WORTHINGTON’S MERTHYR & DISTRICT DARTS LEAGUE

WORTHINGTON’S CUP SECOND ROUND COLLIERS CWTCH ....... 0 BAILI-GLAS A ................ 5

FOLLOWING their long trip to the Colliers Cwtch the visitors were given a fair challenge by their hosts and made to battle for their win.

The Baili took the opening leg of the contest with the awesome foursome of Terry Morgan, Andy Morgan, Alan Mee and Tim Charleston holding throw over Grant Jones, G Jones, R Davies and Hywel Lawrence for an early 1-0 lead and this they then doubled with Alan Mee 133 and Wayne Robinson breaking the throw of Owain Locke and Rhys Maguire. The final pairs leg also went the way of the Baili with Kerry Ryan and Mark Hulbert holding throw over Jason Watts and a battling Heather Baker-Beck for a 3-0 lead going into the singles legs.

Wayne Robinson took the first singles for the visitors with a battling break over Aron Break for a 4-0 lead and victory and a place in the next round was secured in the next leg with Mark Hulbert holding throw over Owain Locke in another thrilling contest.

GRAWEN ARMS ............ 5 MARTYRS CLUB ........... 0

THE Grawen powered into the game and the lead with Phil Locke 121, Marcus Davies, Steve Thomas and Jason Launchbury overcoming the challenge of David Howe, Peter Worrell, Ray Phillips and Alun Pearce against the throw and then a fine hold from Kerry Green and Adrian Thomas 140 over Colin Howe and Peter Worrell 100 saw the home side go 2-0 ahead.

The final pairs saw Roy Phillips and Steve Evans battle hard for the Martyrs but despite their best efforts their throw was broken by veterans Lyn Jones 140 and Roy Element as the home side went into a healthy 3-0 lead going into the vital singles.

The amazing Phil Locke 3x140 held the first singles over Ray Phillips 100 for a 4-0 home lead and then they completed the victory in the very next leg with Marcus Davies 100 breaking Colin Howe 140 in a hard fought game to book their place in the next round.

HEOLGERRIG SOCIAL CLUB ............................... 1 PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB C (SEASIDE) ........ 5

WHAT a result this was for the Pen as they caused a bid “cupset” with victory over their hosts at the Heolgerrig Social Club with a great display.

The Pen chalked up the first mark on the board with Robert Pike, John Sedgemore, Barrie Gilby and Johnny Murphy holding over the vastly experienced Trad Davies, Meirion Evans 123, Alan Moore and Richard Calahane 120 and then a break of throw from Kevin Hyde 100 and Ceri Stent 140 over Mike Evans and Bob Watkins 100, 140 saw the visitors go 2-0 ahead. The third and final pairs saw the visitors go 3-0 ahead with Drew Bradley and Connor John 100 somehow holding over Kevin Roberts 100, 140 and Iory Haines 100 as the home players missed several darts at a double.

The first singles leg saw Johnny Murphy 100, 118 continue the onslaught with a break over Richard Calahane 100 for a 4-0 lead but then Meirion Evans got the home side into the game with a break over Drew Bradley. The relief though was very brief with Kevin Hyde 100 breaking veteran Iory Haines 100 to stun the home side and put a delighted Pen side into the next round.

BAILI-GLAS B ................ 5 MERTHYR EX CLUB ..... 2

THIS was a class game with the visiting Ex giving a great account of themselves against their high flying and high scoring hosts from Division One.

The Ex took the opening fours leg in style with Jason Baynham 100, the outstanding Jason Davies 2x100, 180, Wayne Jones and Wayne O’Neill holding over the highly talented Geraint Thomas, Byron Jones, Andrew Rough 140 and Hywel Llewellyn for an early lead but this was short lived as Geraint Thomas 140 and Andrew Rough held in the first pairs over the impressive Jason Baynham and Matthew Sullivan 100 apiece. Jeff Pearce 100, 180 and Steve Haman 121 then put the Baili into the lead for the first time with a fine break over Jason Davies and Shane Williams as the sides headed into the singles battles.

Steve Haman 100, 137 held throw in the first singles over Jason Baynham 2x100 in a great game putting the hosts 3-1 ahead but back came the Ex with Shane Williams 100 edging past Paul Thomas 100 to reduce the deficit to a single point. Geraint Thomas 100 held throw to beat Wayne O’Neill in a tense battle putting the home side 4-2 ahead and then in the seventh leg of the match Matthew Sullivan hit 4x100 for the visitors but saw his throw broken as Jeff Pearce 140 took the game to put the Baili into the next round.

HILLS PLYMOUTH CRICKET CLUB ............. 5 WINCHESTER BAR ....... 2

ANOTHER David and Goliath battle saw Goliath come out on top with the Crick making full use of home advantage to battle through to the next round.

The home side took the opening fours with Dean Lewis 140, Craig Clayton 100, Aled Walters and Jason Woodford breaking T Broad, D Davies, J Williams and K Pike 2x100, and 2-0 quickly followed with Craig Clayton and Rhys Lee holding their darts over G Moore and D Davies 2x100 in the first pairs game. The second pairs also went the way of the hosts with a second break of throw seeing Dean Lewis 100, 140 and Jason Woodford 121 beating K Pike and Johnny Andrews for a 3-0 lead heading into the singles battles.

Rhys Lee 2x100 put the home side into a 4-0 lead with a hold in the first singles over T Broad 100 but the Winch did get onto the scoreboard on the next leg with K Pike beating Craig Clayton in a tense battle, and then they halved the deficit with G Moore 100 scoring a fine break over Aled Walters. Jason Woodford 100 then completed the victory for the hosts in the next game with a great break over John Andrews to secure a place in the next round.

MERTHYR LABOUR CLUB ............................... 5 GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB A ........................... 4

THIS was a fantastic game from beginning to end going all the way before giving a winner.

This game was a repeat of last season’s cup final which saw the Labour Club victorious and this time around they had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat to keep hold of their title and maintain their hopes of winning it for a second season. The Guest started well taking the fours leg with Craig Morgan 100, Steve Thomas 100, Justin Davies and Phil Williams holding over Rob Evans, Wayne Davies 140, Anthony Carstairs 100 and Kevin Mahoney 100 for an early lead and then the visitors made it 2-0 with Dale Pinch 100 and Jamie Evans 140 breaking Wayne Davies 100 and Chris Galleozzie in the first pairs leg.

The second pairs was a great game with David Rowlands 140, 95 out and Ron Morgan 100, 135 edging past Justin Davies 100, 123 and Phil Williams 2x140 with a break in what turned out to be a vital game ahead of the singles.

The first singles saw Phil Williams 2x100, 140 break Ron Morgan 100, 140 making it 3-1 to the away side and then they went 4-1 up with in-form Steve Thomas 100, 121, 140 holding over Anthony Carstairs 100, 123 to go just one more point away from revenge and a place in the next round.

Wayne Davies 3x100, 130 hit a splendid 14-dart leg to beat an out of sorts Craig Morgan and then Gareth Dunn 100, 140 broke the throw of Justin Davies 129, 140 in a great game to pull the home side to within a point. Chris Galleozzie 2x100 held throw over Jamie Evans 140 in a closely fought eighth leg to level the contest at four apiece and in a thrilling last leg shootout home captain David Rowlands 100 edged past Dale Pinch 140 with a break of throw to steal the match for the home side and complete a remarkable comeback to keep grip on their title and leave their visitors stunned and shell shocked.

LORD RAGLAN SUPPLEMENTARY CUP SECOND ROUND CYFARTHFA ARMS ...... 2 DOWLAIS CON CLUB ... 5

A HARD fought and entertaining game saw the Con start the brighter.

The foursome of Gary Flye, Mark Thomas, A Williams 100 and S O’Brien 100 held throw over K Driscoll 100, S James, J Bailey and Dominic Illari for an early lead and this they then doubled with Scott Keefe 2x100 and A Williams breaking the throw of Jarred Russell and S James in the first pairs.

The second pairs leg also went the way of the away side with S O’Brien and Gary Flye holding over a gallant P Foxhall and Dominic Illari in a hard fought battle for a 3-0 lead going into the singles legs.

J Bailey got the home side onto the board in the first singles with a deserved hold over Mark Thomas but back came the Con with Scott Keefe beating S James to put the visitors 4-1 ahead. Dominic Illari held over A Williams 100 to put a second point on the board for the home side but the relief was short lived with S O’Brien then beating P Foxhall to put the Con safely through to the next round.

VNU ................................ 5 ANGEL HOTEL .............. 2

THIS result can be viewed as something of a “cupset” with the VNU holding on to beat the visiting Angel in a highly entertaining game.

Errold Jones, Steve Darlow, Mark Hadley 127 and Clive Powell breaking the throw of John Pugh, Steve George, Graham Hancock and Mark Jones for an early lead but the lead was brief as Mark Davies 100, 123 and Ron Davies 100 breaking Rhiannon Jenkins and Clive Powell and then the Angel took the lead with the first hold of throw of the match as Brent Morgan and Rhys Phillips beat Errold Jones and D Wills with the teams preparing for the singles battles.

Steve Darlow 100 levelled the match with a hold over Chris John in the first singles and the home side then regained the lead with Rhiannon Jenkins breaking Mark Jones. Mark Hadley got the better of Mark Davies 100 in a loosely fought encounter to put the VNU 4-2 ahead with Errold Jones 122 then completing the victory with a fine break over Ron Davies.

ROSE & CROWN ............ 5 SILVER BULLET ............ 3

THE Rose got this highly entertaining game under way with a break in the fours leg which saw John Wood 100, Kevin Morgan, Stuart Hughes 100 and Steve Evans beat Steffan Williams, Steven Walker 100, Sharif Rasul and Neil Winstone for an early lead, but the Bullet were quick to fire back with Brian Birch and Mark Birch 140 taking the first pairs over the vastly experienced John Wood and Phil John.

The first hold of throw of the match saw Anthony Morris and Chris Davies 140 beat Kristian Dowd and Rhys Donovan 100 apiece to earn the visitors a narrow 2-1 lead going into the match deciding singles legs.

John Wood 100 squared the contest with a hold of throw in the first singles over Steffan Williams with Phil John then edging past Sharif Rasul 100 with a break of throw to put the hosts 3-2 ahead. Kristian Dowd 88 out beat Steven Walker for a 4-2 lead and just one point away from the next round but this was put on hold with Chris Davies holding throw over Steve Evans to pull a third point back for the Bullet. The visitors were finally shot down in the next leg with home stalwart Kevin Morgan 2x100 overcoming the challenge of Neil Winstone to see the Rose into the next round.

FARMERS ARMS ........... 3 MERTHYR CONSERVATIVE CLUB 5

A VERY competitive battle kicked off with the Con taking the fours with Jonathon Davies, John Hulbert, Geoff Jackson and Greg Howells 100 holding over Dean Moulds, Sean Price, Dai Jones 125 and Alan Price.

The first of the pairs legs saw Jonathon Davies and M Hughes break Dai Jones and Sean Price 125 for a 2-0 lead and then 3-0 appeared in the visitors’ favour with Chris Price and Ron Phillips holding over Steve Hamer and Gary Price ahead of the singles battles. The outstanding Dean Moulds 3x100 held throw in the first singles over Jonathon Davies 100 to get the Farmers moving and then a fine break from Dai Jones 105 over Chris Price 135 saw the home side move to within a point of their opponents. Sean Price then scored a stunning hold over M Hughes to level the match at three each and it was really then game on with the home side upwardly mobile. Old stager Greg Howells beat Steve Hamer to edge the visitors ahead again at 4-3 and then Colin Lloyd 125 edged past Gary Price 100 against the throw to steer the visitors into the next round.

PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB A ........................... 5 HORSE & GROOM ......... 4

A SPLENDID game saw the Horse quickly out of the stalls with J Richards, J Gray, R Fealey and A Moore holding in the fours over Jonathon Evans, S Clarke 100, 121, P McCarthy and G Jones and then the visitors made it 2-0 with Nikki Griffiths and M Murphy breaking the throw of Richard Beynon 100 and Nigel Owen.

Home fixtures Phil Bond and Wayne Lee got the home side into the match with another break in the second pairs as they beat A Moore and N Richards to halve the deficit heading into the singles battles.

Home hero Phil Bond levelled the match with victory over R Fealey with a hold of throw but the Horse quickly got its nose in front again with A Moore beating Wayne Lee with another hold of darts. Gerald Jones 100 brought the sides back level with victory over of M Murphy and then a brilliant break from Nigel Owen 100 over J Gray saw the Pen take the lead for the first time. N Richards made it four each with a break over Richard Beynon and the break of throw theme con- tinued in the final leg with Jonathon Evans breaking Nikki Griffiths to see the home side through to the next round much to the relief of his exhausted teammates.

GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB B ........................... 4 PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB B ........................... 5

WOW! What a game this was from dart one to the final double with both sides giving their all and credit them for a fantastic show.

Adam Pollard 100, Steve Wilkes, Carl Jones and Craig Rees 100 started well for the home side with victory against the darts over Steve Smith, Lyndon Price, Nathan Morgan and Dai Rees in the fours leg and then the Guest led 2-0 with Tony Benbow and Mark Benbow 140 holding throw over Nathan Morgan 100 and Kendrick Howe in the first pairs. The final pairs leg saw the Pen get a foothold in the game with Steve Smith and Lyndon Price holding over David Spencer and Steve Wilkes 100 to halve the deficit ahead of the match-deciding singles encounters.

The first of the singles legs saw Nathan Morgan 136 beat Mark Benbow to level the contest and then a fine hold from Steve Smith 2x100 over Adam Pollard 100 saw the Pen take the lead for the first time.

Lyndon Price 2x100 put the away side 4-2 ahead with a break over David Spencer 121 to put the visitors one win away from the next round but they were made to wait as Tony Pollard beat Kendrick Howe against the throw and then a fine hold from Craig Rees over Dai Richards 140 made the match level at four apiece setting up a final last-leg decider. The final leg had Carl Jones in action for the home side hoping to see his side through but in an all-action contest it was the Pen’s dynamic dynamo, Graham Elias 100, who held his nerve and throw to send a jubilant Pen side into the next round.

All teams are reminded that the next Delegate Meeting of the Worthington’s Merthyr & District Darts League will be held on Tuesday, January 17 at the Merthyr Ex Club starting at 8pm.

All sides must be represented and all monies owed to the league must be paid.

Among information given out on the night will be the Pairs Competition draw and Cup draws will be made.