Nine of the fixtures were played and I’ll do my best to do a quick match summary of each based on the stats provided. The game between The Bent Brook and Broadheath Central was rearranged due to the home oche of the league newcomers Bent Brook being, rather like Luton Town in the Premier League, not quite up to the requirements of the league just yet. Hopefully, some lighting and a raised oche will do the trick.
I’ll do the summary in the order that the games are listed in the KO Cup section on the main menu of southmanchesterdarts.com so there’s no favouritism here on who gets reviewed first. Don’t forget in the KO Cup section you can see all the stats for all the games, where provided.
Cringlewood A 4 – 3 St Antony’s
We start with a close game between Division 1’s Cringlewood A, the current holders of the SMD Shield (they won the Ann Millington Shield, but it’s the Dave Yates Shield this year – which isn’t at all confusing), and Division two’s St Antony’s, with the Cringlewood A coming out on top with a 4-3 win.
Rob Lauder, Mike Morrison and Ray Levesconte got the Cringlewood A off to a storming start winning the first three games without losing a leg. Carl Paton of St Antony’s managed to pull one back, hitting four tons during a 2-1 win over Luke Mulhern, but the Cringlewood sealed the match with a 2-1 win for Alex Martin against Shaun Gill ensuring that the Shield holders won’t be defending this year but can look at having a run for the main trophy. St Antony’s did improve the scoreline, winning the final two games 2-0, Gary Molloy beating Hayley Mulhern, and Dominic Batty overcoming Phil Lauder (good to see your name on the team sheet Phil).
Bulls Head (Hale Barns) 2 – 5 Wythenshawe CSC
I’d like to play against the Bulls Head Hale Barns, since because it’s Hale Barns, it makes me think the post-match food would be lobster thermidor or something like that… however on to the game.
Bulls Head, from the Kenny Tong League (Division 3 on this website) found themselves up against it, playing one of the strongest teams in SMD Division 1, Pep’s (not that one) Wythenshawe Cricket and Sports Club.
The first three games were ominous, with consecutive 2-0 wins for Mandy Smith, John Brown, and Paul McCreevey, with Mandy showing her class by hitting a maximum, a 106 checkout, a 15 darter, and finishing with an overall average of 85.8. Chris Cordingley stopped the rot by turning off the Power (expect more of this Martin!) with a 2-1 win in game four. Pep (not that one… ok that’s the last time) took out Steve Hazelhurst 2-1 to win the game for the Division 1 side. Kian Sherlock made it five with a 2-0 win over Rob Barber, though Alex Rydstrom made the final score a little more palatable for the Hale Barns side with a 2-0 win in the final game against Liam Grundy.
Urmston SC 1 – 6 John Alker
Urmston SC were promoted to Division 2 this season after a cracking first season in the league saw them finish second in Div 3 (as The Garricks Head). The John Alker meanwhile had finished comfortably mid-table in Division 1 to prove their place in the top flight was well-deserved following a promotion of their own a season before.
Looks like the Alker didn’t really let their opponents get into the game, with five consecutive wins quickly wrapping up the cup tie. Mike Nolan won 2-0 against Jim Higginson, Gary Thompson had a 2-1 win over Michelle Fitton with a 17 dart leg along the way, Ewan Donegan then hit a 180 during a 2-1 win over Mark Stomper (in what looks on paper a close game) before Barry Rowland sealed it for the Alker with a 2-0 win over Dylan Bell. John Greaves then showed his class with a 71.57 average against Dave Tong to win 2-0 and make it 5-0 overall. Lee Capper finally pulled one back for Urmston with a 2-0 win over Chris Wormald – averages suggesting double trouble for both. Gary Brickhill finished the job for his side, winning 2-1 against Mike King and making the final score a resounding 6-1 win for the Alker.
Malt Shovels 0 – 7 Ammies Darts
Well… it was a hiding to nothing (literally) for the Division Three side against the team that has been, in recent years, consistently the best performer in the South Manchester Darts League. When playing the current league champions and current holders of the SMD KO Cup, there is no shame in being whitewashed (many teams have experienced this, or something close). Especially when you only have 6 players on the night (Granted the seventh would have had the pleasure of playing individuals champion Adam Watson).
I won’t drag this one out – it was a comfortable 7-0 win for the Ammies, with a maximum and a 17 dart leg for their captain Paul Devine, with James Gold of the Malt Shovels winning the only leg for his team on the night in 22 darts.
Silver Birch 5 – 2 LMRCA
Newcomers to Div 2, the Silver Birch (formerly Royal Oak B) beat LMRCA 5-2.
The Nelson 3 – 4 Timperley Conservative Club
The tie of the round on paper, with two top division teams facing off, gave us a predicably close game resulting in a 4-3 win, in favour of the recruitment-heavy Timperley Conservative Club.
The game kicked off with last seasons ‘most 180’s’ winner Dylan Wimbury of the Nelson winning 2-0 against new Timperley signing Chris Stone. Dylan continuing his good form with an 18 darter, and a 115 finish. Pete Evans then made it 2-0, rolling back the years with a 2-1 win over Ian McCulloch which featured a superb 14 dart leg and a clinical 129 finish, ending up with a creditable 76.98 average. Makka could feel aggrieved with 6 tons and a 71.77 average of his own. Connor McCorkell won’t care about the averages, getting his first win for Timperley at the first attempt with a 2-0 against Mick Cooney. Next came the Haaland-style signing of the summer, Callum Loose, who then did what he does, taking out Tony Green 2-1 although with a rather under-par (for him) 71.18 average. Kev Kelly and Andy Brownhill both had 2-0 wins to wrap it up for Timperley, while Ant Hargreaves Sr had a consolation 2-0 win to make the final score 4-3 to Timperley CC.
Wythenshawe FC 1 – 6 The Melville
Lee Billington got Wythenshawe FC off to a great start with a 2-0 win against Sam Mackintosh, although that was as good as it got. The new-to-the-league Melville Hotel stepped it up a notch to win the following six games for the loss of only three legs. Jon Powell of the Melville the standout performer, with 20 and 21 dart legs, an 86 finish, and an overall average of 73.2. Cam McFarlane of the Melville got the highest checkout of the night in game 6, hitting a 96 finish on the way to a 2-0 win. I can’t really say more than this, however when several players have their least darts listed as “lots” I’m guessing there’s been some double trouble for a few!
Stretfordians 0 – 7 Roebuck
Newly promoted to Division 1, The Roebuck got their Winter 23/24 season off to a flier in the Cup with a shutout against Stretfordians. A Seven-nil win, with every game won 2-0. Ouch.
Excelsior WMC 3 – 4 Old Market Tavern
After a painful season involving relegation from Division 2 (previously known as Kenny Tong Div 1), the excel came up against one of their new Division 3 rivals Old Market Tavern. OMT seem to be the Chelsea of the SMD darts league, with a staggering 18 players signed on and, even more impressively, a third of these from the Haycocks clan. However back to the game. Angela Haycocks got the game underway with a 2-1 win over Luke Ellison, Richard Haycocks beat Andy Cheetham 2-0, before Peter Sage got the excel underway by beating Amanda Hayocks 2-0. The OMT, not wanting to appear biased, then sent out some different surnames, with Steven Foster beating Georgio Corbett 2-0 and Ian Fensome winning the tie for the Haycock Tavern with a 2-1 victory against Warren McCoubrey. In what seems a recurring theme in a few games, once the tie was over, the Excel then made the scoreline a lot closer with a couple of two-nil wins – Hannah Tague over Emily Haycocks, and Adam Richardson beating Sally Corfield in the last game of the night.
So all in all, it’s good to have the new season underway. The last 16 of the KO Cup will involve a new draw and will see the addition of the teams who had a bye in the first round. The fifteen teams in the hat so far are: Cringlewood A, Wythenshawe CSC, The John Alker, Ammies Darts, The Silver Birch, Timperley CC, The Melville, The Roebuck, The Old Market Tavern, The Victoria, Cringlewood B, Trafford Social, Royal Oak, Carters Arms and Ashton-on-Mersey CC, these will be joined by the winner of the rearranged game between The Bent Brook and Broadheath Central.
This report took a shit-ton more time than I expected, but I’ll try and do a roundup every week. Registered users should be able to post comments, but if anyone is having trouble with this, or with any other aspect of the site – please let me know.
4 responses
That’s fantastic. Thanks for spending the time to do that ??
Cheers Jon!
Love this well done foggy ?
foggy your the best mate this is awsome nice one