Hannon’s Hotel, Roscommon Town Next Sunday, 2nd of March. 4.30 pm. Roscommon County Darts Shield Final. Murray’s, Knockcroghery v Creaton’s, Loughglynn. At 7. 30 pm: Roscommon County Darts League Cup Final for the Willie Tiernan Perpetual Cup. McDermott’s, Ballinaheglish v Spell’s, Ballaghaderreen. Semi-final results: Murray’s, Knockcroghery 4 McDermotts, Ballinaheglish 3. (McDermott’s win 8-7 on aggregate after play-off). McDermotts won through to their first cup final, sealing victory 8-7 after a play-off. As predicted, the game went down to the wire as Murray’s won 4-3 on the night to tie the match at 7-7, but Thomas Concannon defeated Mick Egan in the play-off to seal the victory for McDermotts. Concannon was the outstanding player over the two matches, and was not to be denied on the night. On the night, Jimmy Reilly comfortably defeated David Concannon 3-0 in game 1, to level the match at 4-4. Thomas Concannon then defeated Pat Byrne 3-0 in a high-scoring game 2, to put McDermotts back in front. In game 3, Tony Lyons defeated Andy Fallon 3-2 in a cracker of a game, to level the match at 5-5. This was a high-scoring and exciting game, and was easily the best game of the night. Mick Egan defeated Joe Ellife 3-0 in game 4, to give Murray’s the overall lead at 6-5. As was the case last week, it was another inconsistent affair. Mark Finneran defeated Paul Carton 3-1 in game 5, to level the match at 6-6. This was another high-scoring and enjoyable game, with Finneran hitting a 132 outshot on his way to victory. Willie Doyle defeated Ger Fallon 3-1 in game 6, to give Murray’s the lead at 7-6. Doyle scored well and ran out a deserved winner. Gary Concannon took the last game 3-2 against Scobie Connaughton, to send the game into a play-off. Connaughton had raced into a 2-0 lead, scoring and finishing well and seemed set for victory. Then, as his scoring deserted him, Concannon hit form, to level at 2-2, before taking a tight last leg for the win and tie the match at 7-7. In the play-off, Thomas Concannon defeated Mick Egan 3-0. With Egan in pole position in leg 1, Concannnon hit a wonderful 117 outshot to take the leg, and never looked back after that. Overall, it was a fair result, with Murray’s recent patchy form continuing, and McDermott’s continuing their recent improved form. The youthful McDermott’s team now head to the cup final against Spell’s on March 2nd, and can take with them the best wishes of the Murray’s team, as they look to win their first county title. Spell’s, Ballaghaderreen 4 Creaton’s, Loughglynn 2 (Spell’s win 8-5 on agg.). 2006 County Champions Spell’s of Ballaghaderreen are back in the Roscommon County Darts Cup Final again after an 8-5 overall victory in front of a large crowd at Spell’s in Ballaghaderreen last Friday night. Having won 4-3 in Loughglynn the week before, a 4-2 win on the night was enough to do it. An under-par performance from Sean Fleming went unpunished as he beat Eugene McDonagh 3-2. Both players did what the other player didn’t. McDonagh’s scoring was far superior to his Spell’s opponent but he had several missed darts at doubles. Fleming took his opportunities when they eventually arose, with winning checkouts of 94 and 60. Sean Finan levelled the score on the night in game two with a tight 3-2 win over Patrick Tansey. Tansey took advantage of Finan’s early misses at double and took a 2-1 lead. But Finan returned the compliment as Tansey missed checkouts of 66 and 126 on the double on which the Creaton’s captain capitalised on. Player of the night Jimmy Finn beat a dissappointing Tony Thacker 3-1 in his best performance of the League. A super checkout of 103 put Finn two-up. Thacker ended leg three with a 68 checkout but a winning effort of 62 from the Spell’s player put Spell’s 6-4 up overall. Denis Coffey, aided by a 75 checkout, overpowered Pat Reid 3-0 to put Spell’s 7-4 up. For the third time this year Aidan Tansey and Joe Crawley went head to head. Tansey came out on top last week but it was Crawley’s steadiness that sealed his 3-2 win this time ’round, despite Tansey being in outstanding scoring form on the night. In what was to be the final game Martin Fleming beat Ray Finan 3-0, winning out with a 120 checkout in what his highest score of the game, despite playing decently. Cup Final Preview Late next Sunday evening the Overall Winners of the 2007/2008 Hannon’s Hotel Roscommon County Darts League will be decided. Since October 19th 8 teams involving 80 players have played almost 1700 legs of darts between them. For the best part the standard has been outstanding, with the change in format being seen as a reason for that. There have been almost 100x 180 scores and 37x 100+ checkouts recorded to date and this weekend’s finals are nearly sure to add to that. McDermott’s Gary Concannon holds the highest checkout with an effort of 160. In one of the closest leagues in recent years no one team managed to dominate it from start to finish, but in terms of picking off the best results throughout the league it was the McDermott’s team who done that most often. McDermott’s lightning-quick start to the league almost certainly guaranteed their qualification into the semi-finals. A string of impressive results began in Round 1 with a 7-0 win over last year’s champions Flanagan’s of Castleplunkett, followed by a 6-1 against Mac’s (R2). Two 5-2 wins over Creaton’s (R5) and Spell’s (R6) kept them near the top at the Christmas break. Since the New Year McDermott’s form dipped slightly on those highs, losing five of their last nine matches. But more importantly they pulled off their best wins to date as they beat Murray’s in the first leg of their semi-final clash two weeks ago and completed their path to the final by beating them again after a dramatic play-off last Friday night. Luke Concannon, Joe Elliffe, Andy Fallon and Gerry Fallon are the backbone of the McDermott’s team and they are well supported by some the best youths which Roscommon has to offer at the moment. They are Mark Finneran, brothers David and Gary Concannon and their cousin Thomas Concannon, all of whom have been a credit to their team this year. McDermott’s are the reigning Shield Champions but are now very happy to be one game away from making the transition from that to becoming the best team in the county. Spell’s, who became League Champions in 2006 for the first time come into this final unbeaten since Round 8. It has been the steady darts from the Ballaghaderreen team which has got them this far. Denis Coffey, Jimmy Finn, Frank Duffy, Sean Fleming, Benji Hayden and Martin Fleming were all involved in the 2006 win while Patrick Tansey, Seamus Duffy, Aidan Tansey and Michael Waldron are all welcome additions since. All ten players played their part in reaching the final, with Patrick Tansey, Denis Coffey and Sean Fleming the most consistent throughout. When Spell’s and McDermott’s played earlier in the league McDermott’s came out on top in Round 6 on a 5-2 scoreline. Spell’s were fortunate to win the return game 4-3 at Ballaghaderreen. Murray’s of Knockcroghery and Creaton’s of Loughglynn go head to head in the Shield Final prior to the Cup Final. Murray’s won 4-3 at Loughglynn in Round 7 but Creaton’s had a 5-2 win at Knockcroghery only three weeks ago. Previous games and happenings count for nothing on final day. And it is for sure the winning team will deserve their honours. Best of luck to all teams!
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