London Road "A" February 21st 2007

It has to be said that the previous week probably will not be remembered for the darts match it’s self but more perhaps for the pre match warm up which usually involves the St.Michael’s game of tactics. A game that over the years has seen Tony Scott excel time and time again, and even more so after the famous cry of “I’ll play with Tom” echoed around the walls of the Blue Anchor public bar. But it has to be said of late Mr. Scott has not had it all his own way and with a shake up amongst the team after the departure of Chris Wilson that saw Paul Mullins transferred across the public bar divide, it could be said the pendulum has swung. Trailing by three games and £1.50 out of pocket the arrival of doubles partner Tom Wilson prompted the cry of “double or quits” Ming was having none of it and before you could say “turn the music down” “Scotty” was in for three quid!!

Tonight’s match saw the Rose and Crown visit the London Road Club, who in recent weeks had dumped them out of the challenge cup after trailing four- one. Tony Scott described it as the worst feeling he had experienced in darts in forty years. Neil Crosby decided that throwing darts he couldn’t beat so he’d use his mobile phone instead!!

After two epic encounters already this season this looked like being another mouth watering occasion. Having undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years the London Road Club was no longer a dark and dingy shell with nicotine stained glasses and carpets that you wiped your feet after you had left. This was now a bright vibrant looking establishment that had seemed to even reflect upon the dart players themselves. Gone were the days of Liam Kennedy and to with them the hostilities that surrounded them.

This now was an evenly matched eagerly awaited tie of two teams of players with the up most respect for one another. This is how darts should be played, competitively and fairly.

For The Rose & Crown skipper Alan Turner deserves great credit for the way the doubles partnerships have worked out this season. The loss of Chris Wilson was a big blow and his fruitful partnership with “The Dude” would be difficult to replace. But the re-emergence of Paul Mullins and the resurrection of his partnership with John Goode which took them to the quarter finals of the St. Albans doubles in two consecutive years has helped ease the blow of Chris’s loss and it has been on very few occasions that they have not gone into the singles on an even keel. Last night was no exception and although Paul and John could not continue there amazing season, succumbing on this occasion to an inform Kim Wiffen, the Rose & Crown still went in level after the pairs. Neil Crosby returning after two weeks in exile and Carl Bolding scraping home in a game that would not be described as a classic and Tom and Tony once again chalking up another impressive victory.

So it was down to the singles. Having been four- one up against the home side in the cup the Rose & Crown went on to crash out of the competition five – four losing the last four singles and when “The Dude” succumbed in the first it was looking ominous for the visitors once more. Tony Scott was looking in fine form even after losing the first leg he looked in good touch and hitting a maximum in the second looked to have set him up to level the game but some quite brilliant darts from his opponent tore it away from him in spectacular style, replying with his own maximum and then checking out 150 left “Scotty shell shocked and the team trailing four – two.

Tom Wilson produced a trade mark performance to put the visitors back in the frame with just one to play leaving it up to Paul Mullins to try and salvage a point.
In what was a classic encounter thus far the final match up lived up every bit to what had preceded it but alas it was a bridge to far for both Paul and the Rose & Crown as Kim Wiffen kept a cool a cool head to seal victory for the home side