It’s Hagg Bar A’s title to lose now
First Division leaders sneak past nearest challengers
Craig Ritchie
Hagg Bar A remain top of the pack in the Paisley and District Darts League First Division after yet another victory.
The leaders were hosting their nearest rivals Pickwicks from Renfrew.
Pickwicks started the game just two points behind the league leaders so a close game was anticipated.
And so it proved to be the case as the match swung one way then the other to leave the score tied at 3-3 after the dust had settled on the singles matches.
The see-saw scoring continued into the doubles and as the match went to the last of the doubles and with the score now tied 4-4, Hagg Bar took the game 2-0 to give them a very hard- fought 5-4 win.
The result now sees a fourpoint gap at the top of the table between the teams.
Elsewhere, St Pet e r ’ s continued their winning ways to keep up the pressure on the top two as they came away with the points from their visit to Court Bar after a 6-3 victory.
Chasing the St Peter’s team for third place in the table are Flying Horse A and they stayed in touch after a comfortable 7-2 home win over Railway Inn.
With Court Bar losing out to St Peter’s, it gave Burgh Bar a chance to leapfrog them in the table but they couldn’t overcome the challenge from visitors Pockets Red and lost out 6-3.
Keystone A remain in seventh place after a spirited challenge from Hagg Bar C in a game that went all the way to the last doubles game before being settled in favour of the home team 5-4.
The last game in the division saw Arthurlie Inns host Gleniffer Hotel in a match they had to win as they aim to avoid relegation to Division Two.
In a thrilling game they came away with both points as they took the match 5-4 with the result pushing them into 11th place and a result that sees Hagg Bar C drop to the foot of the table.
The teams meet each other again next in what could be a winner takes all contest.
The excitement in the Second Division reached fever pitch this week with a trio of teams vying for two promotion spots.
Leaders Pockets Black were hosting fourth-place Tartan Rose and as expected the game was a very close affair with the league leaders just taking the points after a tight 5-4 result.
The Kelburn took full advantage of the Pockets result as their own 6-3 home win over Hazel Arms gives them a very slender one- leg advantage as they now sit top of the division.
They are joined in top spot on the same leg score by Cafuffals after their opponents from Hazel Pirates B couldn’t raise a team so had to concede a 9-0 whitewash.
The results mean that the three teams are only separated by one leg and with just four games left to play, every leg won from now on will be crucial.
Inkerman Bowling Club take over fifth place from Court Bar B after they defeated them at home by another very close 5-4 scoreline.
Kelburne Cricket Club also gained a place in the table as they jump up to ninth following a notable 7-2 win at home over Flying Horse B.
However, Hazel Pirates game against Keystone B was postponed until later in the season.
There were 14 maximums scored this week with five of them coming from the match between Hagg Bar A and Pickwicks.
The fastest game of the week came from Hagg Bar A’s Andy Boulton with a season best 11dart leg.
The highest finish of the week came from Burgh Bar’s Paul Hanvidge as he checked out one of his games on 157.
There were two players that managed to hit all three highlights this week.
Two players from the Hagg Bar A and Pickwicks game saw George Dempsey and his opponent Dean Fitch pushing each other to produce better and better darts in the match. It was a terrific spectacle.