Harrogate & District Darts League: Harrogate & District Darts League: Harrogate & District Darts League:

Victors over league leaders Bilton Working Men’s Club Dales in their previous outing, Division One’s second-placed side picked up where they left off as Carl Hepstinstall kicked things off with an 18-dart winning leg in a 3-0 triumph over Jordan Harper.

Steve Higgins then decimated Ryan Blanchard, winning 3-0 with 20, 19 and 15-dart legs, before Richard Yates made it 3-0 as he overcame Liam Hutchinson by the same score-line, serving up 22 and 24-dart legs.

Alex Pride extended the Batsmen’s advantage, managing a 20-dart winning leg to record another whitewash, this time against Mark McNaughton.

Manhattan’s Pop Herron stopped the rot with a 3-0 success of his own over Tony Sharratt, producing 19 and 14-dart legs.

But it was soon 5-1 and game over as Lewis Pride hit a 14 dart leg of his own, along with 18 and 22-dart legs and a 100 checkout, in a 3-1 success over Paul Monaghan, whose only leg was won in 22 darts.In the doubles, Lewis and Nigel Saville delivered an 18-dart opener in a 2-1 triumph over Ryan and Hutchinson, with Lewis Saville grabbing the only 180 of the night.

Herron and Harper took Hepstinstall and Lee Swales out to put another point on the board for the Madhatters, however it was Bilton who had the last word thanks to Higgins and Yates beating McNaughton and Dan Knowles 2-0.

Top-of-the-table Bilton Working Men’s Club Dales fought their way to a 6-3 victory over bottom side 1899 Trades Hall.

Kevin Palmer got the Trades off to a good start with a 3-0 success over Peter Newbould with a 20-dart winning leg, though Chris Wood edged an attritional match 3-2 against Fred Hobson to level matters.

Nick Hounslow hit 22, 20 and 18-dart legs against James Hall to triumph 3-0 with the first 180 of the night, putting the 1899 back into the ascendancy.

Terry Sherwood then overcame Tony Green by a slender 3-2 margin to level the contest at 2-2 despite Green hitting a 105 checkout to wrap up the fourth leg in 24 darts.

Next, James Pedel annihilated Giles Holt 3-0 with 21, 19 and 17-dart legs, including the second 180 of the night in the opening leg.

Rick Harper then emulated his team-mate with an opening-leg 180 against Richard Taylor, delivering another 3-0 success.

Newbould and Harper teamed up to earn a 2-0 victory over Palmer and Holt, sealing the tie with a 21-dart winning leg.

Trades Hall’s Hounslow and Taylor then took 20 and 24 darts to beat Wood and Green 2-0, pulling it back to 5-3 on the night before the gloss was applied by James Pedel and Hall, who took the last pairs clash 2-0.

Third-placed Harlow Hill are another side enjoying a strong season, and they were able to overcome fourth-placed Trades Hall Vikings by a 7-2 score-line.

Chris Leach produced a couple of 19-dart legs, including a 180 on his very first throw, to beat Rich Graham 3-1, with both players hitting a 23 dart leg.

Jamie Patterson’s two 24-dart legs were aided by a superb 103 checkout which helped him sink Mal Taylor 3-0 to double Harlow’s advantage.

Phil Taylor got the Vikings up and running with a 3-0 victory over Jim Lester that featured a 22-dart leg, though it became 3-1 on the night when Steve Rogers hit 21 and 19-dart legs on his way to a 3-1 triumph over Neil Fullard.

Brian Ellison kept Hill moving forwards, edging out Harry Kidd 3-2 with a 23-dart and a 20-dart winning leg, countering his opponent’s 22-dart fourth leg. Adi Shaw then hit the second 180 of the night in a 3-1 win over Chris Nelson, which handed his team an unassailable 5-1 lead.

With the tie already won, Shaw and Leach managed an 18-dart leg in their 2-0 win over Mal and Phil Taylor. Rogers and Eadington hit a 23-dart opener during their 2-0 victory against Graham and Nelson, with Fullard and Kidd nicking a consolation point for the Vikings courtesy of their triumph Ellison and Jamie Beaton.

In Division Two, rock-bottom Londesborough 2023 almost recorded what would have been the shock result of the season, just going down 5-4 in the end against Prince of Wales.

Jayson Duck beat David Thrippleton 2-0 with Ben Pitt doing the same eventually to Jamie Haigh, leaving Prince two up.

Alvis Cabelis helped himself to a 2-1 win over Gary Whellans to get Londesborough on the board, though Prince soon found their two-point cushion restored, as Lorna Nelson saw off Daniel Hardisty.

Gary Penrose then beat Darren Metcalfe 2-1 with Kevin Sullivan claiming a 2-0 victory against Jim Green, making it 3-3 after the singles.

Sullivan then teamed up with Eddie Yates to see off Whellans and Pitt, edging Londesborough ahead for the first time.

But, victories for Duck and Green over Cabelis and Penrose, along with Metcalfe and Nelson’s success against Thrippleton and Forrest Humphries, saved Prince’s blushes.

Top-of-the-table George & Dragon were another Division Two outfit who held their nerve to take a 5-4 triumph, from their showdown with Starbeck Cons.

Ian Denny came from behind to beat James Marriott 2-1 with 23 and 17-dart winning legs, with Ben Fleming making it 2-0 with a 2-1 victory over Tony Hawkes.

Al Roberts halved the deficit, securing a 2-0 success against Ben Gray, before Dennis Wise equalised with a 2-0 triumph over Nicole Wilcox.

Sonia Porter came from behind to beat Simon Hoare 2-1 to move George back in front, with Craig Gibson doing the same against Andrew Parkes for 4-2 on the night.

Roberts then hit a 180 as he and Hawkes sank Porter and Denny, with Marriott and Hoare beating the Gray brothers, Ben and Elliott, to make it 4-4 on the night and set up a winner-takes-all finale.

In the end, George’s Fleming and Gibson squeezed over the line in their showdown with the veteran pairing of Wise and Chris Adams.

Londesborough God Squad ran out victorious by a 6-3 margin when they faced-off with Manhattan School Of Darts.

Christian McIntrye got whipped 2-0 without his own darts by Matthew Lambert as the God Squad got off to a winning start, but it was 1-1 after Jono Bradley survived a late onslaught against Terry Jackson to win 2-1.

Colin Bunyan finally produced a performance against his bogey team, serving up two 24-dart legs in a 2-0 success over Tony Cash that saw Manhattan edged in front.

Phil Gray beat debutant Phil Clarke 2-0 to level matters before Londesborough’s Gary Watson beat Douglas Sneesby 2-0 with a 21-dart winning leg incorporating a 124 checkout on the bull.

God Squad’s Dan Jackson wanted a piece of the high finishing action, completing his 2-0 victory against Alistair Bradley with a 111 checkout.

In the doubles, McIntyre and debutant Alistair Bradley lost to the pairing of Gray and Watson before Sneesby and Bradley pulled a point back for School of Darts.

Cash and Jackson then rounded things off for Londesborough, sinking Bunyan and Clarke to make it 6-3.