Newark & District Double Board Darts Summer League round-up: Reigning champions Railway Youngers boost title charge with fourth successive win

Railway Youngers moved up to third place in the Newark & District Double Board Darts Summer League after the reigning champions secured a fourth win in a row as their title charge gathers pace.

The Youngers, who are looking to secure an amazing 11th ladies’ league title in 12 seasons, had led 3-1 after the opening pairs encounters in their clash with title rivals Collingham FC MC before Linda Gregory’s singles victory over Annie Hovey extended their lead to 5-1.

A drawn encounter followed before wins from Jackie Dennis and skipper Debbie Braithwaite gave the Youngers an unassailable 10-2 lead to condemn the Collingham side to just their second defeat of the season. Sharon Hovey reduced the final deficit to 10-5 as she landed the winning double in the concluding team leg.

Despite the win the Youngers find themselves 33 points adrift of the leaders, but with four games in hand they will believe they can bridge the gap over the remaining weeks of the season.

Castle & Falcon Bangers, who have finished as runners-up for the last three seasons, remain in pole position at the top of the table after they recorded a terrific 12-3 win over fourth-placed Wheatsheaf Wanderers.

The Bangers had raced into a 4-0 lead following victories in both pairs matches before Karen Whittaker’s victory over Jayne Higgins extended their advantage to 6-0. Three drawn encounters followed which secured an eighth win of the season for the Falcon side before victory in the team leg completed the resounding victory.

Falcoholics remain in second place despite suffering a first defeat in four outings as they were beaten 8-7 by King’s Queens. Aimee Wood’s victory over Jo Ward in the opening singles clash had extended the Queens’ lead to 5-1 over the title challengers before three drawn matches gave them an unassailable 8-4 cushion.

Falcoholics’ skipper Stacey Grand-Scrutton checked out on 79 in the team leg which, despite the loss, still leaves the Castle & Falcon based side in a healthy position just 19 points behind the leaders with two games in hand.

Caffs Ladies remain at the bottom of the table but have picked up their second league win of the campaign after Jane Hartley’s checkout in the decisive team leg clinched a 9-6 victory over Railway Club Artists. Earlier, Kelly Barrett’s singles win had given Caffs a 4-2 lead before Kate Slatter’s victory had brought the Artists level at 5-5 and ensured a team leg decider.

In the men’s division, not a lot has changed after the top four all won. Wheatsheaf Bellies & Bullseyes remain six points clear after they secured a 4-1 victory over Railway Club with checkouts from Ryan Dale, Kevin Rose, David Thompson and Oliver Ward claiming a fourth successive win for the league leaders. Richard Taylor’s fifth leg finish averted the whitewash.

Reigning champions Rose & Crown Marauders, who have a game in hand on the leaders, have extended their winning run to six matches following their 4-1 victory over Castle & Falcon Arrows.

A brace of finishes from captain Tom Greenhalgh had given the Marauders a 2-0 lead before the Arrows halved the deficit as Gareth Jones took advantage of the Marauders’ missed doubles to check out in the third but that was as good as it got for the cup finalists as finishes from Tim Tranter and Steven Barnett secured a comfortable win.

RHP 26ers have kept their slim title hopes alive after two finishes by Jon Gough and a hat-trick from Kieran Cumberland eased them to a 5-0 win over bottom of the table Hedgehoggers to keep them in touch with the top two in third spot.

Last season’s runners-up Castle & Falcon BBC2s remain in fourth after finishes from Phil Moore, Stuart Hay, skipper Luke Haswell, Donovan Atkin and James Brown earned them a 5-0 victory over RHP Darts of Hazzard.

Results: Men’s Division: Railway Club 1-4 Wheatsheaf Bellies & Bullseyes, RHP 26ers 5-0 The Hedgehoggers (Railway Club), Rose & Crown Marauders 4-1 Castle & Falcon Arrows, Castle & Falcon BBC2s 5-0 RHP Darts of Hazzard.

Ladies’ Division: Caffs Ladies 9-6 Railway Club Artists, Castle & Falcon Bangers 12-3 Wheatsheaf Wanderers, Railway Youngers 10-5 Collingham FC MC, King’s Queens 8-7 Falcoholics.