Marquee names in the league show their class
Westmeath Darts League
Big averages and top-class performances headlined the action of week four of the WDL as a number of individuals showed a level which will either scare or drive players to reach the same standard over the coming weeks.
Our reigning champions Beech Tree hosted Esker Inn where Chris Connor, who averaged 90 in his 3-0 win over Ger Forde, with legs of 18, 17 and 15 darts, emerging as the standout performer. The Beech Tree went 2-0 up including a 15 darter from Johnny Broughton before Charlie Guinan got the first game on the board for Esker. Mark Corrigan/Tom Moran took the second doubles game before Connor put on his clinical performance. Graeme Corcoran made it 5-1 before Esker took the third doubles game but that was as good as it got for the away side as Willie Moran and Ian Meares took the 8th and 9th ties to leave the final score 7-2 to the home side.
Don’s Bar now sit on top of the log after a powerful 8-1 home victory over Tom’s Bar. The home side took a 3-0 lead on the night with wins for Sean Waters (75 average) and Brendan Dunleavy (73) before Tom’s took the second doubles game to get a mark on the board. Ben Corcoran on his seasonal debut showed his class with a 79 winning average including a first leg with back-to-back 180s scores. Don’s took the rest of the games on the night, but Martin Massey will rue missed doubles against Andy Kennedy to take the last game.
Third place took on fourth as Maypole hosted The Bridge Bar in Collinstown and with the help of Paul Radford’s 180 took the first doubles game on the night. Jim Craig, making his return to the WDL, marked it with a win over Matt Cullen. The ‘BB’ came to life then as Jim-Bob Baker and Rory Matthews won their singles games and teamed up in the doubles to put the away side 3-2 up including a 180 for Rory in his win over Aaron Gavin.
Paul Radford made it a double on the night for himself also with a 3-1 win over Jamie Nugent and Nick Sheldrick’s introduction the WDL was a fruitful one for the Maypole thrower as he provided the winning touch in the seventh and eighth games to ensure the victory for the home side. Sean Warde took the final game on the night to leave the final score 5-4 to The Maypole, but both sides will be happy with their night's work.
Kerrigan's from Mullingar took advantage of the tight result in Collinstown to leapfrog both sides into the third spot after they took a 7-2 win over McHugh's. The backbone of this result was winning five of the first six games on the night. Ollie McNamee with a key 109 checkout in his doubles game a key shot. Peter Rogers got his first victory of the season with a 3-1 win over Keith Mahon, while Mickey McKnight absorbed a 180 from Pete Doyle on his way to a 3-1 win also. After McHugh's took the third doubles game on the night, Paul Mooney and Eoin Bowe sealed a comprehensive win for the home side to help remind the league where they intend to rank this season.
A repeat of last year’s WDL Shield final took place as The Wagon Wheel hosted Clarke's Barin Ballynacargy and it was Wayne Kelly’s D10 that gave them a 1-0 lead. Killian Kelly must have been feeling something like Chris Connor as he proceeded to average 90 as well in his 3-0 win over Regan Maher with legs of 16, 17 and 17 to level matters. Wayne Kelly came back for his singles and with legs of 19, 17 and 18 defeated Davey Gilgan with an 83 average to put the home side back in front.
It soon became 3-1 as the ‘WW’ took the second doubles game before Damien Maher and Mel Kavanagh levelled matters, defeating Thomas Murtagh and Gerry Keon respectively. Clarke's then took the lead thanks to Terry Kelly/Tommy Greville in the doubles before Derek Maguire produced a solid display to leave the game at 4-4. Padraig White faced off against Terry Kelly in the final game of the night with the WW thrower taking an early 2-0 lead and showing some big scoring numbers. Terry checked out 78 in leg three and pinned D6 first dart in leg four to bring the game all the way. Both players earned opportunities in the last leg, but it was the Mullingar thrower Kelly who hit D11 to give them victory.
The final game of Week 3 saw Murray's travel to Ballinalack to face the Western Gem and it was the home side that struck first as Ger Brennan took out 94 to give them a 1-0 lead. Cian Penrose levelled matters for Murray's with a win over Brennan before Damien Kelly got the better of Dillon Matthews 3-1 to give the home side a 2-1 lead on the night. This became 5-1 as Chris Cole/Bilal Moran won both their doubles/singles games including a 180 shout for Moran in the 4th leg of his tie with Billy Conway.
Murray's got their second game of the night when Dillon Matthews returned to checkout 25 in their doubles game before Mark Gillen got the better of Michael Scully in five legs with a last dart D5 to make it 6-2 before David Egan overcame Chris Matthews 3-1 to leave the final score 7-2 to the home side.
Overview after four weeks
As expected, it is the familiar names and faces that currently lead at the top of the log with Don’s and Beech Tree out in front. Kerrigan's sit just behind the top two and with several players still to return will be a danger over the coming weeks when back to full strength. This 26/27 Maypole side seem to have gelled nicely to start and like Kerrigan's will find their settled lineups as the weeks go on. Bridge Bar have picked up where they left off last season as being a tough nuggety side to beat with the same squad as last season and at this early stage it seems to be that these five sides should make the Championship going into Phase 2.
This leaves Western Gem, Wagon Wheel and Esker Inn as three teams going for one place to join the above sides and we could be in for another back-and-forth weekly battle between these sides as they look to claim the #6 spot. Murray's and Clarke's will be happy all in all with their starts to the season and all it takes is a run of 2-3 weeks gaining 15-18 points to put themselves into contention for that #6 spot also. McHugh's and Tom’s Bar have had a difficult start to the season, but as they would tell you themselves are looking to run for the Shield in the second half of the season and are likely targeting Week 6 when they face one another as an opportunity to get that first W of the season.
League sponsors
The WDL Committee would like to thank the following companies for their support of the league this year: Moran Construction & Carpentry – Overall WDL sponsor; Stephen Lynn Accountants/Auditors – WDL Championship sponsor; McNamee Tyres – WDL Shield sponsor; Quality Tractor Parts – WDL weekly fixture sponsor.
WDL week 5 fixtures
Clarke's Bar vs McHugh's; Tom’s Bar vs Beech Tree; Murray's vs Wagon Wheel; Esker Inn vs Western Gem; Bridge Bar vs Don’s Bar, Maypole vs Kerrigan's
County darts bonus ball
Ray Enright and Tommy Dolan were the lucky members whose number was drawn out in the last fortnight. Thanks as always is given to those who support this venture on a weekly basis.