Harrogate & District Darts League: 1899 Trades Hall’s relegation from top flight is confirmed

The 1899 have struggled all season and their demotion to the second tier was confirmed with two rounds of fixtures still to be played.

And they were up against it from the word go against the Batsmen, Lewis Pride beating Mike Lamb 3-0 with 19, 20 and 22-dart legs.

Steve Higgins doubled the Bilton lead with another 3-0 win over Kevin Palmer in 22, 20 and 18-dart legs, before Carl Hepstinstall defeated Tony Green by the same score-line courtesy of 22 and 21-dart legs.

Trades Hall’s Richard Taylor stopped the rot with a 3-1 success over Nigel Saville, despite a 22-dart leg by the former.

Nick Hounslow then reduced the deficit to 3-2 as he produced 18, 20 and 23-dart legs during his 3-0 rout of Richard Yates.

But, the Batsmen finished the singles ties in control of the contest thanks to Tony Sharratt’s 3-0 victory against Giles Holt.

In the doubles, Hepstinstall and Sharratt ended the match as a contest when they sank Kevin Palmer and Richard Taylor, running out 2-0 winners.

The father-and-son pairing of Alex and Lewis Pride also registered a 2-0 triumph over Holt and Lamb, increasing the Bilton advantage to 6-2.

The 1899 duo of Hounslow and Green did at least end the night in some style, securing a 2-1 victory over Higgins and Lee Swales.

And even though that success featured 20 and 22-dart legs and saw both men hit 180s, their efforts ultimately proved to be too little, too late to make any real difference.

Trades Hall's other team, the Vikings fared far better, overcoming Starbeck Cons Mahoosive in their mid-table clash.

Karl Walker set them on their way, surviving a 22-dart leg from Paul Kennedy to triumph 3-1 with 21 and 24-dart legs of his own.

Sam Davey leveled matters, hitting not one, but two 13-dart legs against Tim Hargreaves, also serving up a brace of 180s during his 3-0 demolition job.

Chris Nelson restored the Trades Hall lead, producing 21 and 23-dart legs as well as a 180 in a 3-1 win over James Keane.

Rich Graham stretched that advantage, recording 18 and 22-dart legs in a 3-1 success against Blaine Hobson.

Phil Taylor then made it 4-1, whitewashing Ian Malkin with 15, 19 and 24-dart legs and a 108 wining checkout.

Starbeck's Matty Vincent kept the tie alive, hitting a 23 and a 22-dart leg in his 3-0 win over Harry Kidd, which made it 4-2.

But the Vikings seized an unassailable lead when Nelson and Graham beat Malkin and Hobson 2-0.

Walker, who threw a 180 in the process, and Hargreaves then survived a 19 dart-leg from Vincent and Kennedy to triumph by the same score-line for 6-2 on the night.

Davey and Keane did at least restore a bit of pride for the Cons at the death, overcoming Kidd and Taylor in a game that finished 2-0.

Harlow Hill consolidated third place in the Division One standings when they edged out Manhattan Madhatters in what was a closely-fought affair.

They did not get off to the best of starts, Adi Shaw going down 3-2 when he took on Dan Knowles, who produced a 22-dart second leg.

Harlow's Steve Rogers lost the opening leg to Danny Gamble, however he then reeled off 17, 21 and 24-dart legs, and a180, to win 3-1 and equalise.

Chris Leach then took Michael Prisk apart to put Hill into the lead, running out a 3-0 winner with the help of 20 and 18-dart legs.

The Madhatters struck through Ryan Blanchard, whose 21-dart opening leg kicked-off a 3-1 success over Jim Lester, then team-mate Jordan Harper’s 22-dart winning leg earned him a 3-1 victory against Alex Eadington.

And it was soon 4-2 to Manhattan, Brian Ellison’s 19-dart leg not enough to stop Paul Monaghan after 20 and 15-dart legs in a 3-1 success.

But, from a position of peril, Harlow were able to rescue the tie thanks to a hat-trick of doubles wins.

Eadington and Jim Lester survived a 20-dart opener from Gamble and Harper to prosper 2-1, before Ellison teamed up with Jamie Beaton and opened up with a 14-dart leg in their face-off with Monaghan and Blanchard.

Beaton's first throw of the night was a 180 winning, and the pair made it 4-4 overall in 23 darts, despite a 21-dart equaliser from their opponents, who also hit a 180.

The victor-takes-all final leg of the evening then saw Leach and Rogers bag a 2-1 success over Prisk and Knowles, which featured a 23-dart winning leg.

In Division Two, rock-bottom Londesborough 2023 recorded their first success of the season at the 16th attempt.

After 15 consecutive losses, they shocked promotion candidates Bilton Umpires, triumphing by a convincing 6-3 score-line.

Jamie Haigh ensured the 2023 made a positive start as he won 2-0 against Ken Glew though Jamie Saville equalised with a 2-0 victory over Gary Penrose.

Steve Simpson beat Geoff Gillingwater 2-1 to put Londesborough back ahead, but although Bilton’s Dion Glew was not at his best, he still had more than enough for Kevin Sullivan, bagging a 2-0 victory.

Andy Darling did the same against Miles Body to hand the Batsmen a 3-2 advantage, before Tony Stanton restored parity when he came from behind to triumph 2-1 against Steve Scruton, serving up a 23-dart winning leg.

And in the doubles, the 2023 cleaned up, taking all three matches.

Elsewhere, Londesborough God Squad came out on top in a tight affair with Starbeck Cons, winning 5-4.