Tight at the top and tough at the bottom
Westmeath Darts League
As we reach the first third of WDL Phase 1 the league couldn’t be tighter at the top as five points separate first to fifth on the table.
Bagnall's 'A' came out on top in the home derby with an 8-1 win over their 'B' side. They were 2-1 up following the doubles. Michael Greaves and Aidan McNair were unlucky to lose 3-2 against Jason Matthews and Dave Hamilton in their respective singles matches.
Maypole continue to rack up the points and wins with a strong 7-2 victory at home to McHugh's. Maypole raced out to a 5-0 lead only for Loughlin McHugh and Colm McKeogh to take games six and seven for the men in Raharney, McKeogh himself coming from 2-0 down to beat Andy Price 3-2. Maypole rounded off the night with games eight and nine through Derek Delaney and Barry Kiernan, the latter coming out on top 3-2 against Linda Greville.
The top of the table clash in Mullingar saw Kerrigan's defeat Beech Tree 5-4 in a back and forth encounter. In what some are saying already has the potential to be the league final, matchups on the night of Ross Kelly v Johnny Broughton, Sylvester Keane v Christy Connor and Mark Corrigan v Brandon Gilesnan showcase just why.
Kerrigan's lead at the top of the table is just two points now as Beech Tree take their place in the chasing pack in joint second place.
Elsewhere, the Bridge Bar’s strong start to the season continued in Killucan with 7-2 win over Tom’s Bar as they are the other side to hold that joint second ranking in the league. For Tom’s it has been a difficult start to life in the WDL but they can take solace in winning the last two games through Ray Mullen and Mark Shiels and will hope to build on this in the coming weeks.
The Wagon Wheel had a hard fought 6-3 win over Mullingar Shamrocks to keep themselves in the top six, due to the head-to-head record over the Western Gem, who delivered their best performance of the season with a 8-1 win over Clarke's Bar in Ballinalack. The foundation from the Gem came in the form of a 3-0 start in the doubles. Allen Gilgan/Killian Kelly will be disappointed to not see out their game against Andy McCormack/Ger Brennan while Damien Kelly/Chris Cole got the better of Mel Kavanagh/Davey Gilgan despite Davey’s 180.
Killian Kelly got Clarkes on the board with a 3-2 win over Bilal Moran in what was the singles game of the night. Kelly with a sharp 72 checkout (5, T17, D8) before Chris Cole and Ger Brennan made sure of the W for the Gem, denying Davey Gilgan, whose strong scoring was undone by near misses on a number of doubles. Damien Kelly, very impressive on the night, defeated Allen Gilgan 3-1 before Andy McCormack and Keith Kilduff took the last two games of the night against Tommy Greville and Damien Maher to bring the Western Gem to seventh and just outside the championship places. It looks like something is stirring in Ballinalack and with the quality they have, it will not be an easy task for any side to go there and take points.
Table after week 4
Kerrigan's 27, Beech Tree/Bridge Bar 25, Bagnall's 'A' 23, Maypole 22, Wagon Wheel/Western Gem 17, Shamrocks 13, Clarke's 11, McHugh's/Bagnall's 'B' 8, Tom's Bar 7
WDL week 5 fixtures - Friday October 31
Bagnall's 'A' vs Shamrocks; Wagon Wheel vs Kerrigan's; Beech Tree vs Clarke's; Bridge Bar vs McHugh's; Western Gem vs Maypole; Tom’s Bar vs Bagnall's 'B'
Paddy Gilgan Memorial Cup
The first round of this years Paddy Gilgan Memorial Cup takes place on Sunday November 2. Historically a competition of shocks and upsets, Maypole start the defence with an away game against Western Gem. Kerrigan's will take on Clarke's in a Mullingar derby, while last year’s runner up Beech Tree begin with a home tie to Bagnall's 'A'.
Format: 2 x 1001 Trebles, 3 x 801 Doubles, 6 Singles 501. Trebles/Doubles are one leg shootouts while Singles games are best of 3.