After 18 months away due to the pandemic Clwyd made the short journey to Llangefni to play our neighbours Gwynedd (writes Natalie Davey).
Saturday got off to a promising start with Izzy Thomas taking to the stage to kick off the weekend winning her game 3-0 with a lady of the match
performance and a 16.70 average. Debutant Nia Price was next up and was narrowly defeated 3-2 in a closely fought game. Clwyd then took the 2 games with Bethan Jones and Liz Jones both pipping their opponents 3-2 with a 15.55 and 15.45 winning averages respectively. This put Clwyd in a commanding position at 3-1 up going into the final two ladies games, next up was Linda Evans again this was a closely fought game with doubles
evading Clwyd and Gwynedd taking the win leaving the score 3-2 with one to play. Mary Williams was last up for the ladies, it wasn’t to be for Mary and she lost out to an inform Gwynedd player and the ladies game ended 3-3, a fair result in the end and a stead performance after so long away from the stage.
Ladies result – 3-3 Lady of the match Izzy Thomas 16.70
Clwyd Men’s B were up next, first up was Terry Tweedie, the 3-2 curse hit again and not in Clwyd’s favour as the home side managed to take the win. Youngster James Beeton was up next and gave a brilliant performance but coming up against the Gwynedd team’s Man of the match albeit scoring 7 tons, one 180 and a 25.69 average an unlucky result for James. Another debutant Ian Bride was next up on stage but lost out in a close battle losing 3-1, following Ian were two more making their debuts with Mark Leach winning his game with a superb double top taking his game 3-2 with a 21.01 average. Gaz Killa kept up the winning streak with a commanding 3- victory and a steady 21.17 average. The next two games went the way of the home side with Shaun Thompson and Steve Ellson both narrowly losing out. After 7 games Clwyd found themselves trailing 5-2 in the men’s match so up next was Craig Spriggs who confidently dispatched his opponent 3-0 with a 23.12 average, just what Clwyd needed to get back into the game. The debutants kept on coming with Paul Crimes up next, Paul shrugged off any nerves with a 15 dart first leg, a great start to his Man of the match
3-2 winning performance and an average of 25.47. 16 year old Cole Davey was next up after watching Clwyd since the age of 8 he finally got his chance on the stage. Cole going 2-0 up with a 107 and 132 outshots, unfortunately he couldn’t get over the line and was pipped 3-2 but a great debut and one for the future for sure. Jamie Holmes steadied the ship with a 3-2 nail biting win and a 21.54 leaving the match at 6-5 in favour of Gwynedd going into the last game of the day. Ady Maddocks was last up and after going 2-0 down he fought back to level the game but after a superb opening 9 darts from Gwynedd it proved too bigger gap and they took the point finishing the day with a 7-5 victory and a 10-8 lead
overall going into the Sunday.
Mens B result 7-5 – Man of the match Paul Crimes 25.47
Sunday began and Clwyd ladies were confident of closing the gap and gaining their first win of the season. First up was Ladies A team debutant Helen Graham who battled the nerves after going 2-0 down to pull a leg back but was unlucky to lose out 3-1 with an average of 16.41. Looking to level for Clwyd was the experienced Paula Collins who swept aside her opponent with a convincing 3-1 win and a 15.46 average. Nat Davey was on third against the very experienced former Welsh international Gwynedd player. Nat went 2-0 up and looked certain for a 3-0 victory but was pegged back to 2-2 but luckily she dug deep and finished the match and put Clwyd 2-1 up with a Lady of the match winning average of 16.61. Looking to extend Clwyd’s lead was Rachel Kingdon, after double trouble in the first leg Rachel confidently won the match 3-1 with a 14.30 average. Clwyd’s final debutant of the weekend Judith Williams was up fifth and after a late night flight and no sleep Judith gave a valiant performance and took the first leg but her opponent fought back well and took the match 3-1 to leave the game at 3-2 going into the final match. Becky Jones was tasked with
winning the game for Clwyd so no pressure!! With the game poised at 2-2 Becky showed her experience and held her nerve to hit the double 4 to ensure Clwyd’s 4-2 victory and leave the Men’s A side starting level with Gwynedd.
Ladies A result 4-2 – Lady of the match Nat Davey 16.61
Clwyd Men’s A began their quest with the score standing at 12-12. Paul Gillam was tasked with taking on Gwynedd’s Welsh international Heber Thomas, the game went the distance with both players hitting 10+ tons and a 180 each but it was Paul who took the point with a confident double 14 with Heber back on 78. Paul’s average was 24.84 a great start to the Men’s match. A fabulous 124 finish on the bull for Paul Hughes gave him a 4-1 victory and Clwyd a 2-0 lead and looking to build. Gwynedd then took the next 4 games defeating Andy Alker 4-2 with 25.29, Daf Edwards 4-2 with 27.46, David Davies 4-3 with 23.73 and Chris Ware 4-2 with 25.83. Awesome games that Clwyd were unlucky to lose. Up next to stem the losses was youngster Josh Robinson, a cracking game that went to the wire with Josh winning 4-3 with a fantastic 25.45 on his debut in the A side. The 8th game went to Gwynedd with Phil Wilcock averaging 20.49. Clwyd team manager Tony Martin then took to the stage, a commanding performance was rewarded with a 4-0 victory and a Man of the match winning average of 26.72. Mark Graham was unlucky not to add a point with a 4-3 defeat and a 28.04 average in a closely contested match. Derek Williams suffered a similar fate losing out with an average of 27.93, so many games with the luck falling Gwynedds way. The final game of the weekend was left to B team debutant Paul Crimes who after his Man of the match performance on the Saturday resulted in him being catapulted into the A side. Unfortunately for Paul his opponent pipped him in the final game which gave Gwynedd a
final winning result of 8-4.
Men’s A result 8-4 – Man of the Match Tony Martin – 26.72
Final Result Gwynedd 20 -16 Clwyd
Overall a decent performance from Clwyd against a very strong Gwynedd side, hopefully we can go one better in 2 weeks time at home versus Merseyside.