Darts finale: Goodricke vs the rest of the university

Goodricke finished top of the darts league this year and so played a final match against the Rest of Uni - a team made up of the other colleges’ best players. With talent on both sides, it was bound to be a close encounter. Here is how they got on.

The teams: Goodricke: Danny Diamond (Captain), Richard Lloyd, Adam Samuel, Andy Myhill, Zoe Paine and Jonathan Fox

Rest of University: Ross Porter (Captain), Emma Howarth, Michael Forrester, Ewen McDonald, Magnus Tripp and Josh Littlemore

The players arrived at V-bar smiling and chatting as they basked in the sunshine and the freedom of the end of term. They became more serious however as they threw a few practice darts and the start of the match grew closer.

The first leg was a Mixed Doubles with Paine and Lloyd playing for Goodricke against the Rest of University’s Howarth and McDonald. 701 was the target and Goodricke shot to a quick lead of more than 160 thanks to excellent darts from Paine and Lloyd, who hit high scores of 135 and 100 respectfully. However, McDonald scored two tons to help the Rest of Uni team reduce the gap to only 20. With both teams trying to double out, the tension was high but McDonald stayed calm and hit double 12 to give the first point of the match to the Rest of Uni.

A Men’s Doubles between Samuel and Fox for Goodricke and Forrester and Littlemore for the Rest of Uni followed. Again 701 was the target but this game was much closer than the previous one, with only about 20 points between the teams throughout. Samuel scored two tons and gave Goodricke a good chance to double out first on tops but an amazing check-out from Littlemore from 71 ensured the win and another point for the Rest of Uni to give them a 2-0 lead.

In the next Men’s Doubles Goodricke’s Myhill and Diamond took on the Rest of Uni’s Tripp and Porter with the pressure mounting on them to win a point. The Rest of Uni captain Porter hit a high score of 100 but Goodricke still led by 40 due to their good, consistent scoring. The Rest of Uni pulled the deficit back to only three points but it wasn’t good enough as Myhill hit double 18 to secure Goodricke’s first point of the afternoon, halving the Rest of Uni’s lead.

The Women’s Singles leg was up next with Goodricke’s Paine taking on the Rest of Uni’s Howarth. With a smaller target of 401 it was bound to be a quicker game but just as much concentration and accuracy was required. Paine scored highly, recording a high score of 100, and she pulled away from Howarth and opened up a lead of 70. However, Howarth threw consistently well and reduced the deficit quickly. Both players were trying to double out and it was Paine who hit hers first, winning a point for Goodricke and levelling the match overall at 2-2.

The five Men’s Singles legs finished off the match and, with the score level at 2-2, there was everything left to play for. Fox of Goodricke and Porter of Rest of Uni were up first, playing to a target of 501. Porter hit two tons and led by more than 100 but Fox managed to reduce the gap slightly with some good darts. He couldn’t stop the Rest of Uni captain however, who smartly doubled out with double eight to restore the Rest of Uni’s lead at 3-2.

Goodricke’s Lloyd took on the Rest of Uni’s McDonald next and a ton for Lloyd gave him an early lead. Consistently great throwing increased his lead to more than 200 but McDonald hit back with good darts of his own. However, Lloyd was too strong for him and finished on double 16 in an impressive leg of only 30 darts. The match was level once more at 3-3.

Next up were Tripp playing for the Rest of Uni and Myhill for Goodricke. Neither of the players produced a particularly high score and the leg was very close with only a gap of 20 throughout. Myhill held a slight lead before Tripp overtook and with both players down to two figures, it was very close indeed. Myhill just piped Tripp to the post as he hit a wonderful check-out from 75 of treble 17 and double 12 to take the point and give Goodricke the lead in the match for the first time.

The Rest of Uni’s Forrester played against Goodricke’s Samuel next with both players well aware that one more point for Goodricke would win them the match. Forrester hit an impressive high score of 125, which game him an early lead of just less than 100. However, Samuel reduced the gap with his own high score 100 and the lead was narrowed to only four. With another ton, Samuel took the lead but Forrester managed to keep the score close. Both players got down to doubles and just after Forrester missed hitting double four to finish by millimetres, Samuel hit double two and won the leg. Another point for Goodricke gave them a 5-3 lead overall and also saw them gain the victory.

The final Men’s Singles leg saw the Rest of Uni’s Littlemore take on Goodricke’s Diamond. Diamond took a quick lead but Littlemore closed the gap and narrowly took the lead with a ton. Both players were throwing at doubles and it was the Goodricke captain Diamond who hit his first, firing into tops, to gain another point for Goodricke and round off an impressive come-back, claiming the victory with an overall match score of 6-3.

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