Salopian Darts have eyes on promotion

A dominant victory away to the Isle of Wight saw the Salopian stars move up to third place in the UKDA Division Three table, just eight points off top spot with two games to play, writes Che Kerin.

The Shropshire outfit proved to be unwelcome guests as they dropped just six games overall on their way to a resounding 30-6 success.

But few onlookers would of predicted such a handsome victory halfway through the first round of games when the Ladies’ B team found themselves trailing 3-1.

Julie Pugh and Rachel Mooney registered their first wins for Salopian while Tammy Walmsley survived match darts in the deciding leg to claim a 3-2 victory that secured an overall 3-3 draw.

Sue Evans recorded an impressive 15.06 average in her debut match and could be considered unlucky to have lost 3-1, although her appearance brought up the 50th different player to have been selected for Salopian this season.

Despite losing the opening match of the Men’s B, back-to-back wins for Shrewsbury-based duo Tony Middleton (18.79) and Steve O’Callaghan (23.48) put the visitors ahead for the first time.

Michael White (20.19) checked the progress, levelling up for the Isle Of Wight. But that would be a rare success as Salopia hit back to take the remaining eight games to run out 10-2 winners in the Men’s B section and hold a 13-5 lead overall at the end of the first day.

James Mansell secured successive man-of-the match awards with a 25.25 average.

The Ladies’ A team were in no mood to relinquish the overall advantage as they dropped just six legs on their way to a 6-0 triumph, which extended the overall lead to 19-5 and secured victory.

Steph Clarke (21.17) maintained her unbeaten record to claim her fourth lady-of-the-match award while Julie Griffiths (15.88) held here nerve in the final match to ensure the whitewash.

With points still a priority for the promotion push, the Men’s A continued the momentum by racking up a further 11 victories, all with 20-plus averages.

Terry Nash (24.70) set the standard that would finally be eclipsed by Rob Paine (26.44) while Scott Dockerty (25.87) and Ash Hilditch (25.36) also impressed. The 11-1 success saw the Men’s A remain unbeaten in their section.