NEWBAWN DARTS
The first of the double point’s weeks proved to spice things up quite a bit last Wednesday night and we had a few movers up the table and the leaders had an anxious night of it as the pressure ramps up.
First up were the ladies and last year’s league winner, Caroline Bradley, played Linda Harte in the final. Caroline was appearing in her first final this year as she looks to retain her title.
Linda has been in good form so far and she was again at the height of her powers as she took maximum points with the win over Caroline.
Caroline will be disappointed but she has got her defence off and running with this final appearance and with 12 more weeks to go she is far from out of this by any means.
Linda is looking strong she and will take some stopping and is a serious contender.
The main event was a bit unusual in the sense that league leader and the last three ranking events winner, Jeff Nolan, was not in any of the two semi-finals.
This was a big chance for the chasers to gain ground as double points night reached its finish.
First up we had Andrew McCormack against Paul Murphy. Andrew, I have noticed in the last few weeks has been looking steady and he is progressing nicely and is a tough competitor.
Paul, who missed last week’s event, was looking hungry and he made short work of this match with a comprehensive win.
Andrew had a couple of chances to take this match and with Paul in this form you have to take them out. Andrew will be in a final soon though and he is nicely placed on the league table.
The other semi-final pitted David Murphy and Jacko French against each other.
Jacko, who is the surprise package of the season so far, is in a great vein of form at the moment and he is proving a really difficult opponent for any of the players.
David, himself no slouch, used his vast experience to overcome Jacko on this occasion but it was a match that could have gone either way really and had a high level of darts on show.
Jacko is sitting nicely in the league though and the points from this semi-final appearance will do him no harm at all.
The final was always going to be a belter with Paul and David involved, and so it proved as the guy’s served up a treat for us. Paul raced into a two leg lead with some fabulous darts which included a maximum and five other throws of 100 or more.
Lesser players would have wilted at this stage as Paul was only one leg away from victory but David isn’t one for giving up easily and with a classy third leg, where he also hit a maximum, he narrowed the gap to one.
David, in a bit of trouble in the fourth leg, hit a crucial 134 to set himself up for tops and nick the leg to send the match into a fifth and deciding leg. It was fitting that the match went all the way as both players traded blows and it was a pity we had to have a loser in this one.
The last leg was a bit scrappy but hardly surprising as both of these lads desperately wanted the points to close the gap on top spot and it was Paul who prevailed to take the honours. David and Paul are now, along with some others, almost within touching distance of Jeff who still has the lead as we have one more event before the Christmas break.
It’s beginning to set up nicely for one of the closest and exciting leagues for a few years and long may it continue. See you all next week.