West Mids beat Staffordshire in darts derby

The throwers toed the oche for their BDO British Inter-Counties Championship Division Two opener last weekend,

And it was the West Midlands who emerged with local bragging rights and a 20-16 victory, after two days of darts at the White Eagle Club in Riverway, Stafford.

Staffordshire paid the price for losing the ladies 'B' affair, where they were beaten 5-1. Roz Henry's 3-0 whitewash of Claire Hobbs was their sole reply, averaging 14.31 on the way.

Kirsty Shaughnessy top scored on the other side but still had to battle for victory, recording 15.80 in a 3-2 win over Karen Turner.

And those four results proved to be the difference at the last, with all of the rest of the three matches finishing all square.

There was no separating either of the men's teams, starting out when the two 'B' sides played out an entertaining 6-6 draw.

The hosts squandered a 4-0 lead and then had to come from 6-4 down to level, with Mick Plevin clocking up 26.01 in another last-gasp 3-2 victory over Rob Smith, who got 29.09 and lost.

Gary Watts helped spark the West Midlands' resurgence, pulling it back to 3-2 with 31.76 in a 3-1 verdict over Dave Moores.

Staffordshire's failure to get over the line cost them again in the ladies 'A' standings, conceding 2-0 and 3-2 leads, despite Terry Selman and Diane Tolley's 19.52 in 3-0 shut-outs.

Sarah Roberts began the West Midlands' response, notching 21.70 in a 3-1 success over Sarah Cope, who got 20.63 herself.

It all came down to the men's 'A' finale where Staffordshire battled back from a 3-1 deficit to lead 4-3, then sharing games all the way through to 6-6.

Staffordshire's Steve Mason secured the draw by downing Mark Rollinson 4-2, with 30.80 to 29.48. The West Midlands' Sean Carroll opened with 28.81 in a 4-2 win over Steven Shenton.

The West Midlands now entertain Somerset on the first weekend of October, when Staffordshire travel to Worcestershire.