill and District As, Adam Warner got the Accy D’s off with 18, 15, and 20 darters to beat Ben Cooper 3-1. Luke Davies and Jack Lewis then took 3-0 and 3-1 wins for the Accy D’s against Martin Schimeld and Martin Bridge, although Foxhill stopped the rot as Jack Walker saw off Jack Newton in a close 3-2 game. Tom Jepson arguably put in the performance of the night, overcoming a wrist injury to beat Foxhill’s Dale Blackwell 3-0, sealing the win for the Accy D’s with a 21 darter and 106 checkout. In the pairs, wins for Cooper and Karl Howden, against Warner and Joe Hopkins, and Walker and Morgan Mullins, against Joe Burniston and Olly Nunn, meant that Foxhill went home on a high. It also ensured a repeat of last week’s score, 4-3 to the Accy D’s.

Finally, at the Woodbourne, it was Vintage against Station Railwaymen. The Railwaymen kicked off with two 3-0 wins, first from Geoff Higgs against Chris Keane and then from Pete Roebuck against Rich Brown. Vintage then secured a straight-legs victory of their own in the third game, as Dave Cliffe beat Lee MacDonald, with a 19 darter in the second leg. Yet a strong performance from Ryan Goffin, with two 17 darters and a 21 darter to see off Mick Hulley 3-0 put the Railwaymen in the ascendancy, and Gav Pilling secured the win for the away side, beating Russ Simons 3-1 in the last singles. Two close pairs games followed, with Higgs and Goffin taking the first 2-1 versus Cliffe and Simons and Roebuck and Pilling winning the second by the same scoreline against Hulley and Brown. 6-1 to the Railwaymen, and another impressive display by the defending champions.

Finishing with a look at the table, the climbers this week are the Miners, as the team’s upturn in results has put them up to seventh, and the Raging Bull, who have regained third. The Railwaymen and Accy D’s are still first and second, while four points separate the Woodbourne teams, with the Mouses in fourth and Vintage in fifth. Around the Miners are Foxhill in sixth and the Thorns in seventh, followed by the Riverside and the Understudies. Such is the state of play going into week nine.