Battling draw keeps Shropshire second

The county darters are still searching for their first win as hosts at the Castle Hall in Bridgnorth, having lost their home opener to Montgomery & Radnor.

A victory against the West of England got them up and running and they are ticking over, after a close-run clash against their Welsh visitors, writes Craig Birch.

Four teams did battle over two days, with the home side chasing their tails after a 4-2 defeat in the ladies 'B' affair.

Michele Pritchard top scored for Shropshire with a 17.98 average in a 3-2 victory over Jane Andrews, while Clwyd's Bethan Jones notched 22.43 in a 3-0 shut-out of Millie Holt (16.94).

The advantage remained with the visitors for most of the match, so the hosts had to dig in to save the fixture. Both of the next meetings were shared.

The men's 'B' standings ended 6-6, with Shropshire's Neil Powell gleaning 27.31 in a last leg win over Craig Spriggs (24.85). Clwyd's Paul Gillum had 26.59 to see off Martin Angell (23.26) 3-1.

The two women's 'A' line-ups could not be separated either, as they finished 3-3. Katherine McLean clocked up 20.31 in a 3-0 whitewash of Jane Robson.

Clwyd's Elad Davies (17.59) had to produce some excellent darts to nudge past Marie Riggs (17.36), prevailing 3-2 after hitting a 180 on the way.

That left the hosts two points down going into the men's 'A' finale, under the best-of-seven format, and luck didn't appear to be with them, losing all five games they conceded 4-3.

But winning the last three saw them claim the 7-5 victory to force an 18-18 match draw, with one bonus point apiece.

John Cornmell recorded 24.82 in a 4-2 success over Brian Morrell (25.23), while Clwyd's Jason Willcock registered 25.61 to hand a 4-3 defeat to Clive Lucking (24.12).

Shropshire next make the trip to the Whitland Creameries Club to take on Pembrokeshire, on the weekend commencing Saturday September 28.