Monday proved to be a night of upsets in the Spalding League.
Rose & Crown put to bed any dreams Consti A had of winning the Division One title by beating them 5-4 and in Division Two Tigers B ended Pied Calf’s unbeaten record with a 6-3 win.
Consti A found themselves 2-1 down after the pairs but Jack Chilvers beat Dan Carnell to level the match. The tide turned again with Adam Brand beating Chris Fidler event, even though Fidler hit eight scores of 100-plus.
Sam Roberts then beat Tyger Atkin to again level the game and at 3-3 it was a case of who won two of the next three games would win the match. Ian Lawson gained the advantage for Rose & Crown by beating Kieran Bowman but Nick Moyses ensured the night went to a last-game decider by beating Adam Godfrey. Hank Watson held his nerve to beat Andy Bingham and seal the game. Adam Brand had a 101 checkout and Fidler had a 16-dart leg.
Lincoln Arms had a 5-4 win against Ye Olde Abbey after getting themselves into a great position by going 3-0 up in the pairs. Pete Broadman won first for the Abbey but wins for Harry Walsh and Luke Rhodes put Lincoln 5-1 up and got them the win. The Abbey then won the following three games. Dave Norbury had an 18-dart leg but this was bettered twice with a 17 by Stan Browning and then Luke Rhodes and Dave Bourne in the pairs.
Drayman’s A beat Costi E 6-3, winning the three pairs to go with wins from Josh Higgins, Kev Newton and Josh Grainger. Consti’s Callum Ward had an 18-dart leg and Drayman’s Richard Cooper fired in a maximum 180.
Pied Calf melted in the heat in Division Two as they surrendered their unbeaten record to Tigers B 6-3. Tigers can go joint top with Pied if they win their games in hand. Pied got off to the better start, going 2-1 up in the pairs games and then extended their lead to 3-1, thanks to a win for Paul Faulkner. However, singles wins for Leo Clarkson, Charlie Henderson, Ian McCreery, Richard Brooks and Danny Goddard sealed the points for the Tigers.
Consti D beat Punchbowl 6-3 after going 2-1 up in the doubles. Three quick wins for Jonny Robinson, Danny Drage and John Robinson put them 5-1 up and got them the points. Ady Smith got the final victory for Consti and winners for Punchbowl were Ant Norman and Josh Burton.
A break in the Dewhursts Trophies Pinchbeck & District Summer League programme saw the preliminary rounds of both the Knockout Cup and Ward Trophy take place.
In the Cup, Services Club A progressed with a 5-1 win at Consti Club D. Wins for Connor McKenzie, Carl Worth and Callum O’Driscoll in the first three singles saw them through with three games to spare.
Joining them in the first round proper are Consti Club B who won 5-4 at Green Dragon Z. Although they lost the last two singles, Connor Hughes had secured the win in his 2-1 success against Harry Tucker. Kieran Day hit a 180 for Dragon.
In the Ward Trophy, for Division B and C teams, Kirton Leisure booked their place in the first round with a convincing 7-1 win at Pinchbeck FC C. Leam Dawson got the only win for the footballers, beating Jamie Clark 2-1 in his singles game.
Drayman’s Arms came through 6-3 at home to Green Dragon C. After trailing 3-1, they won the last five singles to claim the win.
Pinchbeck FC B took an unassailable 5-1 lead after their first three singles games to see them through against Consti Club A. The Consti side did win the remaining games to earn a respectable 5-4 scoreline. Mark Culy of the Consti registered a 110 checkout.
The closest game of the night was between Lincoln Arms C and Pied Calf. In a game that ebbed and flowed both ways, it went down to the last leg, which saw Lincoln’s Tony Brown take on Carl Page. Brown held his nerve to hit the winning double to give his team a hard fought 5-4 win.
Results –
Knockout Cup, preliminary round: Consti Club D 1 Services Club A 5, Green Dragon Z 4 Consti Club B 5.
Ward Trophy, preliminary round: Consti Club A 4 Pinchbeck FC B 5, Drayman’s Arms 6 Green Dragon C 3, Lincoln Arms C 5 Pied Calf 4, Pinchbeck FC C 2 Kirton Leisure 7.
