Division 1
Just the two games in the top flight this week, both involved the top two sides in the division, and both ended in big wins for those sides. St Johns had a marginally better outcome as they made it back to back seven nils with a thumping defeat of Victoria Burnage, and in doing so reduced the gap at the top by a point after the Ammies beat the John Alker 6-1. While there seems nothing between these results, it reduces the Ammies lead to seven points while the Saints retain a game in hand. This title battle is going down to the wire!
John Alker 1 vs 6 Ammies Darts
The Ammies layed a marker down with a 6-1 defeat of fourth placed John Alker, but with the St Johns result going the way it did, the current champions actually lost some ground as the Saint moved a point closer due to their whitewash of the Victoria Burnage.
The John Alker can be a match for anyone on their day, but this match was unexpectedly one sided, as The Ammies powered through the first four games, winning each to nil, to seal the match win in the shortest time possible. Mike Morrison got them underway with a 3-0 win against Chris Wormald, Paul Devine beat Mike Westlake by the same score in game 2, Scott Livingstone repeated the feat against Gary Thompson in game 3 hitting a 180 along the way, and Adam Watson made it 4-0 when emphatically shutting out Baz Rowland while hitting 8 ton plusses, a 17 darter and a 79.11 average. Game five saw Alker captain Ewan Donegan stop the rot with a 3-2 win against Kyle Bell despite Kyle hitting a seventh 180 of the season, but that was as good as it was going to get for the hosts as Ray Dore claimed another 3-0 against Ray Townhill to make it 5-1 before Pete Watson finished off an emphatic team win with a 3-1 defeat of John Hawken.
St Johns 7 vs 0 Victoria Burnage
As good as the Ammies result was, St Johns went one better with a 7-0 demolition of Victoria Burnage, their second whitewash win in as many matches, and with two games left while the Ammies have one, they have a fantastic change now to be the first side to beat the Ammies to the title since the Jolly Butcher double winners in 2018.
The home side took the lead after a 3-0 win for Kaine Goldie against Mick Cooney, and never looked back from there on in. Jez Saunders doubled the lead, hitting his fifth 180 of the season during a 3-1 win against Steve Moane, and it was soon 3-0 overall when the impressive Mike Shaw hit a 13 darter, 103 finish and 85 average while beating Andrew Day 3-0. In game four, Kraig Loose ensured the win when beating Tony Green 3-1, but there was to be not let up from the hosts as Martin Tyson won a deciding leg with Dylan Wimbury to make it 5-0, before Oliver Clarke and Rich Davies both won 3-1 to ensure the whitewash which puts them six points behind the Ammies with a game in hand. The game in hand will take place next week on December 11th at home against Brooklands Tap, while the Ammies have a free week.
Division 2
Urmston have become the first team promoted to Division 1 next season after a narrow 4-3 win against St Anthonys, coupled with Ashton-on-Mersey ‘only’ managing a 4-3 win against the Melville, means that Urmston remain 12 points ahead of Ashton with both sides having only one game remaining. A massive 7-0 win for second placed Royal Oak over Carters Arms might just have swung the title battle in their favour as they now sit six points behind Urmston but with two games left to play, Roebuck beat Trafford Social 4-3 to maintain their grip on fourth, while at the bottom of the table LMRCA and Malt Shovels has been postponed until 18th December.
Melville 3 vs 4 Ashton-on-Mersey CC
Ashton started this game 12 points behind Urmston and three behind the Royal Oak, and needed to win big to try and force their way back into the promotion picture. As it happened, a 4-3 win against a Melville side who had lost only 4 games all season prior to this wasnt a bad result, but it meant the gap to Urmston (who they play next week) now can not be made up, and after another whopping win for the Oak, the six point gap to second place is looking like a bridge too far as the Oak still have two games left to play.
John Powell put the Melville ahead with a ninth win in 12 league games, but Ashton powered through the following games to take a commanding 3-1 lead after 3-0 wins for Stephen Orton, Will Radcliffe and Chris Chapman. Owen Powell stopped the rot with a creditable 64.41 average during a 3-0 deeat of Ian Winter, but a deciding leg win for James Compton was to also decide the match in Ashton’s favour after game six. The Melville didnt let their heads go down, and gained a consolation point with a 3-1 win for Gary Briscoe in the final game of the night.
Roebuck 4 vs 3 Trafford SC
The enigmatic Roebuck got back to winning ways after recent defeats to the top 2, and in doing so got back to the safe place of a 4-3 scoreline (win or lose, this was their 15th of the season in all comps).
Rick Keil and Chris Haycock put the home side 2-0 with 3-0 wins in each of the first two games, but Trafford drew level after 3-2 wins for Kyle Wands and Zac Nichols in games 3 and 4. Hayden Reddy restored the Buck’s lead with a 3-1 win in game 5, and after Ste Reddy matched that scoreline in the sixth game, the Roebuck had the win. With his team 4-2 up, Chris Reddy was unable to complete a treble of Reddy wins, falling to a deciding leg loss to Alex Buckley which gave a final score of 4-3 to the Roebuck.
Royal Oak A 7 vs 0 Carters Arms
The Royal Oak are hitting form at the perfect time of the season as they chase down long time leaders Urmston Sports Club, and after this whopping 7-0 defeat of the Carters they are now just six points behind with two games left, while Urmston have just a single game left to play. In addition, the Oak’s game difference is such that they can secure the title as long as they better Urmston’s result next week, and win their game in hand.
Ryan Crook got the title hopefuls underway with a 3-1 win in the opener against Gavin Halton, and there was no let up from there on in as the Oak won the next three games 3-0, courtesy of Jordan Perry, Steven Lee and Steve Lawless to seal the match win in double quick time. Lee Medd made it ten wins from ten in the league so far while hitting his fourth 180 in his last six league games to make it 5-0 overall, and the rout was complete after a deciding leg win for Pete Perry in the sixth was followed by a 3-1 win for Tony Kirby in the final game of the night.
Urmston SC 4 vs 3 St Anthonys
The divisional leaders were made to scrap for it, but they secured a 4-3 win against St Anthonys that keeps them top of the table and, more importantly, earns them promotion to the top flight next season after final game opponents, third placed Ashton-on-Mersey, failed to reduce the 12 point gap between the sides. Urmston have more than earned their promotion after what is now an impressive 12 successive wins, and can finally look forward to Division One after two promotions in three seasons since joining Division 3 of South Manchester Darts back in 2023.
Gaz Lane put Urmston one up with a 3-0 win in the opening game, but a deciding leg win for Shaun Gill soon had the Saints level. Steve Lye restored the home sides advantage with a 3-0 win in game three, but thesides were all square once again after another deciding leg win for the Saints via Gary Molloy. Ian Paton put St Anthonys ahead, and one away from victory with a 3-0 win in game five, but the league leaders rallied as Jacaub Worrall held his nerve to keep his side in the match, with a deciding leg win over Mark Corrigan, before Dave Tong won the winner takes all seventh game 3-0 against Arthur Macaulay to get the point which earned his team the bonus points and effectively guaranteed promotion to Division 1.
LMRCA PP vs PP Malt Shovels
Postponed until 18th December (Week 21)
Division 3
BHC Aces 4 vs 3 Horseshoe
The Aces were made to fight for it, but came back from 3-1 down to secure a win that all but guarantees promotion, and lets face it, whilst the numbers arent quite aligned yet, they are gonna win the title arent they?Even in defeat, The Horseshoe claimed a valuable 3 points which moves them up to second place after the Bulls Head game was rearranged for a later date.
Geoff Talbot has had another great season (and may actually have to get out of his division 3 comfort zone when the Aces go up), and he carried on this week with another 180, a wonderful 12 darter, a 100 finish and an 85.89 average during a commanding first game win against a shell shocked Karl Jones. From there it all went a bit wrong for the Aces, as Josh McQuillan drew the visitors level before Keiran Aherne put them into the lead. Game four saw the Horseshoes lead extended to 3-1 as Kieran Chapman handed a rare defeat to Nigel Beeton, but any hopes of a big win were dashed as the Aces rallied well to pull it back to 3-3 after wins for Darren Wood and Iris Bannister, before Dave Wood won the decider, and the match, in a battle of the captains in game seven.
Stretfordians 2 vs 5 Buck Inn
Stretfordians fell to another defeat while the Bucks get back to winning ways with a win that moves them up to seventh in the table in whats been an ever improving season for them.
The Bucks went one up after James Bloomfield won a deciding leg with Colton Burke, and had their lead doubled when George Banner hit an 18 darter during a 2-0 defeat of Ryan Tomlinson. Josh Craven made it 3-0 with another last leg decider in game 3, but Stretfordians got themselves back into the match at 3-2 after a 2-1 win for Jack Newsham was followed by a a 2-0 win for Lindsay Rice in game five. Despite losing much of their lead The Buck Inn-eers were not to be denied and cleaned up the final two games courtesy of 2-0 wins for Declan Law and Matt Kershaw to ensure a comfortable 5-2 win overall.
Bent Brook 6 vs 1 Old Market Tavern
Another good win for the Bent Brook sees them move up to sixth place, and remarkably only 5 points off second place, however they have played a game more than many of the teams above them so with three games left they may have left it too late to think about promotion.
A 2-0 Paul Charnock win in the opener gave the home side an early advantage, but a 2-0 win for Mandy Haycocks soon had the visitors level. Alex Morton and Sean Dignan both recorded 2-0 wins in games three and four to restore and then extend the Brook’s lead, and after Anthony Coleman won a decider with Steven Foster, the Brook had an unassailable 4-1 lead and had claimed the bonus points. The final two games saw their lead extended further as Rob Moore and Jake Proctor claimed a 2-0 win a piece to confirm an emphatic 6-1 win for the home side.
Dog & Partridge 7 vs 0 Royal Oak B
The Dog and Partridge moved into 4th and only two points off second after a commanding 7-0 win at home to the Royal Oak B. Not only that, they have a game in hand on many other teams, so they are looking to be in a strong position for promotion as the season enters its final weeks.
Graham Beech put the Dog one up with a 2-0 win over Rob Whiteside in the first game, and while the Oaks Jaydon Strong took Dave Harris to a final leg, it wasnt enough as Harris claimed the win that put his side 2-0 up. It was as one sided as can be from there on in, as the Dog and Partridge didnt lose another leg. 2-0 wins for Elliot Wynne and Paul Woods were enough to make sure of the match win, and the whitewash was confirmed after a couple more 2-0 wins for Tom Spillane and Chris Conduit, Chris hitting a 102 finish during game 7.
Jolly Butcher 2 vs 5 Sale Excel
Sale Excel went into this fixture with only six players, but still had too much for a Jolly Butcher side who were unable to build on their fine win against the Buck Inn-eers last time out.
A 2-0 win for Andy Cheetham over Tracy Wesemeyer brought the Excel level on the night, while a Danny Chua win by the same scoreline against Gareth Sullivan put the visitors into the lead. Warren McCoubrey won a deciding leg with Liz Sweeney to extend the Excel’s advantage, but Mike Swindells returned the favour when winning a deciding leg against Hannah Tague to reduce the Excels lead to 3-2. The Excel didnt have to wait long for the win after a 2-0 win for Peter Sage against Michael Wesemeyer made it 4-2 to earn the bonus points, and in the final game of the night the Excel grabbed another valuable promotion battle point with a 2-1 win for Marvin Daniel against Stuart Watson.
Vine PP vs PP Bulls Head
Postponed until 15th January 2025
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