The penultimate round of league matches in the Isle of Man Darts Super League took place at the Legion in Peel recently, writes Alan Young.

West 8-10 East

The clash between the top two teams was an absolute cracker that could have gone either way and both teams will fancy their chances of taking the title in the top two play-off in April.

As with the previous match-up between these teams, the West made a strong start with Mark Venables kicking off with a 3-0 victory over Steve Moran and Aaron Bradley following that up with a 3-1 win against Ian Fields.

But Rachel Robertson managed to squeeze past Vicki Cannan 3-2 to get the East on the board.

Ady Hogg then levelled things up at 2-2 with a 3-1 win over Barry Gilsenan in an excellent performance that included a 155 finish and a 12-dart leg.

Robbie Nelson then put the East ahead with a comfortable 3-0 win over Paul Watterson and, when Nikki Bardsley beat Jess Corlett 3-1, the East were in control at 4-2.

Paul Sertin extended the lead with a fine 3-1 win against Walter McCarthy that included two 17-dart legs, but Peter Sayle pulled one back for the West by beating Glenn Moorley 3-2 in a quality encounter.

When Sophie Hicklin then beat Janet Maynard 3-1, East’s lead was suddenly cut to 5-4.

The West had the momentum and won the next two men’s singles at a canter, with Willie Biggane and Chris Gilbert not dropping a leg against Tony Kennaugh and Rob Corrin respectively, including 16- and 17-dart legs from Gilbert.

But Janine Halsall held her nerve in the last women’s singles to beat Louise Gregory 3-2 and level the match at 6-6 going into the pairs.

Once again it was the women doing the heavy lifting for the East, with Robertson and Bardsley beating Vicki Cannan and Louise Gregory 2-1.

Janet Maynard and Halsall survived a number of match darts in a 2-1 win over Debbie Faragher and Storm Williamson to give the East an 8-6 advantage.

Ian Fields and Steve Moran won the first men’s pairs 2-1 against Kevin Biggane and Paul Williamson to guarantee the East at least a draw but Bradley and Peter Sayle had a fine 2-0 win against Nelson and Corrin to keep the match alive.

Despite that, the East clinched the match in the next game as Hogg and Paul Sertin beat Willie Biggane and Gilsenan 2-0.

McCarthy and the impressive Gilbert beat Moorley and Kennaugh 2-1 in the last game to give a final score of 10-8.

North 11-7 South

The North picked up their first win of the season with victory over their southern rivals.

The South got off to a steady start with island champion Sarah Taylor beating Nic Libreri-Lane 3-1, before the Northern men turned the game in their favour.

Jamie Kelly beat Gary Jones 3-1, including a 15-dart leg, and Ryan Teare won the battle of the island internationals 3-2 against Jack Saxon despite two 18-dart legs from the latter.

Judith Wellings extended the North’s lead with a 3-2 win against Viv Frew, and Brian Gelling made it 4-1 with a 3-2 victory against Kevin Christian. Danny Cowin then got the South another point on the board with a 3-2 win against Ben Pickett.

Margaret Kelly closed the gap with a fine 3-0 victory against Laura Howard.

The next two men’s games were then split, with Chris Gelling beating Josh Cowley 3-1 and Wayne Harrison beating Robbie Lawson 3-0, leaving the North with a slender 5-4 lead.

The last singles games all went the way of the North, with Cat Tracy beating Sophe Moore 3-0, Harley Christian defeating Kyle Lunn 3-2 and Kevin Lane beating Colin Tyrer 3-0, giving the North an 8-4 lead heading into the pairs.

The Southern women did their part in the pairs, with Kelly and Moore plus Taylor and Ann-Marie Martinez both winning 2-0 against Tracy and Libreri-Lane plus Wellings and Laura Howard respectively, to close the gap to 8-6.

But the Northern men made sure of the win, with Lane and Kelly beating Colin Tyrer and John Halsall 2-0, including a 17-dart leg, before Andy Foulis and Billy Howland wrapped up the match with a 2-1 win against Saxon and Kyle Lunn.

Ben Parsons and Harrison pulled one back for the South with a 2-0 win against Harley Christian and Jak Stott before the pairing of Ryan Teare and Gelling extended the winning margin for the North with a 2-1 victory over Cowley and Kevin Christian.

Isle of Man Darts Organisation wish to thank everyone who turned out and helped make for another successful night for island-wide darts, and to hosts Peel Legion for its support.

The Western team would also like to thank Motor Mall for kindly supplying them with team shirts for the remainder of the season.

l The next Super League fixtures take place on Friday, March 24 at the Manor in Douglas, with a 7.30pm start.