Trades Hall Vikings fight back to win close contest in Harrogate & District Darts League

Their Division One showdown with the Bilton Batsmen didn’t start particularly well, with Carl Heptinstall and Lewis Pride recording 3-0 wins over Tim Hargreaves and Chris Nelson respectively.

Heptinstall triumphed in 22, 23 and 21-dart legs, with Pride producing 19 and 18-dart legs.

Phil Taylor got the Vikings back in the contest, edging out Tony Sharratt 3-1, with the latter’s 24 dart-leg the worst of the match as Taylor managed 22, 23 and 21-dart legs.

Harry Kidd then recovered from 2-1 down to beat Nigel Saville 3-2 with two 20-dart legs, leveling the scores on the night.

Bilton reclaimed the ascendancy when Steve Higgins survived a scare against Neil Fullard, eventually bagging a 3-2 success which included 24, 22 and a 15-dart legs.

But Trades Hall hit straight back, Rich Graham claiming a 3-1 victory over Alex Pride to make it 3-3 before the doubles matches began.

Kidd and Graham beat Heptinstall and Lee Swales 2-1 with a 20 dart leg to move the Vikings in front for the first time, but this was immediately cancelled out by Sharratt and Alex Pride, who won 2-0 in 24 and 23 darts including a 20, D20, D20 checkout from Sharratt.

With everything resting on the outcome of the final set of the evening, Fullard and Karl Walker overcame Lewis Pride and Higgins by a 2-0 score-line to take the spoils for the men from the Trades Hall.

Bilton Working Men’s Club also squeezed over the line following an extremely close contest, continuing their strong start to the campaign with a 5-4 triumph over Manhattan Madhatters.

James Pedel kicked things off for the high-flyers with a 3-0 success over Steven Robinson, serving up 23 and 18-dart legs, including a 122 checkout.

Paul Monaghan equalised for Manhattan, edging Jack Fleming 3-2 with 17 and 21-dart legs, counteracting his rival’s 21 and 22-dart legs.

James Hall then put Bilton back into the lead, whitewashing Ryan Blanchard 3-0 with 21, 24 and 22-dart legs, before Chris Wood beat Mark McNaughton by the same score to make it 3-1 on the night.

Pop Herron pulled on back for the Madhatters, seeing off Terry Sherwood in a clash which finished 3-1 after the eventual winner lost the opening leg.

But, Peter Newbould restored Bilton’s two-set cushion when he sank Jordan Harper by a 3-1 score-line.

Herron and Monaghan kept the tie alive, beating Newbould and Steve with a 19 dart leg 2-0 win before Blanchard and Robinson set up another winner-takes-all final set by seeing off Pedel and Fleming.

In the decider, Hall and Wood won 2-1 against Harper and McNaughton to wrap things up for Bilton.

Starbeck Cons Mahoosive inflicted another loss on 1899 Trades Hall, who remain without a win so far this term.

Nick Hounslow did get the division’s bottom side off to a solid start, beating Gary Hobson 3-0 with 20 and 24-dart legs, but Matty Vincent equalised straight away with a 3-1 victory over Mike Lamb.

Sam Davey then handed Starbeck the advantage, seeing off Richard Taylor by a 3-1 score-line with a 180 and his second 13-dart leg of the season.

Paul Kennedy put the Cons in control, beating Tony Green 3-1 despite the latter’s 24-dart leg at 2-0 down, while Blaine Hobson edged Jonathon Wareing 3-2 in an attritional affair.

Trailing 4-1, Giles Holt gave Trades Hall some hope when he recorded a 3-1 victory against Ian Malkin, which featured two 22-dart legs.

Hounslow and Ian Gibson then beat Hobson and Kennedy 2-1 to trim the gap further and make it 4-3 on the night before Starbeck’s Davey and Vincent teamed up to beat Holt and Taylor 2-1, deciding the match with a 19-dart leg.

The last doubles showdown saw Hobson and Ian Malkin make the final score 6-3 as they triumphed 2-1 in their face-off with Wareing and Lamb.

In Division Two, Starbeck Cons produced a ruthless display as they whitewashed hapless Londesborough 2023.

Andrew Parkes beat Kevin Sullivan 2-0, Tony Hawkes won 2-1 against Tony Stanton and although Alan Roberts lost the opening leg to Eddie Yates, he recovered to triumph 2-1, wrapping things up in 24 darts.

Dennis Wise enjoyed a 2-0 success over Stewart Carrick, with Alan Clarke coming out on top by the same score-line against Miles Boady to decide the outcome of the match.

Simon Hoare started off with a 22-dart opening leg against Sid Cole, taking the match 2-1 with a 180 to boot.

Doubles victories for Hoare and Parkes, Roberts and Wise and then Clarke and Hawkes rounded off an emphatic 9-0 mauling.

George & Dragon were another team to dominate in what was a one-sided affair, thrashing Manhattan School of Darts 8-1.

Ben Fleming beat Douglas Sneesby 2-1 with a 21-dart final leg, Craig Gibson chalked up a 2-0 victory against Jono Bradley and Sonia Porter overcame Charlie Sykes by a 2-1 score-line.

Ben Gray won 2-0 against Natasha Norcliffe with a 23-dart winning leg, Mark White beat Robbie Blair 2-0 and Jamie Preece then did the same to Mick Butterfield, completing the rout in the singles competition.

Porter and Gibson piled more misery on the School of Darts when they overcame Norcliffe and Blair, with George & Dragon’s White and Fleming inflicting more damage with a triumph over Bradley and Luke McAvoy.

Manhattan did eventually manage to stop the rot, with Christian McIntyre and Sykes bagging a consolation point against Preece and Nicole Wilcox.

Londesborough God Squad were narrow victors over Bilton Umpires.

Jamie Saville opened up with a 22-dart leg against Dan Jackson, winning 2-0 to move Bilton ahead, only for Matthew Lambert to respond with a 2-0 success over Dion Glew in 24 and 20 darts.

Ken Glew would however ensure that the family name was entered in the ‘win’ column with a 2-1 triumph over Gary Watson that saw the Umpires move back in front.

Dane Chalmers leveled matters once more by sinking Ernie Titterington, with Tony Cash then coming from behind to beat Rob Ryder 2-1, moving the God Squad into the ascendancy for the first time.

Luke Saville made it 4-2 to Londesborough with a 2-1 triumph over Phil Gray, which concluded the singles clashes.

The Umpires kept the match alive with two wins in the doubles, but Lambert and Cash’s victory over Ryder and Titterington made the score 5-4 and ensured that Londesborough came out on top in the end.