Staffordshire edged out again in defeat

The county darters' battling performance before losing to London in their previous fixture was on show again, as they staged a late fightback.

They trailed for most of the match and eventually went down 22-16 to leave them seventh, albeit with a substantial points buffer on the three teams below them.

Play began at the Britwell Ex-Servicemen's Club with the ladies B affairs, where Staffordshire were left chasing their tails after going down 4-2, writes Craig Birch.

They fell further behind after the men's B clash, where they were beaten 8-4. Andy McNeil-Aitken led the way for Berkshire, averaging 27.83 in a 3-0 whitewash of Danny Key (24.89).

Dave Moors' mustered Staffordshire's best response, with 25.49 battling to a 3-2 last leg victory over a spirited Mark Hadwick (27.76).

That left the visitors 12-6 doing into the A proceedings but the ladies team cut into the deficit, winning 4-2.

Sarah Cope was unlucky to be edged out 3-2 despite racking up 19.49, with Priscilla Cummings' 20.37 Berkshire's best female total.

Sam Prommetta helped Staffordshire over the line, with 15.45 for a 3-1 success over Louis Grannell (15.36).

It was all riding on the final men's line-ups but, with just two games in it, the two A teams could only play out a 6-6 draw.

Berkshire's Eddie Simmonds shut out James Hughes (26.17) with the weekend's best average of 29.91, rolling over him 4-0 as play was upgraded to a best-of-seven format.

But Staffordshire were leading going into the last game, thanks to Paul Wright's 28.80 in a high-quality result over Richard Stride (28.21).

It was Dudley-born Paul Hogan, now of Basingstoke, who restored parity. The two-time BDO World Championship quarter-finalist (27.72) scored a 4-2 verdict over Eddie Brookes (23.44).

Match victory went to Berkshire 19-17, with three extra points for the winning county. Staffordshire now go to Cumbria on the weekend commencing March 5.