Division 1
Only three fixtures in Division 1 this week due to a rearrangement, but the games that were played saw the Cringlewood A beat Broadheath Central to earn their second 4-3 win in as many weeks, Wythenshawe CSC got their third win on the bounce to go second against a John Alker side still looking for their first league win of the season, and the Nelson ended their run of three consecutive 4-3 defeats with their second win of the season moving them into third place in the league with a 5-2 win over the Roebuck. There was no game again for Timperley this week, who had a bye to follow last weeks rearranged game with the Alker.
Ammies Darts PP vs PP The Victoria
The Vic became the first side not to lose to the Ammies in a scheduled league fixture this season – by simply rescheduling the game for the 3rd of January. So it’s back to back weeks off for the Vic as they were unable to get a full (or even a half) team together due to work and illness, and it’ll be back to back weeks off for the runaway league leaders as they have a bye this coming Wednesday. The next fixture for the Ammies will be Ashton-on-Mersey in the cup on December 6th, and Ashton will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a rusty Ammies…. or maybe not. The Vic are finally back in action this coming Wednesday, when they host the Nelson.
Broadheath Central 3 vs 4 Cringlewood A
Broadheath Central and The Cringlewood (I’m assuming we should drop the ‘A’ bit now that the ‘B’ team are the Volunteer) are certainly two well matched sides – if their recent results are anything to go by.
Each of the last three games between these sides has ended 4-3, starting with a Cringlewood KO Shield final win in the summer league, while Broadheath won this seasons KO Cup last 16 game by the same scoreline, just a couple of weeks ago. This most recent encounter in the league, would tip the recent balance 2-1 in the Cringlewood’s favour.
Alex Martin got the away side into an early lead with a 3-0 win over Broadheath captain JonJo Devon, and Rob Lauder put the Cringlewood two up with a close 3-2 win over Leyton Jackson in a classy performance which included a 180 and a 14 dart leg.
In game three Broadheath’s Dan Cross got the better of Lianne Lauder by 3 legs to 1, before Andy McCormack got back to winning ways with a 3-0 win over Cringlewood’s Phil Lauder to level it up at 2-2 overall.
Darren Wood put BHC back in the driving seat with a 3-2 win over Luke Mulhern, but the lead was short lived as John Mulhern tied the overall score at 3-3 with a 3-1 victory over Broadheath’s 2003 rugby world cup winner, Martin Johnson.
And so the match came down to a final game between Dave Wood and man mountain Mike Morrison. In a close fought tussle, the game – and the match – came down to a deciding leg in which massive Mike sealed the win for both himself and the Cringlewood.
John Alker 3 vs 4 Wythenshawe CSC
The Alker find themselves bottom of the table after five game weeks but this maybe a false position given they have two games in hand, having only played three games so far. The log-end loving side have had a bye and a rearrangement already, so can look forward to a full run of games and the chance to rise up the table – that is of course if there are no other games of round the board that can be played on a soggy piece of wood instead.
Wythenshawe have had a fine start to the season and will be content with sitting in second place in the league following their third league win on the trot and fourth in five games this season, the only blip being the mauling by the Ammies in week 2.
Despite having to get their passports ready and set off early on Wednesday morning to ensure they were there in time for the start of the match, Wythenshawe showed no signs of fatigue, racing into an early two game lead with 3-1 wins for Paul McCreevey and Mandy Smith. Alker skipper Chris Wormald put in a captains performance in game three, hitting his second league maximum of the season and a 19 dart leg, beating George McCormack in a fifth leg decider to pull the Alker back into it at 2 games to 1.
The Alker were soon level, as Daddy Cool himself John Greaves, in his first league match of the season, raced to a 3-0 win over John Brown. The Bony-M loving player has recently been forced to refute the (absolutely) unfounded allegations, which date back to 1988, that he once wore inappropriate make up in order to perform as the snake-hipped dancer of the group during a work Christmas party. (For the record, and to avoid doubt – he didn’t and I made this up).
Next up, Col Smith continued his good form by putting Wythenshawe back in the lead at 3-2 with a 3-0 win over Ewan Donegan, this being Col’s fourth win in as many games played this season for the loss of just a single leg. Game six saw the Alker’s Gary Thompson attempt to once again pull his side level, however it was a deciding leg win for Martin Power that sealed the bonus points for Wythenshawe. With one game left, another close call in game seven saw the Alker’s Baz Rowland hit an impressive 10 ton plus scores during his 3-2 win over Adam White, to earn his side another point, and give us the final score line of Alker 3, Wythenshawe 4.
The Nelson 5 vs 2 The Roebuck
It’s taken till their sixth game of the season in all competitions but The Nelson have finally been involved in a game that didn’t end 4-3, winning 5-2 against the Roebuck on the night to put an end to three straight league defeats. Despite that run, this win saw them move into third place after five games played, just four points behind Wythenshawe CSC who currently occupy second.
Chris Reddy got the Roebuck off to a good start, defying a 180 from Joe Kelly to win 3-1 in the opening game. New dad Tony Green levelled up the match for the Nelson with a 3-1 win over Steve Preston, and Dylan Wimbury made it 2-1 to the Nelson with a 3-0 win over Chris Merriman, with a performance which included a 17 dart leg and a tidy 70.45 average.
Game four saw the Nelson pull further ahead as landlord Mick Young put an end to a recent run of defeats with a comfortable 3-0 win over Rick Keil. A third consecutive 3-0 win for the Nelson sealed the match after only five games, with Mick Cooney beating Ash Aikenhead to grab his team an extra two points for the win.
The Roebuck picked themselves up to gain another point in game six via captain Chris Haycock, who’s hard fought 3-2 win over Andrew Day saw a mammoth 18 tons for both players (special mention for Andrew who hit 11 in a close defeat). Remarkably the Nelson stat recorder failed to notice a single ton in this game (though I understand this is more attributable to a computer issue, rather that an urgent requirement to attend Didsbury Specsavers).
At 4-2, with the win already in the bag for the Nelson, it was down to veteran Pete Evans to try and get them another win to avoid the curse of yet another 4-3 final score. And avoid it they did, but only just as Pete ran out a 3-2 winner over Mark Garnett to give the Nelson the 5-2 win overall.
Division 2
A full week of fixtures in Division 2 featured three tight 4-3 wins for Trafford Social, Silver Birch and Ashton-on-Mersey, and a big win for LMRCA which put them top of the table by two points. It was also a bye week for Chorlton’s Royal Oak giving Lee Medd a week off from postman references (unless that counts).
Trafford SC 4 vs 3 Carters Arms
Trafford Social made it back to back wins in the league after a tough encounter with Carters Arms which was settled in the final leg of the last game.
Kyle Wands has had some good form of late and whilst not hitting the heights of last week, he still managed a 3-2 win over The Carters’ James Flynn in the opening game of the night – this despite James hitting a nice 113 finish to put himself in second place in the division 2 highest finish table.
Rory Sullivan doubled the Trafford lead with a 3-1 win in game two, but three consecutive wins for the Carter’s turned the game on its head. John Theirons reduced the deficit by beating Alan Wands 3-1, Gavin Halton drew them level with a 3-2 win over Jake Neersoo, and a 3-1 win for Terry Caine over Mark Leather put the Carters one away from victory at 3-2.
Trafford were straight back level following a 3-1 win for Gaz Collins over Craig Waite in game six, which set up a final game decider between Trafford’s Andrew Wood and Bob Mitchell of the Carters. Both players managed five ton plus score each in game which itself proved as tight as the match so far as the players reached 2 legs all – however it was Andrew Wood who carved out the win in the deciding leg to give Trafford a 4-3 win and move them into third place in the table, only six behind top spot.
The Silver Birch 4 vs 3 St Antony’s
The unbeaten Silver Birch welcomed a St Antony’s side still looking for their first Division 2 win of the season, and while both sides kept those records intact, the 6 points earned wasn’t quite enough to keep the Birch on top of the table. St Antony’s will take solace in the fact that of the five games lost, three were by close 4-3 score lines against sides currently in the top three places in the division.
Chris Farr got the Birch underway, beating Dom Batty in game one by 3 legs to 0 for his first win of the season so far. The saints got going themselves after 3-1 wins for Alan Farrar and Carl Patton against Martin Tyson and George Moss respectively put their side in front after three games.
Lee Davies won game four for the Birch by 3 legs to nil to bring the sides level, and giving him 5 wins from 6 games played this season, while his opponent John Goodier is still looking for his first St Antony’s win. The Birch regained the overall lead with another 3-0 win, this time for Kraig Loose against Gary Molloy, with Kraig earning his fifth win in five games, and with only one leg lost all season in all competitions.
Game six saw Andy Skinner seal the match for the Birch by beating Ian Paton 3-1 to make it 4-2 overall, but points-wise that was to be it for the Birch while St Antony’s earned one more point as Shaun Gill’s winning streak in the league continued with a 3-2 win in Game 7 over Alan Dawson, Ginge falling to his first defeat of the season in his third consecutive game 7 draw.
LMRCA 6 vs 1 Urmston SC
LMRCA have bounced back strongly after losing their first league game of the season, with wins in all their games since, and this week delivered their biggest win so far with a 6-1 victory over Urmston putting them top of the table. Urmston have had a mixed bag so far in the league with two 5-2 wins, and a 5-2 defeat prior to this second loss in as many games.
It was a relentless start from LMRCA which sealed the win within the first four games, with Ron Cooke beating Dylan Bell 3-1, Tony Spilsbury getting the better of Michelle Fitton by the same score line, Derek Ostick taking out Jim Higginson 3-0, and Alan Gleave edging out Lee Capper 3-2.
Ryan Woods turned the screw a little more with a 3-0 win against Gary Lane in game five, but Steve Lye ensured a point at least for Urmston with a neat 3-0 over Joe Davis. That was to be the only point of the night for Urmston though, as John Reyes fell to a 3-0 defeat in the final game in which Dave Brooks ensured LMRCA ended with a whopping 8 points on the night to take them to the summit of Division 2 for the first time this season.
The Volunteer 3 vs 4 Ashton-on-Mersey CC
The artists formerly known as the Cringlewood B were playing from their new venue at the Volunteer in Sale for the first time, but had their housewarming party spoiled by Ashton-on-Mersey Cricket Club who recorded their fifth consecutive 4-3 score line of the season – but this time it was back in their favour following last weeks capitulation to LMRCA from 3-0 up.
Dave Webster got us underway with his first league win of the season, beating the Volunteers Charlie Sanders in a deciding leg to put the first run on the board for Ashton. Pete Williams got his second 3-1 win in as many games beating Harry Guthrie to pull his side level, but George Hardman overcame Will Radcliffe by the same 3-1 margin to put Ashton back in front.
We were all square (leg) again when the return of Callum Nolan resulted in a 3-1 win over Andy Mathias, and Gary Williams put the Volunteer on the brink of victory with a 3-1 win against Chris Chapman.
James Compton became the only committee member to win on the night when he forced the match to a deciding game while handing the Colonel, Geoff Sanders, a not-so finger lickin’ first defeat of the season so far. So it all came down to Danny O’Donnell and Mark Robinson, in a last game decider for the win (been a few of these hasnt there?). Both players shared the first four legs, which meant the match result would be decided by a single leg of 501 (been a couple of those too!), and here’s to you Mr Robinson, for taking that leg to seal the win for Ashton.
Division 3
While the Old Market Tavern vs Excel was postponed until 20th December to allow all the Hayocks’s some extra time to buy each other Christmas presents, the three other scheduled games went ahead as planned. A top of the table clash between Bulls Head and Malt Shovels, resulted in a win for the Shovels, The Melville earned their first ever 7-0 win by beating Stretfordians, while helping themselves to top place in the league in the process, and the Bent Brook finally put out a seven man team, but came up just short in a 4-3 loss to Wythenshawe FC.
Malt Shovels 5 vs 2 Bulls Head
Both sides went into this fixture with perfect four from four records this season, so something was going to have to give, and it was Altrincham’s Malt Shovels, whose FFP regulation breaches cost them promotion in the summer, who got the win to remain unbeaten in the league.
The Malts’ Geoff Talbot kept his own 100% record intact with a 2-1 win against Chris Cordingley in game 1, and James Roberts doubled the lead for his team beating Gareth Shaw by the same scoreline. Rob Clark got his second win of the season in beating Chris Barber 2-0 to put the Shovels firmly in the lead by three games to nil, but Steve Hazelhurst got the Hale Barns side underway in game 4 with a 2-0 win against Phil Wright.
The Malts put paid to any thoughts of a Bulls Head revival in game 5 when James Golds beat Rob Barber 2-0 to seal the 2 bonus points, while also stretching his record to a perfect four from four in the league this season. The Bulls seem to have cast their recruitment net well in the summer, with Ian Fish proving catch of the day yet again with a 2-0 win over Tay Benjamin in game 6 to make it 4-2, but Dave Hindmarsh got the final win of the evening, by 2 legs to nil against Alan Simper to cement a fine 5-2 win for the Malt Shovels.
The Melville 7 vs 0 Stretfordians
League newcomers The Melville have already shown that they are a force to be reckoned with following some good wins in Division 3 this season, and continued in the same vein with a shut out 7-0 win over bottom placed Stretfordians that put them top of the league over the Malt Shovels on game difference.
Paul Sambrook drew first blood in beating Michele Butt 2-0, Sam Macintosh quickly doubled the lead beating Morgan Nickson by the same score, and Brad Hodgson won a deciding leg against Toni Nickson to make it three nil overall. Next it was the turn of the Powell contingent to double that scoreline, with 2-0 wins for Jon and Jake making it five, while Owen beat Simon Scully 2-1 to make the clean sweep possible. Cam McFarlane also needed three legs, but made sure of a maximum 9 points for the Melville, hitting a 110 finish along the way.
The Bent Brook 3 vs 4 Wythenshawe FC
Including this game, the Brook have now had three close 4-3 losses this season, and have been short of players on a couple of those occasions – so their 6th place position isn’t too bad, all things considered.
Wythenshawe FC made it back to back league wins, to leave themselves in fourth – but only 2 points ahead of their opponents from this game.
Mike Swindells and Ken Turnock shared the first two legs of the game before Mike won the decider to put Wythenshawe ahead, while Brian Sproston continued his good start to league darts with a 2-0 win over Brook newcomer Nigel Cullen to make it two. Connor O’Toole won a decider to beat Gareth Sullivan 2-1 to put the Brook in the points, but the game was secured for Wythenshawe following wins for the unbeaten Michael Wesemeyer over Anthony Coleman, and captain Liz Sweeney who ran out a 2-1 winner against Craig McManus.
With two games left, the Brook needed to find something to avoid a heavy defeat, and find it they did with 2-0 wins for Alex Moreton over Chris O’Keefe, and Gaz O’Donnell over sartorial superstar Steve Foster, which made the final score a much more respectable 4-3 to Wythenshawe FC.
I’ve been provided with quite a few photos this week so thanks to all who sent them over – I wont be able to include them all every week, but whatever gets sent will ensure I’ve got plenty of options for any of the content I do going forward, so thanks again.
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