Week 16 Report

Report by Olly Nunn

Apologies for a lack of reports recently, I was ill for a lot of last week so couldn’t get round to doing one. But I’m back on it now, and without further ado here’s the recap of last week’s league action!

With South Yorkshire struck by heavy snow, Week 16 was disrupted, and Woodbourne Mouses vs. Uni Arms Understudies was cancelled altogether. The other fixtures did go ahead, with the teams bracing the elements to get to their different pubs for the 8pm kick-off.

It was relatively easy for the Raging Bull to get down the road to Swallownest Miners, and their fixture started with Rich Tingle versus Liam Kent. It would be a close one, as the two traded legs (Kent hitting a 17 darter in the third) all the way to the fifth, won by Kent to make it 1-0 to the Bulls. The game between Mark Thompson (Raging Bull) and Kev Allison (Miners) started with two breaks of throw, before Thompson won the next two to win 3-1 and double the Bulls’ lead. Things could’ve got away from the Miners at this point, but a straight legs win from Kev Hatfield against Adam Chadwick got them back within one. And the hosts almost made it level in the fourth game, as Tim Whiting forced Bri Jones to the second fifth-leg decider of the night. In the end though it was Jones who won out, winning it 3-2 to move the Bulls clear again. That lead then became a winning one in the last singles, as a 3-0 win for Matty Pierce gave Raging Bull the overall. The away team then added two more wins in the pairs, with Jones and Kent beating Tingle and Micky Pierce 2-0 and Thompson and Matty Pierce edging out Allison and Hatfield 2-1. So, it was Raging Bull who won the Aughton-Swallownest derby 6-1.

After a lack of players meant they had to forfeit last week’s game, Woodbourne Vintage were looking to bounce back as they hosted Thorncliffe’s Finest. They made a strong start, with Pat Meeson taking a convincing 3-0 win against Oliver Parfrement. The second game had quality and tension, as Russ Simons and Dylan Farmer fought it out to a decider, with low dart legs from both along the way. Simons, who also hit a 110 checkout, would ultimately win out to put the hosts in front. Josh Hall got the better start against Chris Keane, holding and then breaking throw to go one away from the match. A 19 darter from Keane in leg three kept the game alive, but Hall then took leg four to win 3-1 and get the Thorns a point on the board. Onto the fourth game, and it was an impressive result for Mick Hulley, who’s 3-1 victory versus Dan Ashton started and ended with 13 darters. This set up Will Lavery to guarantee the tie for Vintage in the fifth game, with a straight legs win against Lewis Wroe making it 4-1 overall. Hulley and Simons then made it five for Vintage in the first pairs, but Parfrement and Hall gave the Thorns their second win of the night as they took the last game. So, 5-2 to Vintage was the final score, and a good recovery after the disappointment of not being able to play the week before.

One of the Thorns’ rivals in the league table, Foxhill and District As, were away at league leaders Station Railwaymen. Pete Roebuck began the night with an immediate break of throw against Martin Bridge, which was then followed by a hold and a 21 darter to give Station a 3-0 win. Foxhill had a better start to the second game, as Martin Schimelds broke Geoff Higgs’ throw. But Higgs would then break back, followed by a 20 darter which set him up to win 3-1 in leg four. Things didn’t get better for the visitors in the third game, where a whitewash win for Ryan Goffin put the Railwaymen 3-0 up. And another 3-0, to make it 4-0 in total, came in game four, as Gav Pilling saw off Jack Walker, with the Station captain hitting a 16 darter in leg two. The defending champions were now on for a clean sweap of the singles, and Tom Sawford gave them just that as he beat Dale Blackwell in straight legs. In the pairs, Roebuck and Higgs beat Walker and Blackwell 2-0 to make it six from six, and Pilling and Sawford beat Bridge and Schimelds by the same score to make it seven from seven. Therefore, on a day when most trains were stuck, it was still full steam ahead for Station Railwaymen.

Also at Station Hotel this week was Warriors versus Uni Arms Academicals. Colin Johnson (Warriors) and Jack Newton (Accy D’s) got the tie underway, and although Johnson took the first leg, Newton would reel off the next three to win 3-1. Up next were Tom Jepson and Angie Brittle, and the Accy D’s man went break-hold-break to take the match 3-0. Another Accy D’s whitewash followed in game three, with Joe Hopkins seeing off Ian Webster. Barry Brittle kept the fixture alive by getting one back for the Warriors in the fourth game, winning 3-1 against Joe Burniston. But the overall win for the Accy D’s came soon after, as Adam Warner stepped up with a hold, followed by a 17 darter and a 20 darter to beat Paul Brittle 3-0. Moving onto the doubles games, Newton and Jepson dropped the first leg to Barry Brittle and Johnson before taking the next two to win 2-1, and Luke Davies and Hopkins secured a comfortable 2-0 victory in the last game against Paul Brittle and Webster. At the end of the night, then, it was 6-1 to the Accy D’s, and the Uni Lads would get another win as the trams were still running, meaning they could get back to Sheffield.

This brings the recap of Week 16 to a close, and the table now looks like this:

- Station Railwaymen: 96

- Raging Bull: 82

- Woodbourne Mouses: 68

- Uni Arms Academicals: 64

- Swallownest Miners: 55

- Woodbourne Vintage: 49

- Foxhill and District As: 41

- Thorncliffe's Finest: 41

- Riverside Warriors: 29

- Uni Arms Understudies: 28

The Railwaymen have the title secured, but there is still a lot to play for. With places still up for grabs, the teams will be looking to end on a high in the last two weeks of fixtures.