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.