Division 1
There was no fixture for last weeks leaders St Johns due to Wythenshawe CSC’s recent withdrawl from the league, and the Ammies took full advantage with a comprehensive 7-0 defeat of strugglers Broadheath Central to send themselves back to the top of the table, eight points clear with just three fixtures left to play.
While that would normally look like an Ammies title done and dusted again, this season is shaping up differently, and since St John’s now have a game in hand – with four games of their own left to play – they still have it in their own hands to be the first team to beat the Ammies to the Division 1 title since The Jolly Butcher were back-to-back double winners way back in the 2017 & 2017-18 seasons. (And what a team we had….).
Third placed Timperley’s 4-3 defeat at the hands of Cup Finalists Victoria Withington hasnt quite ended their chances of the title, but it’s certainly made things a lot more difficult, and they would now need an almost perfect end to the season while relying on slip-ups from the top two if they are to have any chance of top place.
In the week’s other fixtures, Victoria Burnage’s 6-1 win against Brooklands Tap sees them now mathematically safe from relegation, while the John Alker consolidate fourth place with a narrow win against Cringlewood.
Broadheath Central 0 vs 7 Ammies Darts
The Ammies bounced back from consecutive 5-2 league defeats at the hands of Timperely and St Johns to jump back to the top of the table with a 7-0 mauling of seemingly relegation-bound Broadheath Central.
Paul Devine gave the Champions an early lead with a 3-1 win against Lee Darcey, but in game 2 Broadheath were unlucky not to pull level after a fine performance from Brandon Lawley saw him hit a 74.84 average, 10 ton plus scores, a 15 darter and a 110 finish…. but unfortunately for him he was facing serial winner Adam Watson, who came out on top in a last leg decider to put the Ammies 2-0 up. Another close game in the third saw another deciding leg win for the Ammies courtesy of Mike Morrison to make it 3-0, and after Pete Watson won game four, the match was decided. The remaining games were a bit of a procession as Scott Livingstone made it five with a 3-0 defeat of JonJo Devon, Kyle Bell hit his sixth 180 of ther season while beating Dan Cross, and Karl Cooper claimed a 3-0 win against Leyton Jackson to complete the 7-0 rout.
John Alker 4 vs 3 Cringlewood
The Alker secured a fourth league win on the trot to remain fourth in the table, while the three points gained for the Cringlewood sees them consolidate eighth place with two games to go.
Rob Lauder put the Cringlewood one up with a a 3-1 defeat of Chris Wormald, before wins for Gary Thompson, Gaz Brickhill and Ewan Donegan put the Alker intro a commanding 3-1 lead. A deciding leg win for Cringlewood’s Alex Martin reduced the scoreline to 3-2, but the Alker soon claimed the bonus points after a 3-0 John Hawken win in game six. The final game saw time for a Cringlewood consolation point as Ray Levesconte grabbed a 3-0 win over Mike Westlake.
Victoria Burnage 6 vs 1 Brooklands Tap
Sixth placed Victoria Burnage got back to winning ways with a 6-1 home win over seventh placed Brooklands Tap, a win which secures their place in Division 1 for another season. To be fair to the Vic they still have the two games in hand on the rest of the division that they have held for the majority of the season – through no fault of their own – so their position has been a bit false throughout. Brooklands themselves are also pretty much safe, 20 points clear of Broadheath with a game in hand on them, and with Broadheath needing 7-0 wins in all three of their remaining games to have any slim chance of survival.
Ryan Kelly put the visitors ahead with a 3-0 win in game one, but consecutive 3-1 wins for Pete Evans and Steve Moane put the Vic into a lead they would not relinquish. 3-0 wins for Mick Cooney and Andrew Day secured the win, before a 3-0 win for Dylan Wimbury and a 3-1 win for Tony Green over Callum Nolan added some extra gloss to make it 6-1 overall.
Victoria Withington 4 vs 3 Timperley CC
The Victoria Withington have now been responsible for two of Timperley Conservative Clubs three league defeats this season, defeats which leave the title challengers and current KO Cup holders with an uphill battle if they are to have any hope of claiming a first SMD Division 1 title. Timperley now sit twelve points behind the Ammies and four behind St Johns, and have a game in hand on the Ammies just like the Saints – so its not all over just yet but they will need results to go their way in the remaining games.
The Vic’s season seems destined for a fifth placed finish, but with two of our final three games against teams at the bottom of the table, good results could see an outside chance of catching the John Alker in fourth, despite their game in hand.
I dont often mention the Gallon in these write ups, but just wanted to give a special nod to Adam Reavey of Timperley, who often struggles for game time with the title challengers but showed some class in the Gallon to seal it for his side with a lovely 102 finish.
The Vic’s Jack Jarvis channelled his inner Ali-G to provide an entertaining 3-1 win over Andy Broadhurst in the first game of the night, hitting a 180 and greeting every ton plus score with a 90’s style finger snap – just missing a bit of “booyakasha” each time to complete the image. Game two saw Terry Jepson edge out fellow veteran Chris Stone by three legs to two with a 17 darter and a ton finish along the way, and after Connor Wigley came from 2-1 down in game three to win 3-2 the Vic were suddenly on the brink of an unexpectedly quick win against a side that had already beaten the Ammies home and away this season.
And there wasnt long to wait for that win as Matt Jepson defied a 180 from Andy Brownhill to claim a 3-0 victory which gave the Vic the bonus points and a commanding 4-0 lead in the match. Game five saw a close battle between Callum Loose and Lewis Holley go to 2-2, with both players averaging over 67, but it was Callum who came out on top in a deciding leg to reduce the defecit to 4-1 overall. In game six Gary Sullivan beat me 3-1 win with an 18 darter and a 69 average to make it 4-2, and in the last game of the night Dave Stanley and Andy Pearson went to a deciding leg which was won by the Timperley man to give a final score of 4-3 to the Vic.
Division 2
The three way battle at the top of Division 2 is approaching the final chapter, as leaders Urmston Sports Club continued their impressive season so far with a hard fought 4-3 win against fourth placed Roebuck, a win which sees Urmston eight points clear with three to play, while The Royal Oak A moved ominously into second place, with a game in hand, after a huge 7-0 win over LMRCA. Long time leaders Ashton-on-Mersey suffered a major blow to their promotion hopes, making it back-to-back defeats after a loss against The Carters which sees them slip to third, ten points behind Urmston with only three games left to reduce that gap. In the weeks other games The Melville secured a 4-3 win against Trafford and St Anthonys won by the same scoreline to get the better of The Malt Shovels.
Ashton-on-Mersey CC 3 vs 4 Carter Arms
Title challenging Ashton-on-Mersey fell behind against the Carters Arms after the visitors took deciding legs in each of the first two games courtesy of John and Johnathan Thierens, the latter defying a 180 from Will Radcliffe to put his side 2-0 up. Chris Chapman rallied to pull one back for the home side, but when Gavin Halton delivered a 3-0 win against Mark Robinson to make it 3-1, a huge upset was on the cards.
A deciding leg win for Ashton’s Ian Winter in game five reduced the gap to 3-2, and following a 3-0 win for James Compton the sides were soon level, but in the final game of the night Ryan Pollit claimed a 3-0 win over Andy Kindred to claim a big win for the Carters and put a big dent in Ashtons promotion hopes.
LMRCA 0 vs 7 Royal Oak A
The Royal Oak moved decisively into the second automatic promotion position in Division 2, and within range of top place, after a third 7-0 win of the season gave LMRCA their heaviest defeat of a challenging campaign so far. The Oak have held a game in hand for some time now, and this result gives them four games to go to make up an eight point defecit to leaders Urmston who have three games remaining themselves, in what is proving to be the tightest title race in Division 2 in recent seasons.
Sharon and Tony Kirby drew first blood for the Oak, with 3-1 and 3-0 wins in succession, Tony with a 118 finish for a 21 darter in his game. Pete Perry took a deciding let against 105 finish hitting Ron Cooke to make it 3-0, and after Jordan Perry repeated that scoreline in game four, the match was over as a contest and the best LMRCA could hope for was damage limitation and a couple of points.
I’ve written in recent seasons about The Oak’s monopoly on third place in this division in past campaigns, but there’s a different feeling about them this season and 3-0 wins for Alex Williams and Lee Medd soon made it 6-0 – Lee with his third 180 in the past four games, before a 3-1 win for Ryan Crook completed the whitewash.
Malt Shovels 3 vs 4 St Anthony’s
In whats been a challenging season for last years Division 3 champions, The Malt Shovels suffered a fourth defeat on the bounce to remain bottom of the league, 14 points from safety and with only three league games remaining. Considering that two of those three are against title chasing Ashton and the Royal Oak, its going to take a Herculean effort – whilst hoping other results go their way – if they are to have any hope of staying in Division 2 next season. Whilst not mathematically safe just yet, St Anthonys are at least top of the bottom 4 group of teams in danger of relegation, sitting 9 points clear of the drop zone, and with a game in hand, so they are in a decent enough position as long as they pick up enough points in their 4 remaining games.
After two games played, Arthur Macauley and Dom Batty put St Anthony’s into a 2-0 lead, before a 3-1 win from Malts captain James Golds halved the defecit. Game 4 saw Gary Molloy re-establish that two game cushion for the Saints with a 3-1 win over Tay Benjamin, but not for the first time this season the Malt Shovels showed spirit to fight back again, coming from 3-1 down to level it up at 3-3 after wind for Phil Wright and Dean Power. Once again however they were to come up short as Mark Corrigan sealed a 3-1 win in the final game to give St Anthony’s the bonus points, and another step toward Division 2 safety for another season.
Melville 4 vs 3 Trafford SC
The Melville can consider themselves unlucky not to be more involved at the top end of the table this season, having the second most games won in the division with ten wins from fourteen games played, the only issue has been having only a single win of that ten greater than 4-3, and a couple of very heavy defeats against Ashton and The Royal Oak. Trafford have had a similar season in whats been a very tough Division 2 and despite this loss they still sit a place and three points above the Melville, although they have played a game more.
Paul Sambrook and Owen Powell both recorded 3-1 wins to put the Melville 2-0 up after as many games played, but a 3-0 win for Jake Neersoo soon pulled one back for Trafford Social. Melville skipper Jon Powell hit 6 ton-plus scores in a 3-1 defeat of Zac Nichols to put his side 3-1 up, and after Gary Brisco took a deciding leg against Liam Galvin, the Melville were 4-1 up and had secured another win. As touched on earlier, the Melville have been hamstrung by 4-3 wins, and this was to be no different, as from 4-1 down Trafford were to win the remaining two games through Kyle Wands and Andrew Davies to gain a little consolation and ensure The Melville were restricted to a ninth 4-3 win of the season.
Roebuck 3 vs 4 Urmston SC
Whilst the Melville appear to love a good 4-3 win, The Roebuck take it to another level, win or lose, and this game represented their 14th such result in the last 15 games in all competitions. The Bucks spent last season in Division 1, but have simply not won well enough this season to be properly involved in the title battle – although they have proved with wins over Ashton, Urmston and The Royal Oak that they are a match for anyone in this division on their day.
Urmston on the other hand have gone from strength-to-strength as this season has progressed, with twelve wins from fifteen played and with big wins in that mix creating title favourites from a side that spent much of last season at the wrong end of the table. This match provided Urmston with a tenth successive win, and made up for the 4-3 loss to the Roebuck back in August – the last time Urmston tasted defeat.
The Roebuck were quickest out of the blocks on the night after a deciding leg win for Hayden Reddy and a 3-0 win for Mark Garnett put the Altrincham side into an early 2-0 lead. Urmston replied in kind to make it 2-2 as 3-1 wins for James Heslop and Steve Lye brought the divisional leaders level after four games played. Chris Reddy then put the Roebuck back into the lead with a last leg defeat of Jacaub Worral putting them one win away from the match, but Urmston are top for a reason, and 3-0 wins in the last two games through Dave Tong and Gaz Lane were enough to snatch a 4-3 win and maintain their charge toward Division 1 darts next season.
Division 3
BHC Aces moved 26 points clear at the top of Division 3 to further cement their position as champions elect after a second successive 6-1 win – their fifth such result this season. The second promotion spot is where the Division 3 action lies however, as six teams may consider themselves in with a shout of joining the Aces in Division 2 next season. To make things even more interesting, it remains to be seen if only two teams will go up from Division 3 this season… the withdrawl of Division 1’s Wythenshawe CSC means only one will go down to Division 2, so there may still be an extra Division 2 place up for grabs once the season ends.. that though is still to be discussed and confirmed, and may also depend on the number of new teams – if any – that join the league.
Sale Excel 3 vs 4 The Vine
Sale Excel are one of the teams still with a shot at promotion, and even despite this loss they are fourth, four points behind second placed Bulls Head and with a game in hand. The Vine are also still in the mix, ten points behind the Bulls Head after this win and again with a game in hand, but they’ve suffered from a lack of big wins and several heavy defeats – otherwise their position would be somewhat different.
Things could have been so much better for the Vine as wins in each of the first four games for Tom Slattery, Charlie Sanders, Dave Goulden and Kyran Eyes saw the visitors claim the bonus points in double quick fashion. Despite the great start, the Vine were unable to capitalise further, and the Excel’s damage limitation exercise bore fruit as Jimmy Nolan, Andy Cheetham and the returning Connor McCorkell gained three league points for their side while reducing the Vines winning margin to 4-3.
Stretfordians 1 vs 6 Broadheath Central Aces
We know all about the Aces current form and potential for promotion, so its difficult to say much more as they march on towards inevitble promotion with six league games remaining and a KO Shield final left to play. Stretfordians have now lost 6-1 in four of their last five games, a run of results which is at odds with their previously improved form this season.
Dave Wood and Andy McCormack recorded 2-0 wins to put the Aces 2-0 up overall, before Lindsay Rice continued her run of being the only Stretfordian winner in that run of 6-1 defeats with a 2-0 win against Iris Bannister in game 3. Martin Johnson soon made it 3-1 to the Aces with a deciding leg win against Ryan Tomlinson, and Darren Wood’s 2-0 win in game five put his side 4-1 and wrapped things up for the division 3 leaders. With two of the divisions form players still to play for them, the Aces made short work of the remaining games as 2-0 wins for Nigel Beeton and Geoff Talbot gave a decisive final scoreline of 6-1.
Bent Brook 2 vs 5 Bulls Head
The Bulls Head bounced back from last weeks 5-2 reverse against the Buck Inn with a 5-2 win of their own at The Bent Brook to reclaim second place in Division 3. Whilst they have played a game more than the other promotion hopefuls directly below them, its always handy to have the points on the board, and with five games to go and three of those against promotion rivals, they will no doubt be happy enough to occupy second place as the business end of the season arrives.
This defeat might just have signalled an end to the Bent Brook’s outside chances of promotion leaving them in seventh position, twelve points behind the Bulls and having played a game more than the four teams above them.
Bo Bowman’s 2-0 win in the opener put the Bulls Head into the lead, but a deciding leg win for Paul Charnock in game 2 brought the sides level. Wins for Chris Cordingley and Rob Barber gave the Bulls Head a solid 3-1 lead at just past the midway point in the match, but the gap was reduced to 3-2 after an Alex Morton win for the Brook in game five. That was to be all she wrote for the Brook though, as the Bulls went on to win the final two games without losing a leg. Game six saw Steve Hazelhurst secure the bonus points, while Iain Fish’s win in game seven earned the extra point that ensured the Bulls reclaimed second spot.
Dog & Partridge 4 vs 3 Horseshoe
Following this win against third placed Horseshoe, and looking at the table objectively, the Dog & Partridge are surely now one of the promotion favourites, as despite sitting in fifth position they are only five points behind the Bulls Head in second, while holding two games in hand over them, and one in hand over all the other teams around them. The loss for the Horseshoe doesnt change a great deal for them in their own battle for promotion, they remain third, a point behind The Bulls Head and with a game in hand.
Chris Conduit set the stall out for the Dog & Partridge with a fine 2-0 win over David Duffy in the opening game, smashing in four ton-plus scores, a 21 dart leg and a 97 kill to finish on a match high 71.57 average. Dave Harris doubled the lead with a 2-0 win of his own in game 2, but deciding leg wins in games three and four for Rob and George Moss soon pulled the Horseshoe level at 2-2. Tom Spillane put the Dog back in front after game five, but another deciding leg win for the Horseshoe via Keiran Chapman made it all square with a game to play. The final game was to again go to a final leg, but this time it was the home sides Dave Cook who held his nerve to claim the game and the match for his side.
Royal Oak B 5 vs 2 Old Market Tavern
Its been a stop start season for the Royal Oak B, and despite being in ninth position they have still recorded eight wins – the same as fourth placed Sale Excel. If a couple of results had gone their way it could have been a different story this season – while they are currently15 points behind second place, they are also twelve clear of the Jolly Butcher in tenth.
The Oak swept into a commanding lead with 2-0 wins in each of the first three games courtesy of Jack Holt, Pete DeCordova and Jack Bushell, but The Tavern’s Nathan Potts stopped the rot with a 2-0 win of his own against Rob Whiteside in game four. The Chorlton side didnt have to wait long for the bonus points though as a 2-0 win for Mark Gilmore was enough to ensure the win. The OMT’s Richard Haycocks claimed a tenth win in eleven games this season to grab a consolation point for his side in game six, but the Oak were to wrap up a convincing 5-2 win after Michael Hayward claimed a 2-0 win in the final game of the night.
Jolly Butcher 4 vs 3 Buck Inn-eers
The Jolly Butcher claimed a fourth win of the season and moved above Stretfordians into tenth position, after winning a final game decider against eighth placed Buck Inn-eers. This represents a really good win for the Butcher as The Buck’s have had a cracking run of form in recent weeks with numerous good wins over teams challenging for promotion.
Gareth Sullivan put the Butcher one up with a 2-0 opening game win over Declan Law, but The Buck’s hit straight back with 2-0 wins for Adrian Suchon and Matt Kershaw giving them a 2-1 lead. Head Butcher Liz Sweeney brought her side level with a 2-0 defeat of James Bloomfield, and when Stuart Watson took a deciding leg win against Peter Bloomfield, the Butcher were 3-2 up and one away from victory. In a nip and tuck battle, the Buck Inn-eers showed some mettle to level things up once again as George Banner got the better of Jake Smith, but in the deciding game of the night, Gary Hudson grabbed the points for the Butcher with a 2-0 defeat of Harley Woods.
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