It’s success at the double
Thrilling matches as players battle it out for honours
Craig Ritchie
Paisley and District’s darts players had to be at their best in order to qualify for the Doubles event.
Clubs from across the county were in action this week as the second qualifying night saw teams attempting to battle it out for a spot in the last eight of the tournament.
Games were played at eight venues throughout the league, each with four teams taking part and only one progressing – so the competition was fierce.
The first venue, the Burgh Bar, saw the Gleniffer Hotel pairing of Alan Ferguson Jnr and Rab McTavish go through to the board final following a 4- 0 win over Tartan Rose’s Garry McIntyre and Richard Maitland.
They were joined by Jamie Dempster and Davy Richardson Snr after they too dispatched a Tartan Rose team, this time beating Martin Goodfellow and John McIver 4-1.
And the board final saw victory for Dempster and Richardson by a 4-2 scoreline.
In Arthurlie Inns, the first match saw previous tournament winners Drew and Andrew Callary of St Peter’s come through against Keystone players Ian Waterston and Tam Norton 4-1 to get them through to the final.
There they would meet Court Bar’s Steven Bogle and Paul Carruthers following their 4-2 win over James McKeown and Andy Telfer from The Kelburn.
In the board final it was the Callarys that took the early 3-0 advantage, but the Court Bar duo held on, and after winning the fourth leg they went on to win the next three to take the match 4-3 in a thrilling decider.
At Tartan Rose, the Court Bar B’s Ricky McKinnon and Joe Mitchell came through the first game of the night with a 4-2 win over the Burgh Bar team of Paul Hanvidge and Eamonn Kelly.
They were joined in the board final by the Pickwicks team of Paul Bergna and Fraser Dempsey following their 4-0 whitewash of Arthurlie Inn’s Adam Widdop and Robert Stevenson.
In the board final, the Pickwicks outfit proved too good and came through the tie 4-2.
There was some consolation for Court Bar player Mitchell however as he racked up three maximums during the matches.
Through in Johnstone at the Hagg Bar, the first match was a clash between local players as Hagg Bar C’s John Murney and Charlie Moore took on recent First Division doubles winners from Hagg Bar A Evander Stevenson and George Dempsey.
And it was the A team who proved the best as they came through the encounter 4-1.
In the board final they would meet Billy Fitch and Kris Millar of Pockets Black after they came through a tense last leg decider against Railway Inn’s Garry Jardine and Henry Kerr.
The final didn’t produce the same level of drama however as the Hagg Bar team ran out 4-0 winners.
Staying in Johnstone, the matches at The Hazel Arms supplied the first team of the bottom half of the finals night draw as firstly Court Bar B players Willie Cree and John Hurrell got past Danny Brown and Jason Roxburgh of Inkerman BC 4-1.
They were followed by the Flying Horse A pairing of Martin Brophy and John Peacock after they held their nerve to close out a nervous 4-3 victory over Ross MacLean and Ryan Morrow from Kelburne Cricket Club.
In the final it was the Court Bar team that progressed as they staged a comeback from 3-1 down to claim victory in the deciding leg, with a maximum from Hurrell in the last leg setting them up for the win.
In the Court Bar, the Tartan Rose duo of Andrew Park and David Johnson proved too strong for the Court Bar team of Mark McKinnon and Steve Tepper as they beat them 4-2.
And it was the same story in the next game as newly-crowned Division 2 doubles champions George Downie and Don Alexander of Inkerman BC edged out the Railway Inn pair of Henry Kerr and Chris Dowling by the same margin.
In the final the men from Inkerman were just too good and came through the final 4-1 to book their place on finals night.
Kelburne Cricket Club was the next venue as the Keystone team of Chic Walls and Tam McInally made their way into the board final after a decisive 4-0 win over Court Bar’s Willie McAllister and Andy Darling.
They were joined in the final by Hagg Bar A’s Andy Boulton and Dougie Low after their 4-0 rout of Railway Inn’s James Hayes and Donald Duncan.
In the final the Hagg Bar team were in no mood to let up as they recorded another 4-0 victory over the Keystone team in a match that included a 180 and a 100 checkout for Low.
The last venue to have games played was Keystone and hopes were high for the local pair of Andy Goodwin and Scott Henderson Sr as they took on Burgh Bar’s Paul Kelly and Mark Barillim but it was the Burgh team that were successful as they came through the match 4-1 to set up a final against Hagg Bar A’s John Murdoch and Ian Thomson who received a bye after previous call-offs denied them a match.
In the final there were no nerves from the pair though as they beat the Burgh pair 4-2 to claim the last spot on finals night in a fortnight’s time.
The treble 20 took another pasting this week as even with a limited number of games there were 12 maximums, with Court Bar B’s Joe Mitchell scoring three.
The highest finish of the night came from Hagg Bar C’s John Murney with a ‘shanghai’ finish on 20s for a 120 checkout.
The quickest games of the night were 17 dart efforts from Hagg Bar A’s Stevenson and Dempsey and the St. Peters pair of Drew and Andrew Callary.