Hagg make it a fantastic five years as title-holders
Champions start the contest the way they mean to go on
Hagg Bar A retained their title for the fifth year running following another stunning performance in the Hagg Bar Trophy.
The Paisley side faced off against Railway Inn in the competition’s showpiece following an impressive route to the final.
And it was the champions who got off to the best possible start, with Dougie Low and Richie Baillie winning the first of the doubles matches in just 24 darts.
John Murdoch and Ian Thomson then took the second doubles match in 29 darts. This was swiftly followed by Mick Malone and George Dempsey winning their encounter in 25 darts to give the Hagg Bar team an early 3-0 lead.
Low then played in the first of the singles games and won 2-0 to put the Hagg team one game away from the title.
And the next game proved to be the best of the final as Richie Baillie took on Railway Inn’s Chris Dowling – with Baillie winning the first leg in 17 darts before Dowling levelled the game with a 19-dart leg.
But it was Baillie who held on and, after another 19 dart leg, he won the match 2-1 and gave the Hagg Bar A the title for the fifth successive season.
Earlier in the night, Hagg Bar A had faced Second Division challengers Caffufals in the first semi-final.
The Hagg team got off to a flying start with Low and Baillie winning the first doubles to kick the match off.
That was quickly followed by Murdoch and Thomson winning the second leg and George Dempsey and captain Evander Stevenson rounded off their match – in which they both hit maximums – to give them a 3-0 lead.
Into the singles, and it was Low for the home team up first and, after going one leg up in the best of three tie, it was Kriss McIntosh from Cafuffals who won the next to level their game at 1-1.
In the third leg, it was Low who took control and won the match in style with a 16-dart leg to put his team one leg away from the final at 4-0.
Richie Baillie was the next home player up, and after throwing 17 darts he was 1-0 up. In the second leg, where he finished in 14 darts, he put his team into the final with a score of 5-0.
And in the second semi-final, it was an all First Division match between Railway Inn and Keystone, with the Keystone team getting the early lead wthanks to Andy Goodwin and Scott Henderson Jnr winning the first of the doubles games.
In the second game, Tam Norton and Chic Walls extended the Keystone’s lead to 2-0, before Dowling and Craig Moore, from Railway, got their game started by winning the last of the doubles.
With the score now at 2-1 to Keystone, it was Goodwin who took the first of the singles games 2-0, as did the next player Scott Henderson to give them an impressive 4-1 lead and leave them one step away from the final.
The Railway team had other thoughts though and Garry Jardine won his game 2- 1, despite losing the first leg and looking out of the tournament.
With the score now at 4-2, Railway Inn started applying some pressure, and after Kenny McCormack and Dowling winning for them as well, the score was level at 4-4.
In the last match, it was Craig Moore for Railway who held his nerve to complete the comeback and win the game to take his team to the final after a hard fought 5-4 win.