WORTHINGTON’S MERTHYR & DISTRICT DARTS LEAGUE

THE second week of league action in the 2017/18 season of the Worthington’s Merthyr and District Darts League brought some great action with a few sides continuing good early form, others bouncing back after defeats last week while for some a bad start got even worse in a nightmare start to the season and it’s not yet even Halloween.

The first two weeks were cup action as the teams warmed up for the new season as they locked horns in the league last week and now it’s push and shove as the action really hots up.

DIVISION ONE MERTHYR VALE EX CLUB B (DAGGERS B) ... 2 HILLS PLYMOUTH CRICKET CLUB ............. 9

THE Cric bounced back from last week’s defeat with a fantastic away win at the Daggers B in a hardfought, entertaining battle.

The Cric started well with Jason Woodford, Craig Clayton 162 and Rhys Lee holding throw over Lloyd Davies, Kevin Downing 100 and Warren Rees in the opening triples for an early lead and then they doubled their advantage with Alex Evans, Dean Lewis 180 and Keith Harnedy 100 breaking the throw of Dai Phelps 100, 140, John Terrett and Mike Terrett in the second and final triples game.

Dean Lewis 125 and Jason Woodford claimed the first pairs with a hold of throw over Dai Phelps 100 and Karl Manns and a fine break by Rhys Lee 100, 126 out and Keith Harnedy 100 over John Terrett 100 and Keith Downing 118 saw the away side go 4-0 ahead. Alex Evans 125, 140 and Craig Clayton then completed a clean sweep of the pairs and a five-zip lead going into the singles with a hard fought hold over Warren Rees 140 and Lloyd Davies 100.

The first of the singles encounters saw Lloyd Davies 100, 125, battle to edge a 2-1 hold over Keith Harnedy 100, 137, 140 and get the Daggers a point but the relief was short lived as Adam Evans 2x100, 121, 140 held (2-1) over Warren Rees 100, 121, 140. Craig Clayton 100, 140 broke the throw (2-1) of Mike Terrett making it 7-1 to the Cric which then became 8-1 with Jason Woodford 100, 124, 140 holding 2-0 over Karl Manns. Dai Phelps 4x100 held 2-0 over Rhys Lee 3x100, 129 in a closely fought game to pull a second point back for the hosts before Dean Lewis 100, 121, 2x140 took the final point for the visitors with a 2-0 hold over John Terrett 2x100.

MERTHYR EX CLUB ..... 2 MERTHYR LABOUR CLUB ............................... 9

A 10-1 win last week and 9-2 this week shows the Labour Club mean business and want their title back after finishing third last season.

Wayne Davies, Chris Galleozzie 180 and Jason Baynham got the visitors off to a winning start with a fine hold over Jason Davies 100, 123, Andrew Davies and L Price and a fine showing from Kevin Forbes 100, Gareth Dunn and David Rowlands saw them break Shane Williams, T Freeman and Denzil Griffiths 100 for a 2-0 lead going into the pairs legs.

Wayne O’Neill 100, 121 and Steve Mahoney 125 then got the Ex into the game with a surprise break over Wayne Davies and Chris Galleozzie but the relief was brief with David Rowlands and Kevin Mahoney breaking Jason Davies and Mark Nicholls earning the visitors a 3-1 lead. Kevin Forbes and Gareth Dunn 140 apiece then held throw in the final pairs over Shane Williams 100 and L Davies earning the Labour Club a comfortable 4-1 lead heading into the all-important singles encounters.

Wayne Davies 100 broke the throw (2-0) of Steve Mahoney putting the away side a further point ahead but then the Ex picked up a second point with Mark Nicholls 3x100, 3x125 scoring an excellent 2-1 break over the normally unbeatable Chris Galleozzie 100, 2x125, 2x140. Kevin Forbes 2x100 continued the break-ofthrow theme in the singles beating Jason Davies 2x100, 139 (2-1) before Gareth Dunn 118 produced the first hold (2-0) over Wayne O’Neill 100 to put the away side 7-2 ahead. Former Ex Club star Jason Baynham 2x140 returned to haunt his old teammates with a break (2-0) over Andrew Davies 121 before visiting captain David Rowlands 4x100, 134 held over Shane Williams 100, 120 by a 2-0 margin to complete the emphatic win.

BAILI-GLAS B ................ 4 GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB A ........................... 7

THE defending champions from the Guest Bowls A went the whole of last season unbeaten in the league and have started this season in a similar frame with a commanding 7-4 away win at last season’s runners-up the Baili-Glas B whose aim this season is to top the table.

Justin Davies, Phil Williams and Steve Thomas 140 took the opening triples with throw over Matthew Quinlan, Andrew Rough and Mervyn Matthews but the Baili replied quickly with Geraint Thomas 100, Jeff Pearce 135 and Steve Haman holding the second over Jamie Evans 100, Dale Pinch 100, 140 and Craig Morgan for a level game going into the pairs games.

Justin Davies and Phil Williams 121, 140 were victorious for the Guest in the first pairs beating Matthew Quinlan and Andrew Rough 100, 140 but again the home side bounced back with Steve Haman 100 and Mervyn Matthews 100 holding their throw against Dale Pinch and Steve Thomas 100 for a 2-2 game. The final pairs continued the hold-of-throw pattern with Jamie Evans 180 and Craig Morgan 100 beating the gruesome twosome Geraint Thomas and Jeff Pearce 100 for a vital 2-1 lead heading into the singles battles.

Geraint “The Prince of Style” Thomas 2x100, 133, 135, 140 showed the glitz blitz with a 2-0 hold over Steve Thomas 3x100 to level the match at three apiece with the Galactico Andrew Rough 3x100, 2x140 breaking the throw (2-1) of Phil Williams 2x100, 120, 140 to give the Baili the lead for the first time at 4-3.

The lead though was short lived as the lefthanded darts dynamo Matthew Quinlan 100, 140, 180 lost his drive and throw as Dale Pinch 2x100, 2x140 broke (2-0) to square the match at four apiece. Justin Davies 100, 125, 140 then set the Guest up for victory with a splendid 2-0 hold over Jeff Pearce 140 and then a battling break from Craig Morgan 4x100, 125, 140 over Mervyn Matthews 140 by a 2-1 margin saw the away side go 6-4 ahead. Jamie Evans then completed the win with a hold over Steve Haman (no scores available for this game).

PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB C (SEASIDE) ........ 6 GRAWEN ARMS ............ 5

THIS game was the shock of the week in the First Division with newcomers the Pen C recording their first win with a fine 6-5 result over the Division One stalwarts from the Grawen Arms.

Phil Locke 100, 140, 83 out and two other guys, Kerry Green and Roy Element, took the opening triples with throw over John Sedgemore, Ceri Richards 100 and Steve Smith but the Pen struck back with Barry Gilby 100, Robert Pike and Gavin Galleozzie edging past Steve Thomas 100, Jason Launchbury 100 and Ryan Element to level the match at 1-1 going into the pairs battles. Phil Locke and Lyn Jones 100 apiece took the first pairs with a hold over Connor John 125 and Johnny Murphy but back again came the home side with Kevin Hyde 123 and Ceri Stent just getting the better of Kerry Green and Steve Thomas 100. The final pairs leg saw the hosts take the lead with Nathan Morgan and Drew Bradley 100 breaking Jason Launchbury and Roy Element 132 for a slender 3-2 lead going into the matchdeciding singles battles.

Jason Launchbury 100, 2x140 levelled the match with a battling 2-1 break over Connor John 3x100 but parity was brief with Ceri Stent 2x100, 121, 135, 140 then breaking Phil Locke 100, 140 for a 4-3 home lead which then became 5-3 with veteran Kevin Hyde 100, 105, 125 scrapping past an unlucky Kerry Green 2x100, 2x140, 180 with a hold. Steve Thomas 3x100 pulled a fourth point back for the visitors holding (2-0) over Drew Bradley 105, 121, 140 before Nathan Morgan 2x100 edged past the legendary Adrian Thomas 100, 125 for a 6-4 home lead. The excellent Lyn Jones 3x100, 2x121, 117 out then claimed the final point of the match for the Grawen with a great hold (2-0) over Johnny Murphy 100, 125, 140 to end a very entertaining and hard fought game.

DIVISION TWO GUEST KEEN BOWLS CLUB B ........................... 8 BAILI-GLAS A ................ 3

WHEN the Baili A were relegated from the First Division at the end of last season they vowed to get out of the Second Division at the first attempt.

So far they remain true to their word, but the problem is they are heading for the Third Division as they make a disastrous start to their campaign following two awful defeats.

A bad start to this game saw Alan Mee, Byron Jones 100 and Tim Charleston 100 lose their throw to Mark Virgin 100, 90 out (25, 25, tops), Matthew Churchill and Wayne Robinson 100 but the Baili did manage to level the score with Terry Morgan, Mark Hulbert 100 and Andrew Morgan beating Wayne Benbow, Mark Benbow and Steve Esterbanez in a hard fought game ahead of the pairs legs.

Wayne Benbow 125, 2x140 and old stager Mark Benbow then blitzed Alan Mee and Mark Hulbert with a break of throw to put the Guest into a 2-1 lead which then became 3-1 with Teg Powell 100 and Robert Powell 120 holding over new recruits Viv Morgan 100, 122 and Brian Roberts. Ian Thomas 100 and Byron Jones then kept the game close with a hold over Mark Virgin and Tony Pollard to trail 3-2 heading into the singles match-ups.

Wayne Benbow 3x100 held throw (2-1) over Ian Thomas 2x100, 101 making it 4-2 to the hosts which then became 5-2 with Mark Benbow 3x100, 140, 76 out breaking Viv Morgan 2x100, 120, 140 including a 17-dart leg by a 2-1 margin. Another 2-1 score saw Mark Virgin 3x100, 125, 180 hold over Terry Morgan 3x100, 140 making it 6-2 to the home side before Byron Jones 100, 137, 62 out gained some pride for the Baili with a 2-0 hold over Teg Powell. Dai Spencer 108 scored a surprise hold over Andrew Morgan 100, 140 further advancing the Guest’s advantage before Steve Wilkes 100, 121, 140 completed the rout with a 2-0 break over an unlucky Brian Roberts 2x100, 140 as the Baili still look to gain their first win over the season.

LORD RAGLAN MERTHYR CONSERVATIVE CLUB 7 ............. 4

NEWLY-PROMOTED Lord Raglan gave a good account of themselves against the visiting Merthyr Con Club going down 7-4 in a hard fought game.

Jonathon Davies, Ron Phillips 100 and C Thomas 100 put the visitors into an early lead with a hold over Mike Matthews, Lance Thomas and Alan Driscoll but it was short lived as Kiron Meek, Brian Meek 2x100 and Mike McLoughlin held over Colin Lloyd, John Hulbert and John Hobby to level the match at one apiece ahead of the pairs legs.

Jonathon Davies and M Hughes claimed the first pairs with a hold as they scraped past Lance Thomas 100, 125 and Kevin Snowden but again the home side responded with Kiron Meek 140 and Brian Meek 2x100 beating Chris Stansfield and Eddie Cunnington for a level game. C Thomas 100, 180 and Chris Price 100 then edged the Con ahead 3-2 going into the singles with a hold over Luke O’Keefe and Karl Hunt.

Chris Price 2x100 edged the first pairs match with a 2-1 break over Lance Thomas 2x100, 125, 133, putting the visitors 4-2 ahead which then became 5-2 with Jonathon Davies holding (2-0) over Kevin Snowden 100. Kiron Meek 100, 123, 135 kept the Lord’s hopes alive with a very hard 2-1 hold over C Thomas 2x100, 138, 180 putting a third point on the board for the hosts but the Con then went on the attack again with M Hughes 4x100 holding (2-1) over a battling Mike Matthews 100, 119, 125.

Veteran Brian Meek 3x100, 140 held 2-0 in a brilliant game with Chris Stansfield 3x100, 119, 140 earning the hosts a deserved fourth point before Eddie Cunnington 3x100, 140 took the final point for the away side with victory over Mike McLoughlin 100.

PENTREBACH LABOUR CLUB ............................... 7 ABERFAN SOCIAL CLUB X ...................................... 4

ANOTHER highly entertaining game here started with Tony Galliers 140, Gwyn Jones and Gary Champion breaking the darts of Greg Butler, Glen Kitchen and Charlie Davies 100 but the visitors got back on level terms very quickly with Byron Jones, Peter Emanuel and G King 2x100 overcoming the challenge of Eddie Jones 121, M Price and Gareth Jones 100.

The first pairs went the way of the home side with M Price and Josh O’Keefe 100 claiming the scalps of Byron Jones and Charlie Davies but yet another break of throw saw Greg Butler and Greg Butler 100 apiece beat Gwyn Jones 120 and Graham Price 100 to level the match again at 2-2. The final pairs was yet another break of throw which saw Tony Galliers and Gary Champion 100 apiece beat Dai James 135 and Mike O’Neill for a 3-2 lead heading into the singles matches.

Tony “The Tiger” Galliers 100, 125, 136 held the first singles (2-0) over Greg Butler 4x100 in an entertaining game putting the hosts 4-2 ahead before G King 2x100, 180 held 2-0 over Eddie Jones 100, 180 pulling a third point back for the X who then added a fourth with Glen Kitchen 2x100, 140 then turning up the heat with a 2-1 break over former teammate Gary Champion 2x100. Josh O’Keefe 2x100, 140 nudged the hosts 5-4 ahead with a 2-1 win over Charlie Davies and a 2-1 hold from Gwyn Jones 2x100, 136 over Peter Emanuel 100, 140 saw the Labour Club go 6-4 ahead.

Home captain Graham Price 2x100, 121, 140 then completed the win for the home side with a commanding 2-0 break over Byron Jones.

COLLIERS ARMS .......... 5 ROSE & CROWN ............ 6

THIS game went right to the wire before revealing a winner in a game that could have gone either way.

Keith Lewis, F Murphy and Jimmy Rees took the opening triples with a break over Liam Russell, Rhys Donovan 100 and Stuart Hughes and 2-0 then appeared on the hosts side of the scoreboard with Jamie Rees, F Grey 124 and Martin Treen holding over Kristian Dowd 100, 140, Kevin Morgan and Steve Evans as the sides prepared for the three pairs legs.

Liam Russell 100 and Kristian Dowd 100, 120 got the Rose going with a hold in the first pairs over Martin Treen and Jimmy Rees and then the score read two apiece with Phil John 100 and Trevor Williams breaking the throw of Keith Lewis and F Murphy.

The final pairs saw a hold of throw from Kevin Morgan and Steve Evans 100 apiece over Jamie Rees and Trevor Lewis as the visitors took a 3-2 lead heading into the singles match-ups.

Liam Russell 3x100 made it 4-2 with a 2-0 break over Keith Lewis in the first singles but Jamie Evans kept the hosts in the game with a break over Rhys Donovan 2x140 to pull back to within a point. Kristian Dowd 2x100, 120, 140 produced another break (2-0) with a good win over F Murphy putting the Rose 5-3 ahead but then things really hotted up with Martin Treen 100, 135, 140 breaking Trevor Williams 2x100, 180 and Trevor Williams 100, 2x140 holding against Kevin Morgan 100 (2-0) to level the match at five apiece with one more match to play.

The final game was a tense battle which saw Phil John 100 hold his nerve and throw to beat Jimmy Rees and gain the visitors a last-gasp victory.

WORTHINGTON’S MERTHYR & DISTRICT DARTS LEAGUE WHITE HORSE .............. 5 PENYDARREN SOCIAL CLUB A ........................... 6

A VERY entertaining hard fought game started with John Thomas 100, Roy Evans 100, 106 out and Chris Carstairs 100 breaking the throw of Glyn Jones 100, Peter McCarthy and Wayne Lee for an early lead which they then doubled with Steve Hamer 140, Trevor Jones and Wayne Morgan getting the better of S Clark 100, Richard Beynon 100 and Phil Bond for a 2-0 lead going into the pairs legs.

Phil Bond 100 and Jonathon Evans claimed the first pairs with a hold over Sean Price and Gary Price but back came the Horse to take up the running with John Thomas 2x100 and Roy Evans 120, 140 brushing past Glen Jones 100 and Peter McCarthy for a 3-1 lead. Richard Beynon and Nigel Owen took the last pairs for the Pen with a good hold over Phil Martin 101 and Wayne Morgan to trail by a single point heading into the singles games.

Inspirational Phil Bond 3x100, 140 took the first singles with a 2-1 break over Sean Price 3x100, 140 in a fantastic game to level the match and with Jonathon Evans 2x100, 174 then holding (2-1) over Rocking Roy Evans 2x100 the Pen notched up a 4-3 lead. In-form John Thomas 3x100, 140 squared it up at four apiece with 2-0 hold over Glen Jones 2x100 but back came the Pen with Richard Beynon 121, 125, 132, 140 beating Wayne Morgan 2x100, 138 with a 2-1 hold to put the away side 5-4 ahead which then became 6-4 with Nigel Owen 3x100 breaking Steve Hamer 2x100 with a break (2-0). The final match-up of the night saw Gary Price 100, 123 break high scoring Wayne Lee 5x100 (2-1) to gain the hosts a valuable fifth point.

DIVISION THREE CYFARTHFA ARMS ...... 2 IMPERIAL HOTEL ........ 9

THIS was a fantastic win for the Imp as they look to battle their way out of Division Three.

Things started well for the home side with Jarred Russell, Scott Davies 100 and M Abbruzzese breaking Anthony Prosser, Paul Prosser and John Donovan but back came the Imp with Wayne James 136, Terry Dowman and Alan Hancox getting the better of H Jones 100, Dominic Illari and S Ridgeway for a level game.

The first of the pairs legs saw the first hold of the match with Anthony Prosser and Paul Prosser beating M Abbruzzese and S Ridgeway 127 and the Imp then added the next leg with Wayne James 100 and Terry Dowman 140 breaking the darts of Dominic Illari and H Jones 140. The final pairs saw a clean sweep with Adrian Williams and Alan Hancox holding over Jarred Russell and Scott Davies for a 4-1 lead going into the singles.

Anthony Prosser 100 broke S Ridgeway pushing the Imp further ahead with John Donovan then holding over Dominic Illari 100 making it 6-1 in the visitors favour. M Abbruzzese pulled a second point back for the hosts with victory over Terry Dowman but this unfortunately for the Cyfarthfa proved to be their last success as Wayne James 100, Adrian Williams and the younger of the Prosser boys Paul 119, 140 beating H Jones 100, Scott Davies 125 and Jarred Russell 100 respectively to complete a fine win.

ANGEL INN .................... 7 RED LION ....................... 4

THE Lion’s begging to sharpen its claws and things are starting to turn their way as they gain more confidence week by week.

Ian Davies 100, Jonny Vrettos and Jake Howard 101 took the first triples with a hold over Chris John, John Pugh and Steve Phillips and then the terrible trio of Richard Calahane 100, Allen Moore 2x100, 78 out and Dai Richards broke the throw of Vic Jones, Alan Phillips 100 and Graham Hancock for a great 2-0 lead.

Mark Davies and Glenn Callan 100 got the Angel into the game with a break in the first pairs over Richard Calahane 100 and Allen Moore and then the scores were level as Ron Davies and Steve George edged past Jonny Vrettos and Jake Howard.

The last pairs completed a great comeback for the hosts as Brent Morgan and Rhys Phillips broke the throw of Dai Richards 118 and Ian Davies as the Angel took a 3-2 lead going into the match-deciding singles.

Chris John held throw over Allen Moore in the first singles putting the hosts 4-2 ahead before the impressive Jonny Vrettos 100, 140 pulled a third point back for the Lion with a good hold over Mark Davies. Vic Jones 140 held over Ian Davies making it 5-3 to the home side before a fine break from Ron Davies 125 over Richard Calahane 100 made it 6-3. Glenn Callan scored a good hold over Jake Howard with Dai Richards 140 taking the final point, and fourth, for the Lion with a last-leg hold over Brent Morgan.

VNU ................................ 7 SILVER BULLET ............ 4

THIS was a highly entertaining game with some 21 ton-plus scores including 1x180 with both sides going all out for victory.

Dean Jenkins, Sharif Rasul and Anthony Morris 2x100 took the opening triples with a hold over Errold Jones, Tracey Goode and Mark Hadley but the lead was short lived with Gareth Jenkins 123, 180, Graham Elias and Kendrick Howe getting the better of Owain Pugh, C Howells and Marc Roberts 2x100 for a level game ahead of the pairs legs.

Dean Jenkins and Christopher Davies 100, 121, 140 breezed the first pairs with a hold over Clive Powell and Rhiannon Jenkins putting the Bullet 2-1 ahead but again the VNU responded with Steve Darlow 100, 125 and Tracey Goode successfully holding over Steffan Williams and C Howells 100. The final pairs saw the home side take the lead at 3-2 with Errold Jones 100 and Graham Jenkins breaking the throw of Marc Roberts 100 and Steven Walker 100, 120 as the Bullet duo missed their shots at the winning doubles.

The first of the singles saw Mark Hadley 2x100 beat Steffan Williams to make it 4-2 to the home side before Steven Walker 100 beat Graham Elias to pull the away side back to within a point. Kendrick Howe beat the gallant Christopher Davies 100 putting the VNU 5-3 ahead with Errold Jones 121 then making it 6-3 with a break over Sharif Rasul. Owain Pugh took leg 10 for the visitors with a break over Clive Powell with Steve Darlow then completing the hosts’ win with a break over Anthony Morris.

DOWLAIS CON CLUB ... 6 MERTHYR VALE EX CLUB A (DAGGERS A) .. 5

THIS one went right to the wire before giving a winner in a very exciting but tough battle.

Cornelius Corcoran, A Jones and A Murphy 71 out took the first triples against the throw with victory over S Sullivan, J Jones and B Lloyd putting the Con ahead and then it became 2-0 with Gary Flye, A Williams 105 and George Quirke with a fine hold over D Thomas, Robert Lloyd and M Thomas in the last triples leg.

Steve Probert and Nicky Baldwin got the Daggers their first point with a hold over Mark Thomas and S O’Brien in the first pairs to halve the deficit but back came the Con with Gary Thomas and Scott Keefe holding over Steve Llewellyn and G Robertson for a 3-1 lead. M Thomas 100 and Mike Griffiths then cut the deficit to a single point again going into the singles with a hold over Cornelius Corcoran and George Quirke.

Gary Thomas regained the two point lead with a hold over Steve Probert in the first singles but again the Daggers hit back with Nicky Baldwin successfully holding over Mark Thomas.

Steve Llewellyn 100 levelled the match with a hold over A Williams but the Con were quick to regain the lead with Scott Keefe 132, 140 breaking Mike Griffiths for a 5-4 lead.

G Robertson 100, 140 took the darts off S O’Brien levelling again at five apiece setting up a last-leg decider which saw Gary Flye 100 break Robert Lloyd to complete a last-gasp last-leg victory for the home side.