Roscommon County Darts League Finals
March 2nd- Hannon's Hotel, Roscommon Town
4:30pm-Roscommon County Darts Shield Final.
Murray's, Knockcroghery v Creaton's, Loughlynn
Then @ 7:30pm- Roscommon County Darts League Cup Final for the Willie Tiernan Perpetual Cup.
McDermott's, Ballinaheglish v Spell's, Ballaghaderreen.
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 weekends 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 garaunteed their qualification into the semi finals. A string of impressive results began in Round 1 (R1)with a 7-0 win over last years 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 playoff last Friday night. Luke Concannon, Joe Elliffe, Andy Fallon, and Gerry Fallon are the backbone of the McDermott's team and 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, Aiden 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 Loughlynn go head to head in the Shield Final prior to the Cup Final. Murray's won 4-3 at Loughlynn in Round 7 but Creaton's had a 5-2 win at Knockcroghery only threee 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!!