Team Knockout Week 5

Report by Olly Nunn

With the Christmas break over, action resumed in what was an important week, as the last group games of the Team Knockout were played.

It was a busy night at the Station Hotel, with both Group A fixtures being played there. In the main room was the Railwaymen versus Swallownest Miners, with a place in the knockouts on offer for the winner. First game of the night went to the visitors, with two holds of throw and a 21 dart break giving Kev Hatfield the win against Geoff Higgs. Station replied with a 3-0 of their own, as Pete Roebuck beat Rich Tingle. Up next was Tim Whiting against Lee McDonald – the first three legs all went with throw, but then the Miners captain found a break with a 21 darter in the fourth to win 3-1. The Swallownest side now had a slim lead, but things were even again after the fourth game, as Gav Pilling beat Kev Allison in straight legs. The Railwaymen then went ahead, as Tom Sawyer beat Tom Tingle, also by three legs to nil, making the score 3-2 to the hosts going into the pairs. However, a win for Whiting and Hatfield versus Pilling and Sawford meant it all hinged on the last game, between Allison and Rich Tingle for Swallownest and Roebuck and Glenn Payne for Station. In the end, it was Roebuck and Payne who held their nerve, producing a 2-0 win that booked the Railwaymen’s place in the semi-finals. A 4-3 scoreline overall, then, and a night that also saw high scoring, with five 180s – one from Whiting and two each from Roebuck and Sawford.

The other game at Station Hotel was the Warriors against the Uni Arms Academicals. The Warriors got off to a good start, with Colin Johnson winning 3-0 against Joe Hopkins while Ian Webster narrowly pipped Jack Lewis in the fifth leg of their game. The Accy D’s replied in the third game, as Jack Newton beat Angie Brittle 3-0, capping off with a 21 darter. The fourth match between Joe Burniston and Paul Brittle was a tense affair that went all the way to a deciding leg. Bounce outs came at the wrong time for the Academicals man, though, and it was Brittle who took the 3-2 win. The Accy D’s got their second win in the last singles, as Olly Nunn beat Barry Brittle 3-1, and their third came in the first pairs game, with Luke Davies and Tom Jepson getting the better of Johnson and Webster 2-1. This set up for the Station Hotel’s second last-game decider of the night, and it would go to the Accy D’s, who completed their comeback with a 2-0 win from Adam Warner and Dan Booth versus Angie and Nicola Brittle. So, the final Group A tie ended 4-3 to the Accy D’s.

Woodbourne was host to the last Group B game, as the Woodbourne Mouses played Thorncliffe’s Finest. The Mouses had already sealed their spot in the semi-finals, but a win was needed for the Thorns if they wanted to reach the last four. It was the home side who got off to a better start thanks to a 3-0 win for Steve Caley, but Dan Ashton kept the Thorns’ hopes alive with another whitewash, and a 180 in the process. Yet the Mouses were in control from there, and wins from Tom Wright (3-1), Scott Willis (3-0), and John Cartledge (3-1) guaranteed them the overall victory before the pairs were played. And in the doubles the hosts added to their tally, with consecutive 2-0 wins for Steve and Jordan Caley and James Thomas and John Cartledge making the final score 6-1. Disappointment for the Thorns, while the Mouses finish the group stage undefeated.

This brings the group stage of the Team Knockout to an end, and confirms that it will be the Raging Bull, Station Railwaymen, Woodbourne Mouses, and Woodbourne Vintage who progress to the semi-finals. The Miners, Accy D’s, Warriors, Thorns, Foxhill, and Understudies will still have a chance to claim a trophy in the Team Plate. But before then, attention will turn back to the league as it resumes next week, with the teams looking to pick up from where they left off in November.