WORTHINGTON’S MERTHYR & DISTRICT DARTS LEAGUE

THE third week of action in the Worthington’s Merthyr & District Darts League 2017/18 season saw a break in the cup action with the first round of league action taking place with some outstanding performances and the odd surprise or two along the way.

Some teams have made big statements while other fancied to do well failed to produce with some lacklustre performances that they will look to put right as soon as possible. Losing becomes a bad habit and one that these sides will want to break immediately.

DIVISION ONE MERTHYR LABOUR CLUB ............................. 10 PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB C (SEASIDE) ........ 1

NEWLY-PROMOTED Pen C must have thought that life in the “big league” was a doddle with Ceri Richards, Nathan Morgan and Connor John 100, 120 holding throw over Wayne Davies, Chris Galleozzie and Jason Baynham 2x100 for their first point in Division One at their first attempt but the lead was very shortlived and it was then an uphill battle all the way.

Kevin Forbes, Gareth Dunn and David Rowlands then scrapped past Robert Pike 100, Gavin Galleozzie 121 and John Sedgemore 100 with a hold to level and then the first break of throw of the match saw Wayne Davies 140 and Chris Galleozzie beat Johnny Murphy 120 and Nathan Morgan to put the hosts 2-1 ahead. Kevin Forbes 100, 140, 101 out and Gareth Dunn 100 held over Ceri Stent 100 and Kevin Hyde 140 in the second pairs with David Rowlands 135 and Kevin Mahoney 120 then making it a clean sweep of the pairs legs with a break over Drew Bradley and Ceri Richards for a 3-1 lead heading into the singles legs.

Wayne Davies 100, 2x140 held his throw, and luck, with a hard fought win over Connor John 4x100 and a following break from Chris Galleozzie 3x100, 140 over Ceri Stent 135, 140 (2-0) saw the hosts take a 5-1 lead. Kevin Forbes 2x100, 140 kept the pressure on the Pen with a hold (2-0) over Drew Bradley 100, 121 and then the impressive Gareth Dunn increased the lead even further with a seemingly comfortable break over Robert Pike. New recruit Jason Baynham 4x100, 140 found his scoring socks with a fine (2-1) hold over Johnny Murphy 2x100, 136 making it 8-1 to the Labour lads with home skipper, the veteran, David Rowlands 3x100, 112 completing the win with a fine 2-0 break over Kevin Hyde.

HILLS PLYMOUTH CRICKET CLUB ............. 2 BAILI-GLAS B ................ 9

LAST campaign’s runners-up made an efficient start to the new season with a fine win away at the difficult Cric.

Matthew Quinlan, Andrew Rough and Kevin Roberts 100 apiece held throw in the opening triples over Aled Walters, Phil Lewis 100 and Rhys Lee putting the visitors ahead but the home side’s reply was swift as Dean Lewis 138, Jason Castaldi 100 and Adam Evans 155 out held against Geraint Thomas 105, Jeff Pearce and Steve Haman 134, 140 to level the match. Matthew Quinlan 2x100, 102 out and Andrew Rough 140 made a contribution to the night’s total of 58 ton-plus scores in their hold over Adam Evans 140 and Jason Castaldi 100, 140 as the away side went 2-1 ahead and then it became 3-1 with Steve Haman and Mervyn Matthews 140, 140 out breaking the darts of Craig Clayton and Dean Lewis 100 apiece. The Baili then increased their advantage in the final pairs with the dynamic duo Geraint Thomas 100 and Jeff Pearce 100, 140 beating Rhys Lee and Keith Harnedy 100 as the sides readied themselves for the match-deciding singles battles.

The Typhoon Geraint Thomas (also known as the Prince of Style) 4x100 took the opening singles with a break (2-0) over Jason Castaldi 3x100 and a hold from Andrew Rough 2x100, 139 over Craig Clayton 100 in the next game saw the away side go 5-1 ahead. The Mighty Quinn Matthew Quinlan 2x100, 122, 125, 140, 115 out scored an excellent break (2-0) against Adam Evans 125, 140 putting another plus on the Baili’s total before Mr Dependable Jeff Pearce 3x100, 123, 140 suffered a shock 2-1 break against Keith Harnedy 100 as the hosts pulled a point back.

Mervyn Matthews 100, 135 held (2-0) over last season’s star man for the Cric Dean Lewis 2x100 with Steve Haman 140, 112 out then completing the win with a 2-0 hold over Rhys Lee 2x100.

YE-OLDE EXPRESS ...... 9 MERTHYR EX CLUB ..... 2

ANOTHER Division One debutant, the Merthyr Ex Club, also had a baptism of fire in their first league game with an extremely tough trip to fortress YeOlde Express where they found Robert Phelps, Brian Nicholas and Wayne Titcomb in waiting who broke the throw of Jason Davies 100, Andrew Davies and Shane Williams 100 earning the hosts an early lead which they then doubled with Peter Locke 100, 140, Darren Locke 100 and Steve Nicholas 100 holding successfully over Wayne O’Neill 100, Wayne Jones and L Price.

Peter Locke 100 and Darren Locke 140 claimed the first pairs leg with a break over Wayne Jones and Steve Mahoney for a 3-0 lead but the Ex responded in the second with Mark Nicholls 100, 135 and Shane Williams 2x100 breaking the darts of a stunned Dean Thomas and Steve Nicholas. The final pairs saw a third consecutive break of throw with Brian Nicholas and Wayne Titcomb beating Andrew Davies and Jason Davies for a 4-1 home lead going into the singles battles.

The ever reliable Peter “The Great” Locke 100, 120, 140, 180 took the first pairs with a 2-0 hold over Steve Mahoney 100, 140 and then “Star Kicker” Steve Nicholas 3x100, 140 broke Jason Davies 2x100 for a 6-1 lead. The eighth game of the night provided something of a seismic shock with Darren Locke 8x100 having his throw broken (2-1) by Andrew Davies 5x100 as the away side claimed a second point but then Brian Nicholas 100, 140 got the home side back on the winning trail with a 2-0 break over Shane Williams, Wayne Titcomb 100, 122, 2x140 held firm over Mark Nicholls 2x100 for an 8-2 lead with Dean Thomas 138, 2x140 then breaking (2-1) over Wayne O’Neill 100, 121, 122 to complete the win.

GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB A ........................... 8 MERTHYR VALE EX CLUB B (DAGGERS B) ... 3

THE defending champions from the Guest A are right up there at the very start of the season with a convincing home win over the very tough to beat Daggers B.

Justin Davies, Phil Williams 100 and Steve Thomas 180 broke the throw of Lloyd Davies 100, Phil Morris 100 and Bobby Terrett in the opening triples of a contest that contained some 67 ton-plus scores including 3x180s as the Guest took an early lead which they then doubled with Scott Bayliss, Craig Morgan and Dale Pinch 100 apiece holding successfully over Derek Dobbins 180, Dai Phelps 100 and Mike Terrett with the pairs legs up and coming.

The first pairs saw Justin Davies and Phil Williams take the darts off Karl Manns and John Terrett 100 and then 4-0 appeared on the scoreboard with Scott Bayliss and Dale Pinch 100 beating Warren Rees and Lloyd Davies 100, 123. The last pairs contest finally saw the Daggers make their point with former twotime pairs champions Derek Dobbins 100 and Dai Phelps successfully holding over Lyndon Price 140 and Andrew Coombes to slightly cut the deficit ahead of the singles battles.

The first of the singles was a great battle with Phil Williams 5x100, 125, 140 holding throw (2-1) over Karl Manns 2x140, 180 and further success for the hosts in the next game saw Scott Bayliss 4x100, 125 beat Dai Phelps 3x100, 140 with a break (2-1) to lead 6-1. Justin Davies 5x100, 115, 121, 140 won another great game (2-1) with a hold over Warren Rees 2x100, 125, 137 before Phil Morris 4x100, 125 keeping his darts with a battling 2-1 hold over Craig Morgan 5x100, 139 to put a temporary brake on the hosts’ onslaught. Steve Thomas 100, 2x140 beat John Terrett with a 2-0 hold making it 8-2 to the hosts before Derek Dobbins 100, 121, 134 beat Dale Pinch 2x100 gaining a third point for the away side.

DIVISION TWO MERTHYR CONSERVATIVE CLUB 9 WHITE HORSE .............. 2

THE Conservative Club made an excellent start to the 2017/18 campaign with a convincing 9-2 win over the visiting White Horse.

Jonathon Davies, Ron Philllps and C Thomas 100 put the home side into an early lead with a break over Roy Evans, Sean Price and Steve Hamer 2x100 and a successful hold from Colin Lloyd 100, John Hulbert and John Hobby over Chris Carstairs, Trevor Jones and Phil Martin made it 2-0 to the hosts heading into the pairs legs.

Jonathon Davies 100 and M Hughes claimed the first pairs with a break over Wayne Morgan and Steve Hamer extending the Con’s lead which then became 4-0 with Chris Stansfield 123 and Eddie Cunnington 100 edging past Phil Martin and Chris Carstairs. The Horse finally got into the running in the final pairs with Roy Evans 100, 140 and Sean Price 100 getting the better of Christopher Price and C Thomas to put a point on the board.

Chris Price 2x100 beat Rocking Roy Evans (2-0) in the first singles putting the hosts 5-1 ahead and they increased the lead further with C Thomas 3x100, 125 breaking the throw of Sean Price 3x100. Jonathon Davies 2x100, 135 kept the Con on course for a big win with victory (2-0) over Steve Hamer before the impressive Wayne Morgan 3x100, 114 out pulled a second point back for the Horse taking the scalp of M Hughes 3x100 with a 2-0 hold. Eddie Cunnington 140, 112 out put an eighth point on the board for the home side with victory over Chris Carstairs with Chris Stansfield 100, 140 completing the win for the Con with victory over Phil Martin.

PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB A ........................... 4 PENTREBACH LABOUR CLUB ............................... 7

THIS was a highly entertaining encounter from start to finish with both sides giving their all in search of victory.

M Price, Eddie Jones 132 and Gareth Jones got the away side off to a winning start with a hold over Wayne Lee, S Clark and G Thomas but the lead was short lived as Peter McCarthy 100, Glen Jones and Phil Bond 121 beating Tony Galliers, Josh O’Keefe and Gary Champion 100 for a level game heading into the pairs.

The first pairs saw Gwyn Jones 2x100 and Graham Price regain the upper hand for the Labour Club with a good hold over Richard Beynon and Nigel Owen 100 but again the Pen were quick to reply with Glen Jones 100 and Peter McCarthy getting the better of Eddie Jones and M Price making it two apiece. The final pairs leg went the way of the home side with Phil Bond and Jonathon Evans getting the better of veterans Tony Galliers 2x100 and Gary Champion for a 3-2 lead going into the singles battles.

Tony “The Tiger” Galliers 2x140 took the first singles with a break over Jonathon Evans 2x100, 102 levelling the scores at three apiece with Gwyn Jones 122, 137 then edging the away side back ahead with a fine hold over Wayne Lee 4x100, 121 and then Pentrebach led 5-3 with Eddie Jones 100, 125 taking the darts off Richard Beynon 100, 118. Nigel Owen 2x100, 140 beat M Price to put a fourth point on the board for the Pen, but this proved to be their last with Josh O’Keefe breaking the throw of Glen Jones 100 and Graham Price 100, 140 beating Phil Bond 100, 140 to complete the win.

ROSE & CROWN ............ 5 GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB B ........................... 6

NEWLY-PROMOTED Bowls B started brightly with Mark Benbow 100, Mark Virgin 100 and Dai Spencer 125 holding throw over Liam Russell, Phil John and Stuart Hughes but the lead was brief as Kristian Dowd 125, Kevin Morgan and Steve Evans hit back beating Steve Wilkes, Wayne Harris and Matthew Churchill to square the match.

Teg Powell and Robert Powell took the first pairs for the away side beating Kevin Morgan and Rhys Donovan but again the Rose hit back with Liam Russell and Kristian Dowd 100 apiece beating Steve Esterbanez and Tony Pollard to level. The final pairs leg saw the first break of the match with Phil John 100, 125 and Trevor Williams beating Mark Benbow 100 and Mark Virgin to put the hosts 3-2 ahead going into the singles battles.

Teg Powell 100, 125 broke the throw of Stuart Hughes (2-0) levelling the match with Wayne Robinson 100 getting out of a jam to hold throw 2-1 over Trevor Williams 100, 121, 140 and put the Bowls Club 4-3 ahead. Mark Benbow 135, 140 scraped past a stunned Kristian Dowd 5x100 making it 5-3 and just one more point away from their first win in Division Two but they would be made to work for it. Liam Russell 2x100, 140 beat Tony Pollard 101 out putting a fourth point in the Rose garden with veteran Kevin Morgan 100 then holding over Steve Esterbanez 125 to level at five apiece with one match remaining. The last game was a hard battle which saw local hero Phil John 2x100 edged out (21) by Mark Virgin 2x100, 115, 140 who held throw to claim victory for the Bowls.

BAILI-GLAS A ................ 5 COLLIERS ARMS .......... 6

IN THE two cup games played so far the Baili have had insufficient numbers, playing a player short on both occasions but on this outing even with the required numbers for a full team they couldn’t make the numbers add up as they failed too often to hit the required numbers of 701, 601 or 501 with the outer target again being their downfall.

F Murphy, Keith Lewis 140, 72 out and Jimmy Firth claimed the first triples for the Colliers in a hard fought game over Tim Charleston, Andrew Morgan and Terry Morgan but the Baili bounced back in the next with Byron Jones, Ian Thomas and Alan Mee 68 out holding over Martin Treen, Jamie Rees 100 and Frank Grey for a level game.

Byron Jones and Ian Thomas 61 out (two darts) produced the first break of throw of the match with victory over Martin Treen and Jamie Rees 100 apiece but back came the Colliers with Keith Lewis 123 and F Murphy 64 out beating Alan Mee 100 and Terry Morgan.

The final pairs went with throw as Jimmy Rees 54 out and Trevor Lewis 100, 101 edged past Andy Morgan and Tim Charleston to put the visitors 3-2 ahead moving into the singles battles.

A splendid first singles saw Byron Jones 3x100, 123, 125, 86 out (two darts) come back from 1-0 down to hold throw over Keith Lewis 2x100, 140 to square the match at three each and then Terry Morgan 125 broke the throw of F Murphy putting the Baili 4-3 ahead.

An excellent display from Martin Treen including 140, 180 in a 15-dart second leg (could have been 12 darts) in a 2-0 win over Ian Thomas 100, 140 saw the match level again with Trevor Lewis then holding throw (2-1) over a bewildered Alan Mee 3x100, 121 as the Baili legend found the doubles hard to come by.

Andrew Morgan 100, 140 held throw over Jamie Rees 2x100, 140 making all square with one match remaining which saw Jimmy Rees 100, 135 hold throw 2-1 over Tim Charleston 100, 125 who hit some doubles but unfortunately for him and the Baili they were next door to the ones he wanted as the visitors took the match 6-5 as the hosts’ miserable start to the season continued.