WORTHINGTON’S MERTHYR & DISTRICT DARTS LEAGUE

DIVISION ONE GRAWEN ARMS ............ 1 GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB A ......................... 10

WITH two triples legs being introduced into the playing format there are now 11 points to play for and the Guest took the first triples with throw through Justin Davies 140, Phil Williams and Steve Thomas over Phil Locke 140, Dean Smith and Marcus Davies 136 and then they added the second with a fine win for Jamie Evans 2x100, Craig Morgan and Paul Thomas over Jason Launchbury 100, Roy Element and Lyn Jones as the sides prepared for the more familiar pairs legs.

The first singles saw a break of throw with Phil Locke and Marcus Davies 140 edging past Dale Pinch 100 and Andrew Coombs to get the home side into the game before Justin Davies and Phil Williams 100 apiece broke back over Dean Smith 125 and Jason Launchbury putting the Guest 3-1 ahead. The final pairs leg went with throw as Jamie Evans and Craig Morgan 100 apiece beat the unlucky Roy Element 121 and Adrian Thomas 138 to set up a fairly comfortable 4-1 lead heading into the singles battles, which as usual are the best of three legs.

The first singles saw Craig Morgan 2x100, 140, 180 increase the visitors’ lead with a 2-0 break over Phil Locke 3x100, 140 in a hard fought game and then the scoreline read 5-1 with Justin Davies 2x100 scoring a fine 2-0 victory over Dean Smith 100. Jamie Evans 5x100, 140, 142 got his league campaign under way with a good 2-1 break over Marcus Davies 3x100, 121 and the visitors kept up the pressure in the next game with Phil Williams 4x100 holding over Roy Element 100 for a 8-1 lead. Dale Pinch 3x100, 134 increased the lead to 9-1 with a 2-0 break over Jason Launchbury 123 with Paul Thomas 100, 140 then completing the route with a hard fought 2-1 hold over Lyn Jones 4x100 coming back from 1-0 down.

YE-OLDE EXPRESS ...... 9 PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB B ........................... 2

LOCKE’S Wanderers have landed at the Ye-Olde Express this season and their got their campaign under way with a splendid victory over the visiting Pen B who more than played their part in a high quality game.

The Express opened their account by taking the first triples against the darts with Peter Locke 100, 135, Darren Locke 2x100 and Steve Nicholas beating Nathan Morgan, Kendrick Howe and Dai Richards and 1-0 then became 2-0 with Brian Nicholas 100, Matthew Charleston and Wayne Titcomb 100 holding over Steve Smith, Lyndon Price and Neil Smith.

The first pairs saw Steve Smith and Lyndon Price 100, 140 get the Pen its first mark on the board for the new season with a good hold over Dean Thomas 100 and Steve Nicholas but the relief was very short lived as Mark Virgin and Wayne Titcomb 2x100 hit back against Nathan Morgan 2x100 and Kendrick Howe putting the hosts 3-1 ahead. A 4-1 lead was then secured by Peter Locke 123, 140 and Darren Locke 2x100 who scored a fine break over Dai Richards 100 and Neil Smith with the singles games coming next.

The first singles game went the way of the home side with Darren Locke 2x100, 140 edging past Steve Smith 100, 125, 140 and then two 17-dart legs from Peter Locke including 3x100, 125, 140 in a 2-0 break over Lyndon Price 100 saw the hosts lead 6-1. Nathan Morgan 2x100, 140 put a temporary hold on the onslaught with a break over Brian Nicholas 3x100 by a 2-0 margin to cut the deficit to 6-2 but back came the Express with Mark Virgin 100, 124 breaking a stunned Kendrick Howe 3x100, 105, 140 by a 2-0 margin to lead 7-2. Steve Nicholas 3x100 held throw over Dai Richards for an 8-2 lead before Dean Thomas 2x100, 125, 140 completed the victory with a comfortable 2-0 break over Neil Smith 100.

MERTHYR LABOUR CLUB ............................... 9 MERTHYR VALE EX CLUB B (DAGGERS) ...... 2

THE first triples went the way of the home side with Wayne Davies 2x100, Kevin Forbes 140 and David Rowlands breaking the throw of Warren Rees, Lloyd Davies 140 and Phil Morris and this was then followed with a second point with Ron Morgan, Gareth Dunn and Kevin Mahoney 100 apiece holding over Dai Phelps 100, Dereck Dobbins 100 and Neil Baldwin.

The home side continued their attack in the first pairs with Wayne Davies 100, 140 and Kevin Forbes turning on the style against Karl Manns 121 and Neil Baldwin 129 and the 3-0 lead then became 4-0 with Ron Morgan 120 and Gareth Dunn 180 holding throw over Warren Rees 100 and Lloyd Davies. The final pairs leg saw Kevin Mahoney 125 and David Rowlands 100, 108, 121 break Dai Phelps and Derek Dobbins 100 apiece earning the hosts a 5-0 lead heading into the singles match-ups.

Warren Rees 4x100, 140 took the first singles against the darts over Wayne Davies 4x100 to get the Daggers into the game with a first point but any thought of a dramatic comeback were quickly blunted with Gareth Dunn 3x100, 2x140 beating Dai Phelps to put the Champs 6-1 ahead. Kevin Forbes 2x100, 125, 140 produced the first hold of throw of the singles with a 2-0 win over Phil Morris to maintain the hosts’ run and then a break from Kevin Mahoney 140, 121, 3x140 over Karl Manns 2x100, 125 by a 2-1 margin saw the home side take an 8-1 lead. The splendid Ron Morgan 2x100, 2x140, 180 made it 9-1 a 2-0 hold over Lloyd Davies 135 before Derek Dobbins 3x100, 123, 125 took the last game with a 2-1 hold over David Rowlands 2x100, 120, 2x140 gaining the visitors a deserved second point.

HEOLGERRIG SOCIAL . 4 HILLS PLYMOUTH CRICKET CLUB ............. 7

LAST season’s surprise package from the HPCC got this season off to a steady start with a fine away win at Heolgerrig Social Club starting with Dean Lewis 100, J Castaldi and Jason Woodford 100 holding over Mike Evans, Bob Watkins and R Cahalane and a break from Rhys Lee 100, Jarred Lewis and Craig Clayton 140 over Ray Williams, Meirion Evans 117 and Islwyn Price then saw the Cric go 2-0 ahead.

Craig Clayton 100 and Rhys Lee held throw in the first pairs over Ray Williams and Kevin Roberts for a 3-0 lead but then a hold from Iory Haines 2x100 and Trad Davies over J Castaldi 2x100 and Jarred Lewis stopped the rot and got a point on the board for the home side. Dean Lewis 100 and Jason Woodford then completed the pairs legs for the away side with a hold over Meirion Evans and Colin Morgan 100 giving the visitors a commanding 4-1 lead going into the singles.

Ray Williams 2x100, 180 held throw in the first singles 2-0 over Jason Castaldi 100, 180 to pull a point back for the hosts but back came the visitors with Jason Woodford 4x100 notching a 2-1 hold over Mike Evans 5x100 for a 5-2 lead. Veteran Iory Haines 2x100, 103, 121 edged a 2-1 win over Craig Clayton 2x100, 140 to pull a point back for the home side but the relief was short lived with Rhys Lee 2x100, 121 beating Bob Watkins 2-0 for a 6-3 lead. Vastly experienced Colin Morgan 3x100 notched up a 2-0 hold over Jarred Lewis before Dean Lewis beat Kevin Roberts to complete a fine 7-4 win.

BAILI-GLAS A ................ 4 BAILI-GLAS B ................ 7

THE game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests with the “home” side giving their visitors a stiff test.

It went against the script for last season’s runnersup with Terry Morgan 100, Andrew Morgan 121 and Wayne Robinson breaking the throw of Jeff Pearce 135, Steve Haman and Hywel Llewellyn 100 apiece for an early home side lead with Terry Morgan with the winning double. The second pairs also went against the darts with Matthew Quinlan, Byron Jones and Andrew Rough 100 just edging past Stewart Charleston, Ian Thomas 100 and Alan Mee as the home side missed a few shots at a double for a level game.

The first pairs saw Terry Morgan miss the outer segment as he and partner Wayne Robinson 137 were edged out by Matthew Quinlan and Andrew Rough 100 as the away side took the lead, but this was short lived as Stewart Charleston and Ian Thomas held over Jeff Pearce and Mervyn Matthews 140 for a level match at 2-2. The final pairs saw Steve Haman 180, 145 in an attempted 170 out and Hywel Llewellyn beat Tim Charleston and Alan Mee who also missed a bull finish with Tim’s attempts at a double then landing closer to Tesco than its intended double for a 3-2 lead heading into the singles games.

Matthew Quinlan 3x100, 120, 3x140, 101 out then edged past Stewart Charleston 100, 134, 140 by a 2-1 margin break in a fantastic game for a 4-2 lead and this was then extended to 5-2 with the Galactico Andrew Rough 2x100, 140 holding over a battling Terry Morgan. New recruit Ian Thomas 100, 120, 125, 131, 2x140 is settling in very well and his 2-1 hold over Jeff Pearce 122, 131, 2x140 in a great game for a third home point was just reward for his efforts. Tim Charleston 100, 121 took the first leg off Hywel Llewelyn 4x100 but the latter fought back to take it 2-1 and a 6-3 lead. Byron Jones 108, 2x140 broke the throw of Alan Mee for a 7-3 lead before a magnificent Andrew Morgan beat Mervyn Matthews 2x100, 121, 125, 2-1 against the darts for a much deserved fourth point for the home side.

DIVISION TWO ABERFAN SOCIAL CLUB A ........................... 8 ABERFAN SOCIAL CLUB X ........................... 3

THE X men who took the first game of the match with Glen Kitchen 100, 120, S Rees and G Butler holding throw over Kevin Downing, G Jones and Jack Colston for an early lead but the home side were soon level with Peter Emmanuel, W Morris and Vic Jones taking the second triples with a good win over G King, Ieuan Morris and Mike O’Neill 140 in a hard fought game.

Glen Kitchen 100 and G Butler held their darts in the opening pairs regaining the upper hand for the away side but back came their hosts with Wayne Morris 120 and Kevin Downing edging past Phillip Green and Dai James 100 in a highly entertaining game. The final pairs leg saw the first break of throw of the game with Jack Colston 100, 136 and Vic Jones beating Ieuan Morris and Mike O’Neill to nudge the hosts in front ahead of the singles matches.

Kevin Downing 100, 123 claimed the first singles with a 2-0 hold over G Butler and this lit the blue touch paper for the A side who went on to dominate the singles with G Jones beating G King 100 by a 2-0 margin in the next game. Vic Jones 100, 116, 140 then accounted for Glen Kitchen 100 with a 2-0 hold with Jack Colston 100, 134 then breaking Mike O’Neill 100 by a 2-0 margin. Phillip Green 100 beat Wayne Morris 100, 120, 125 2-1 against the darts in a tightly fought game, before Peter Emmanuel took the final point for the hosts with a good 2-0 break over Dai James 132, 140.

PENTREBACH LABOUR CLUB ............................... 8 PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB C (SEASIDE) ........ 3

THINGS did not start well for Pen C with Barrie Gilby, Johnny Murphy 100 and Gavin Galleozzie losing their opening triples to A Thomas 100, J Vaughan and M Price and then they found themselves 2-0 down with Tony Galliers 100, Gary Champion and Graham Price holding over Drew Bradley, Connor John and John Sedgemore.

The vastly experienced Tony Galliers and Gary Champion 100 broke Johnny Murphy and Connor John in the opening pairs increasing the lead to 3-0 before the Pen finally made a mark with John Sedgemore and Gavin Galleozzie breaking L Jones 100 and Eddie Jones with a break. The final pairs saw another break as Les Thomas 140 and A Thomas beat the Pen stars Drew Bradley and Ceri Richards to take a 4-1 lead into the singles.

Tony Galliers 100, 125 took the first singles for the home side over John Sedgemore increasing the lead to 5-1 before Drew Bradley 2x100, 180 held throw over Gary Champion 100 to earn a second point for the battling Pen. Graham Price 3x100, 102, 125 then made it 6-2 in the home side’s favour with a great 2-0 hold over Barrie Gilby 100 with L Jones 2x100 then making it 7-2 with a win over an out of sorts Ceri Richards. Rising star Connor John 2x100, 2x140 pulled a vital third point back for the visitors with a 2-0 win over Eddie Jones with Les Thomas 2x100, 140 then completing the Pentrebach win with a 2-0 break over Johnny Murphy.

MERTHYR CONSERVATIVE CLUB 5 MERTHYR EX CLUB ..... 6

THE Ex started the game well taking the opening triples through Jason Baynham 135, 140, Denzil Griffiths and Wayne O’Neill holding over Ron Phillips, Greg Howells and John Hulbert but the Con were very quick to reply with Jonathon Davies, M Hughes and Chris Price 100 apiece edging past Jason Davies 100, 140, Shane Williams and Steve Mahoney to level at one apiece.

The first pairs leg went the way of the away side with Jason Baynham and Wayne Jones holding over Jonathon Davies 100 and M Hughes to regain the lead but yet again back came the home side with Greg Howells 100 and John Hulbert beating Paul Bayliss and Matthew Sullivan 100 in a hard fought leg. The first break of the night came in the final pairs with Chris Price 100, 140 and Ron Phillips edging past Jason Davies 140 and Shane Williams 100 in a tense game for a 3-2 home lead going into the match-deciding singles matches.

The opening singles saw Jason Baynham 100 beat Chris Price 2-0 against the throw to level and then a hold from Jason Davies 2x100, 140 by a 2-1 margin in a tense tough battle over Jonathon Davies 100 saw the Ex nudge ahead at 3-2. Shane Williams 3x100 broke Ron Phillips 100 by a 2-1 score putting the visitors 5-3 ahead but the home side would not roll over with M Hughes 140 breaking Matthew Sullivan 100 to pull within a point and then a hold from Greg Howells 3x100 over Paul Bayliss 2x100 saw the sides draw level. A tense nervous last game saw Wayne Jones hold throw over John Hulbert to earn the Ex a narrow last-gasp victory to get their season off to a winning start.

WINCHESTER BAR ....... 6 ROSE AND CROWN ...... 5

THE Rose will be sharpening their shears and practising their doubles after defeat in their opener with missed doubles costing them very dear.

Stuart Hughes 132, Rhys Donovan and G Jones took the opening triples for the Rose over L Roberts, Andrew Morgan 125, and Ian Laing but the Winch were quick to fire back with John Andrews, G Moore and Anthony Lennon getting the better of Paul O’Dell, John Wood and Kristian Dowd with throw for a level game.

The first pairs leg saw the visitors regain the lead with Kevin Morgan and Kristian Dowd holding over G Moore and Anthony Lennon but the lead was short lived as John Andrews and Andrew Morgan beat John Wood and Paul O’Dell 140 for a level match at 2-2. The final pairs saw the first break of throw with L Roberts and Ian Laing getting the better of Steve Evans 100, 101 and Stuart Hughes to put the hosts ahead for the first time at 3-2 ahead of the singles battles.

The first singles proved to be a successful one for the Rose with Paul O’Dell 100, 140 finding the target for a break over John Andrews and a level game but they could not build on this as L Roberts broke the throw of Rhys Donovan to put the Winch 4-3 up and soon became 5-3 with Andrew Morgan beating Stuart Hughes 2x100 with a hold of throw. Ian Laing 100, 140 secured the overall victory for the home side with a break over John Wood 2x100, 101 but the Rose refused to wilt with Kristian Dowd and Kevin Morgan 100 apiece beating Anthony Lennon 100 and G Moore respectively to take the last two games for a frustrated Rose.

PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB A ........................... 8 SILVER BULLET ............ 3

The Bullet failed to fire properly on their trip to the Pen A as their season got off to a low-key start.

Chris Davies 100, Steffan Williams 100 and Neil Winstone 125 took the first triples with a fine hold over Wayne Lee, P McCarthy and S Clark but the Pen bounced back quickly with G Jones 140, R Beynon and Phillip Bond 100 holding over Dean Jenkins, Sharif Rasul and Steven Walker for a level contest.

Phil Bond 2x100, 140 and Jonathon Evans were in good shape for the hosts in the first pairs with a break over Chris Davies and Steffan Williams as they went 2-1 ahead and this then became 3-1 with Richard Beynon 100 and Wayne Lee 125 holding over Dean Jenkins 140 and Steven Walker. G Jones 100, 140 and P McCarthy then made it a clean sweep of the pairs legs with a break over Sharif Rasul 100 and Anthony Morris for a 4-1 lead going into the singles.

Jonathon Evans took the opening singles for the hosts with a fine hold over Anthony Morris for a 4-1 lead and this then became 5-1 with Phil Bond 100, 115, 121 breaking Chris Davies 100 in fine style. Steven Walker 2x100 pulled a second point back for the Bullet when he came out firing against Richard Beynon 140 but the comeback was short lived with Wayne Lee beating Sharif Rasul for a 7-2 home lead. Steffan Williams 2x100 came out all guns blazing against S Clark 100 to earn the Bullet a third point before G Jones 100, 140 beat Neil Winstone against the darts to complete a fine win for the home side.

GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB B ........................... 5 IMPERIAL HOTEL ........ 6

OLD stagers Wayne James, John Donovan and Adrian Williams got the Imp off to a good start with a hold over Teg Powell, Wayne Benbow and David Spencer and 1-0 then became 2-0 with Trevor Williams 100, Idwal Peters 100 and Terry Dow- man breaking Tony Pollard, Craig Rees and Roy Wilkes ahead of the pairs.

Wayne James and Terry Dowman 125 held throw in the opening pairs with a good win over Wayne Benbow 100 and Teg Powell putting the visitors 3-0 up which then became 4-0 with Trevor Williams 125 and Idwal Peters breaking Tony Pollard 2x100 and Adam Pollard in a hard fought game. Steve Wilkes and Craig Rees 100 then pulled a point back for the home side with a break of throw over John Donovan 121 and Paul Prosser to reduce the arrears to 1-4 going into the singles games.

Tony Pollard 2x100 kept up his good form with a hold over Wayne James to halve the deficit to 2-4 but then the Imp regained a three-point lead with Idwal Peters 111 hold- ing throw over Wayne Benbow. Teg Powell held throw over Adrian Williams pulling a third leg back for the hosts with Steve Wilkes 100 breaking John Donovan 100 for a fourth. Paul Prosser edged past Adam Pollard with a break to make it 6-4 to the away side with David Spencer 100, 133 then despatching Trevor Williams in the final game to take the last point for the Guest,

ANGEL INN .................... 5 DOWLAIS CON CLUB ... 6

MARK Jones, Steve George and Rhys Phillips got the home side off to a winning start with a break over Josh Richards, Gary Flye 100 and Mark Thomas but parity was quick in arriving with G Thomas, A Williams and Scott Keefe 140 seeing off the challenge of Chris John 121, Graham Hancock and Steve Powell.

G Thomas and J Richards put the away side ahead for the first time with the first hold of throw of the contest in the first pairs over Mark Davies and Brent Morgan and then they pushed it to 3-1 with Gary Flye and Mark Thomas beating Chris John and Rhys Phillips in yet another break. Break four came in game five with Ron Davies and Steve George beating a disappointed A Williams and Scott Keefe 2x100 to trail by just one point going into the singles.

J Richards 100 made it 4-2 to the Con with a break over Chris John 180 in the first singles but back came the hosts with Mark Davies 140 edging past G Thomas 2x100 in a hard fought game. Mark Thomas 100 made it 5-3 to the visitors in beating Mark Jones 100 before a determined comeback from the home side saw Graham Hancock and Ron Davies beat Gary Flye 100 and A Williams 100 respectively to level the match at 5-5. A desperate last leg saw Scott Keefe hold his nerve and throw to beat Brent Morgan 100 and gain the visitors a last-gasp victory.