Connor outstanding as Beach Tree remain second

The Beech Tree continue to consolidate second place in the Westmeath Darts League following a 5-4 win over Clarke’s at the superb Streamstown venue last Friday. On Hallowe’en, the tricks were confined to the dart boards and the treats came in the form of some impressive scoring from Connor, who was down to finish after 12 darts in one leg.

Jason Masterson was no slouch in the scoring department either for the visitors, but it couldn’t curtail Connor’s relentless drive and that was enough to put the Beach Tree one away from victory on the night.

The home side looked formidable, taking control in the doubles before Johnny Broughton got them off to a flyer in the singles. At 4-1 down, Clarke’s showed character to take three singles through Killian and Terry Kelly, and Allen Gilgan.

There were some outstanding darts also from Killian Kelly (Clarke’s), who saw off Mickey Browne, while Graeme Corcoran was quite impressive for the home side in securing the spoils against Mel Kavanagh. Terry Kelly and Allen Gilgan found form at vital times for Clarke’s against Donie Boland and Willie Moran, giving them the boost their effort deserved and they will aim to kick on from this.

There’s an important back game between Clarke’s and McHugh’s still to come, a strong win for either side could take them into top six contention.

Overall, week five of this year's league saw other standout performances from McHugh’s and the Western Gem as they clipped the wings of the Bridge Bar, Mullingar, and Maypole, Collinstown, with 5-4 wins respectively to bring themselves into the top six conversation.

It was only last week the vibe within the league was that table seedings were locked in and everyone was already turning the page to January when Phase 2 begins. Results like Fridays add a much needed jolt to all involved and goes to show that on 'any given Friday' any team is susceptible to big performances.

McHugh’s of Raharney secured a fine 5-4 victory in Mullingar against the Bridge Bar. The visitors went 2-1 up after the doubles, thanks to Loughlin McHugh/Conor Raleigh. The Bridge Bar fought back to lead 3-2 as Matthew Willoughby and Jim-Bob Baker took out Sean Gaffney and Pete Doyle. Conor Raleigh and Matt Cullen Jnr brought the game to 4-3 to the home side before father and son duo, Aaron/Loughlin McHugh defeated Kevin Gilmore and JP Reynolds to give the Raharney side the victory.

Another noteworthy result emerged in Ballinalack as the Western Gem defeated Maypole 5-4 and in doing so recorded their first ever win over the Collinstown side in the history of the league. Unlike the previous game, this was a come from behind victory as Maypole took the lead 3-1 with Barry Kiernan bringing a lot of power scoring, averaging between 80-100 over the first 12 darts in his singles game.

Chris Cole raced into a 2-0 lead against Jimmy McCormack including a 122 checkout (18, Treble 18, Bull) before Jimmy brought it back to 2-2. Cole held his nerve in the fifth leg with a clean 60 checkout while McCormack waited on 54.

Alan McManus continued his strong start this season with a 3-2 victory over Bilal Moran, who will rue missed darts in the fifth leg. At 4-2 to Maypole historically the Western Gem would have folded, but a routine 3-0 win for Damien Kelly kept them in the game. Andy McCormack backed up his early season form with a super 3-0 win over Derek Delaney, the highlight being taking out 265 in eight darts (including a 171 shot) to wrestle the game in the favour of the Ballinalack men. Keith Kilduff saw the job over the line defeating Andy Price in a nervy game for both players, understandable given what was at stake.

The key now for these sides is to back up these results week on week to show they are not just a one off. There is no doubt both teams will gain huge belief from these results and it makes for an interesting few weeks.

Bagnall’s ‘A’ took advantage of results around them to move into third with a 6-3 win over Shamrocks. At 2-2 the game could have gone either way but a burst by Johnny Daly, Darragh Mullen and Riaghan Grimes helped them over the line. Bagnall’s ‘B’ also recorded their first victory of the season with a back and forth 5-4 win in Tom's Bar. The singles games were shared 3-3 and the key win on the night was Stuart Hayes/Michael Greaves doubles win against the darts.

In the final two games of the week, Kerrigan’s defeated Wagon Wheel away from home. Ross Kelly beat Derek Maguire 3-1 in the key game on the night. Kerrigan’s will be pleased to hold on to top spot after five weeks of the league, but there are a number of contenders at this early stage.

WDL Table after Week 5

Kerrigan’s 34, Beech Tree 30, Bagnall’s ‘A’/Bridge Bar 29, Maypole 26, Western Gem 22, Wagon Wheel 19, Shamrocks 16, Clarke’s 15, McHugh’s 13/Bagnall’s ‘B’ 13, Tom's Bar 11

WDL Week 6 Fixtures

Shamrocks vs Kerrigan’s; Clarke’s vs Wagon Wheel; McHugh’s vs Bagnall’s ‘B’

Maypole vs Beech Tree; Bridge Bar vs Western Gem; Bagnall’s ‘A’ vs Tom's Bar.