Railway Club Youngers secure summer title in Newark and District Double Board Darts League

Railway Club Youngers have secured a remarkable ninth summer league title in ten seasons after their 8-7 victory over Caffs Ladies in the final match of the season retained their crown in the Newark and District Double Board Darts League.

The Youngers, who had also claimed their ninth knock-out cup success in the same period the week before after a 12-3 victory over Caffs, went into the concluding fixture of the season needing to pick up just three points to enable them to snatch the title from current leaders Castle and Falcon Ladies.

The opening pairs encounter saw Youngers’ skipper Debbie Braithwaite and Jackie Dennis draw with opposing captain Chris Henderson and Lorraine Shereston. The second pairs clash proved to be the decisive match in respect of securing the title as Linda Gregory and Louise Fletcher overcame Jane Hartley and Kelly Barrett 2-0 to give the Youngers a 3-1 lead and wrap up a tremendous eighth league and cup double in the last ten seasons.

Despite the destination of the title being decided the match continued and saw Henderson draw with Youngers’ Jane Radforth before Gregory defeated Shereston to stretch the newly crowned champions’ lead to 6-2. Caffs, though, were not going down without a fight and claimed draws in the two remaining singles clashes with Hartley earning a share of the spoils against Braithwaite before Barrett’s encounter with Fletcher also ended all-square. The Youngers now had an unassailable 8-4 lead but Caffs knew victory in the concluding team leg would be enough to enable them to move above Falcoholics into sixth place and that is what they did as Hartley checked out to reduce the match deficit to 8-7. The night, though, belonged to the Youngers as they ended the season top of the pile again and on a thirteen match unbeaten league run after suffering their only defeat of the campaign on the opening day of the season – a 8-7 reverse against Wheatsheaf Wandering Misfits.

Castle and Falcon Ladies, who had wrestled the winter league title from the Youngers earlier in the year, finish six points adrift in second after suffering just two losses, both crucially at the hands of the Youngers.

The curtain will be brought down on the season tonight at RHP Sports and Social Club as the presentation of trophies and prizes takes place and is then followed by the final competition of the campaign as Phil and Mel Tranter will be looking to retain their mixed pairs title.

The presentation will see the Youngers not only picking up their league and cup trophies but also two individual awards with Linda Gregory winning the singles and , alongside Caffs’ Eugene Hallam, the pairs title.

Stacey Grand-Scrutton of Falcoholics will also be picking up two individual prizes as she recorded the season’s highest score (120) and finish (90).

Unlike the ladies’ league the two main men’s titles went to different teams with Castle and Falcon BBC2s winning their first ever double board league title while Rose and Crown Marauders retained the knock-out cup.

The Men’s pairs and singles crowns were both retained with John Esam and Neil Ward of Castle & Falcon Bellies and Bullseyes winning the pairs while Paul Gallacher of RHP Darts of Hazzard won the singles.

Esam also recorded the season’s highest average (69.2) and alongside Castle and Falcon Arrows’ Andy Norris and Marauders’ skipper Tom Greenhalgh landed the highest score of 130. Greenhalgh also walks away with the highest finish prize with 98.