Newark & District Double Board Darts League: Collingham FC MC beat King’s Queens 11-4 to become early leaders
Collingham FC MC are the early leaders in the ladies’ division of the Newark & District Double Board Darts League after they followed up their opening day victory over Railway Club Artists with another 11-4 success against King’s Queens.
The village side, who led 3-1 after the opening pairs encounters, had been pegged back to 3-3 following Michelle Antcliffe’s victory over Collingham’s Jo Bilbie in the opening singles clash but they responded with wins from skipper Sharon Hovey and Amy Rayney to establish a 7-3 lead.
Victory was then secured as Leanne Forman drew with opposition skipper Andi Atherley to give the Collingham side an unassailable 8-4 lead before a second successive 11-4 win was wrapped up as Bilbie holed out in the concluding team leg.
Collingham FC hold a two-point lead over reigning champions Railway Youngers who maintained their unbeaten start to the season as they came from 2-0 down to record an 11-4 victory over in-house rivals The Artists. They were helped by singles wins from captain Debbie Braithwaite and Jackie Dennis, who also landed the finish in the team leg.
Wheatsheaf Wanderers have moved into fourth spot following their 9-6 victory over Castle & Falcon Hitters, who drop to third. In a tight match the Hitters had led twice following victory in the opening pairs clash and then after Katie Bowditch’s singles win but the Wanderers responded on each occasion to gain parity with victories from Ann Hubbard and skipper Linda Brockson. With the two sides locked at 6-6, Shannon Higgins clinched the Wanderers’ first win of the season as she landed the crucial double in the decisive team leg.
In the men’s division, reigning champions Wheatsheaf Marauders are the early leaders after they followed their opening day 5-0 victory over Wheatsheaf Phoenix with a 4-1 win over The Taverners. The Taverners started the match well with skipper Simon Cobb’s checkout securing them the opening leg and they had a chance to double their advantage in the next but they failed to take their opportunity as Tim Tranter holed out for the Marauders. Wheatsheaf then dominated the rest of the match with Paul Gallacher hitting a hat-trick of finishes to secure a comfortable win.
The other two sides who have started with back-to-back wins are Castle & Falcon-based sides Bellies & Bullseyes and BBC2s who are just a point adrift of the leaders in joint second. The Bullseyes eased to a 5-0 win over Balderton Cricket Club helped by checkouts from Oliver Ward and Kevin Rose plus a hat-trick of finishes from John Esam who also recorded the season’s highest score so far with 130 and the highest average of 62.1.
The BBC2s raced into an unassailable 3-0 lead against in-house rivals The Arrows with checkouts from skipper Luke Haswell and a brace from James Brown before their opponents rallied to reduce the deficit to 3-2 with finishes by Lionel Garrad and Dave Hindson.
Wheatsheaf Phoenix have moved into joint-fourth after they defeated Railway Thursday 5-0 with finishes from skipper Richard Durham and two apiece by Paul Dixon and Simon Potter which leaves their beaten opponents at the foot of the table.
The remaining match saw RHP 26ers battle from 2-0 down to defeat their in-house rivals RHP Darts of Hazzard 3-2. The 26ers, who had outscored their opponents in the opening two legs, were left to rue missed opportunities as Darts of Hazzard took advantage of their failure to check out to snatch a 2-0 lead with finishes from captain Andy Wilkinson and Oliver Hubbard.
The remaining three legs continued in the same vein in respect of the scoring but the 26ers were able to land their finishes with Charlie Ashley and Jon Gough’s checkouts drawing them level before Steve Alexander completed the fightback as he checked out on 70 in the deciding leg with their opponents back on 183.
Results: Men’s Division: Castle & Falcon BBC2s 3-2 Castle & Falcon Arrows, RHP Darts of Hazzard 2-3 RHP 26ers, Castle & Falcon Bellies and Bullseyes 5-0 Balderton CC, Wheatsheaf Phoenix 5-0 Railway Thursday, The Taverners (Railway Club) 1-4 The Marauders (Wheatsheaf).
Ladies’ Division: King’s Queens 4-11Collingham FC MC, Castle & Falcon Bangers P-P Caffs Ladies, Wheatsheaf Wanderers 9-6 Castle & Falcon Hitters, Railway Club Artists 4-11 Railway Youngers.