Gerry's 112 checkout helps Maypole men to victory

Westmeath Darts Cup final

The Westmeath Darts Cup final took place in the Beechtree, Streamstown on Saturday night as the Maypole Bar of Collinstown took on Shield winners, the Bridge Bar, Mullingar.

This was always going to be a close encounter between the two teams and it’s an intriguing format of two trebles, three doubles and six singles, with the first team to reach six winners.

The Bridge Bar got off to a great start winning the first trebles as Jimbob Baker and Michael Raleigh Snr threw some very good darts. But Maypole took the second game with Stephen O’Farrell and Paul Radford in fine form for the Collinstown men and levelling up at one apiece.

In the doubles, it was the Bridge Bar’s Matthew Willoughby who was on song, hitting a 171 to bring them back into the game after Ray Enright and Stephen O’Farrell looked set to win the leg. In the end, it was Willoughby who finished it off and put the Bridge Bar back in front, 2-1.

The Maypole won the next two games in the doubles with Derek Delaney and Derek Burke producing excellent darts to win the fourth game.

In the fifth game of the night, it was Barry Kiernan and Gerry Deveraux against Declan and Seán Ward, and it was the Collinstown duo who took the spoils, putting the Maypole men 3-2 up going into the singles. That turned out to be a crucial lead.

In the first game of the singles, it was Matthew Willoughby against Paul Radford and once again Willoughby produced super darts to level up the final, 3-3. In the second singles it was Derek Delaney against Jimbob Baker in a cracker of a game, with Jimbob taking the first leg with super darts, hitting a 180 and a 140. But Delaney came roaring back with excellent darts himself, hitting two 140s back to back to level it, and he held his nerve to win 2-1 in an outstanding game of darts between both players. That put The Maypole back in front, 4-3.

In next game, it was Matt Cullen Jnr who defeated Ray Enright in a tight encounter and then The Bridge Bar went on to win the following game with Michael Raleigh Jnr beating Derek Burke to put the Mullingar side ahead, 5-4. That meant they only needed one of the last two games to win the title.

Next up was Kevin Gilmore against Barry Kiernan and it was the Bridge Bar man who took the first leg with excellent darts. At this stage, The Bridge Bar seemed to have one hand on the cup as they needed just one leg for victory. But Kiernan had other ideas and checked out 70 in the next leg, and under pressure in the last game, he threw super darts to make it 5-5. That brought the Cup final to a nail-biting finish between the teams.

It was down to the final game of the night and two old stalwarts went head to head, with Gerry Deveraux for Collinstown meeting Seán Ward of The Bridge Bar. It was looking like Ward was going to win the first leg, but it was Deveraux who took out a big 112 finish to edge it, and put collinstown in the driving seat. After that, the experienced Maypole Bar thrower didn’t let up, producing brilliant darts in the second leg under pressure to hit the winning double and give the Collinstown men their first title following a thrilling final.

It was an unbelievable match, swinging both ways all night, and credit must go to The Bridge Bar and The Maypole Bar players for a superb night of darts in the Streamstown venue. The hosts had a fantastic set-up for the final and went out of their way to have it perfect for both teams, which was fully appreciated.

With the Shield and the Cup over, only one game remains on the Westmeath darts calendar - the league final - which sees The Maypole Bar go up against Mullingar Shamrocks on May 30 in the Granite Bar, Raharney. It promises to be a fascinating finale.