The Isle of Wight County Darts team has secured its first overall victory since 2016, ending a 10-year wait with a 21-15 win over Montgomery and Radnor at the Channel View Hotel in Shanklin over the weekend.
The Island side welcomed their Welsh opponents for 2 days of competitive darts, with both the men’s and ladies’ A and B teams contributing to the long-awaited success.
Saturday saw the B teams take to the oche, with the ladies getting the weekend underway with a 3-3 draw.
Nicola Emery, Angie Cotton and Dawn Edwards all recorded victories to ensure the Island shared the points.
The men’s B team then produced an impressive performance, winning 8-4 thanks to victories from Dave Spragg, Ant Smith, on his county debut, Get Hailes, Steve Hunt, Gary Williamson, Andy Willis, Gordy Crews, Pete Steel and Mark Waites.
Those results gave the Isle of Wight an 11-7 advantage heading into Sunday’s A team matches, with just 8 more wins needed to secure an overall victory.
The ladies’ A team continued the positive momentum on Sunday, battling to another hard-fought 3-3 draw.
Tracy Cox, Fiona Pickin and Kayleigh Durrell were all successful in their matches, leaving the men’s A team needing 5 victories to seal the weekend.
Jack Cullen, Darren Andrews, Chris Hebberd and Lee Marsh all recorded wins before Leo Hall stepped up to secure the decisive point.
Hall’s victory confirmed the Island’s first county weekend win in a decade, bringing an end to a barren run stretching back to 2016.
The celebrations did not stop there, as Mark Edwards and Dan Inman added further victories to complete a 7-5 win for the men’s A team, with the result meaning the Isle of Wight teams finished the weekend with an overall 21-15 victory, marking a significant milestone for county darts on the Island.
The team will now look to build on its success when it travels to Wiltshire for its next county fixture in November.
The next home match will take place on 12th December and 13th December, when Gloucestershire will visit the Channel View Hotel in Shanklin.
