Clarke late show leaves Cardiff sick
JAMIE LEWIS smashed in an amazing 14 180s to create history as he reached the semi-finals of the William Hill World Darts Championship.
Lewis, 26, demolished The Demolition Man Darren Webster 5-0 with a stunning performance at the Ally Pally.
In doing so, he became the first player to go from the preliminary round into the last four.
“It is just not sinking in,” said the Welshman, who never even thought he would make the championship through qualifying let alone go all this way.
He will now bank £85,000 for reaching the semis and on this kind of scintillating form could spring a sensation.
Yesterday he could do nothing wrong. Webster, 49, the No 23 seed, won just five legs and had no answer to Lewis’s mammoth scoring.
Lewis ended with an average of 101.26 while Webster, who managed four 180s, could only muster 91.35.
Having sensationally knocked out second seed Peter Wright in the second round, Lewis has now raised his game even higher and looks a serious contender.
As Sky commentator and world runner-up Rod Harrington said: “It could be a Van Gerwen, Anderson or Phil Taylor up there.”
Lewis was playing that well and Webster, in his first quarterfinal for 11 years, could find no way back as the man from Cardigan refused him off the hook.
Amazingly, Lewis has now won more in less than a fortnight than in the last two years, as he sits 46th on the PDC Order of Merit with £72,000 to his name.
Finishes of double 16 saw Lewis fly into a 2-0 lead with Webster winning only one leg and then double eight was enough for the Welshman to win the third leg 3-1.
Lewis broke Webster at the start of the fourth but then the Norfolk man came straight back to level it at 1-1 on his opponent’s throw.
But the unstoppable Lewis simply increased the tempo TOM CLARKE headed an 89th-minute winner to hand devastated Cardiff their third successive defeat.
The Preston defender, below, reacted first at a corner to nod home and maintain his club’s unbeaten record, which stretches back to November 4.
Cardiff were eager to make amends after back-to-back defeats but their lack of confidence and composure was clear.
Manager Neil Warnock had recalled Lee Tomlin but the playmaker’s influence was minimal as Cardiff tried to bypass the midfield with long, fruitless balls to striker Kenneth Zohore.
Preston looked more dangerous and had an early chance for Daryl Horgan but he was off balance and missed.
The visitors showed more composure on the ball but they also lacked the ability to deliver the final pass.
CARDIFF PRESTON
Paul Gallagher and Horgan bossed the midfield but Sol Bamba and Bruno Manga were solid enough at the centre of Cardiff’s defence.
Tomlin became more prominent at the start of the second half and drew Preston’s third booking when he tricked Ben Pearson into hacking him down. But the Bluebirds continued to waste possession. Tomlin’s probings set Zohore free in the area just past the hour but he lacked his usual alertness and could not get a shot away.
As Cardiff pressed, Preston began to catch them on the break and sub Callum Robinson wasted a chance.
Manga had to stretch to deny Preston with a lunge – but they found a way through in the end.