Roscommon retain Pete Donlon Cup
Sunday 29th January saw the annual Pete Donlon Cup being played between Roscommon and Long-ford in the Shannon Bar, Tarmonbarry.
Having defeated Longford the previous week on a semi-final run in the West Coast Challenge, defending cup champions Roscommon were in a confident mood. With the cup to be decided over 13 games, Longford drew first blood as Wayne Harris was unfortunate to be on the wrong end of a 2-0 result despite playing some excellent darts. Roscommon were not to be denied, however, and steadied the ship quick-ly with Thomas Concannon, Paul Carton and Joe Crawley all winning their games 2-0.
Then Longford pegged back the score to 3-2 when Paddy Connaughton was unlucky to be defeated on a 2-1 scoreline. Just when it looked like Longford were set to level the game, Sean Fleming took a vital 2-1 win in the next game, impressing under pressure to checkout 100 with his game tied at one leg apiece. Longford were not to be outdone, however, and were not left wanting when given a second opportunity to level the game. Despite good darts from both players, consecutive 2-0 defeats for Matthew Hynes and Patrick Tansey left the game tied at 4-4.
From here on in, however, Roscommon went up a gear. Despite losing the first leg of his game, David Concannon impressed with a 2-1 win, where he was aided by a 180 in his second leg and a 140 in his third. Lenny Docherty piled on the pressure further, hitting 125 and 140 on his way to winning his first leg and checking out 88 in the second leg to seal a 2-0 victory.
With the overall score at 6-4, Roscommon needed only one more game to seal their win. This task fell to Mark Finneran, who stepped up to the plate hitting scores of 100 and 140 on his way to a 2-0 win and a 7-4 win for Roscommon.
Despite the tie being a foregone conclusion, the remaining fixtures were played out. Rather than taking their feet off the pedal, however, the Roscommon players kept the pressure on as Mick Kilroe and Brian McCormack stormed to 2-0 wins. Kilroe, in particular, played excellent darts, hitting two 140s on his way to an 18-dart leg win.
As well as the 13 players who played competitively, three more Roscommon players played against their Longford counterparts on the day. All were victorious with wins for Gerry Owens (2-0), John Paul Feeney (2-1) and Sean Finan (2-1) to leave the overall score at 12-4. Feeney, in particular, played well, checking out with 114 in his win. Well done to manager Martin Fleming, captain Mick Egan and all the players on the day for the great darts and effort shown. Thanks also to all supporters who travelled as well as both the Shannon Bar and the Longford team for their hospitality on the day.
Attention now turns to this weekend as the INDO Inter-counties competition in the Breaffy House Hotel, Castlebar, County Mayo on February 4th and 5th. Last year saw a successful run for the men’s team. Wins over Offaly, Cavan and Clare saw Roscommon top their group and take their place in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately defeat to Wexford brought an end to the team’s involvement, but with a successful run at the West Coast Challenge as well as a Donlon Cup win, hopes will be high for a good run in this year’s competition.
Having defeated Longford the previous week on a semi-final run in the West Coast Challenge, defending cup champions Roscommon were in a confident mood. With the cup to be decided over 13 games, Longford drew first blood as Wayne Harris was unfortunate to be on the wrong end of a 2-0 result despite playing some excellent darts. Roscommon were not to be denied, however, and steadied the ship quick-ly with Thomas Concannon, Paul Carton and Joe Crawley all winning their games 2-0.
Then Longford pegged back the score to 3-2 when Paddy Connaughton was unlucky to be defeated on a 2-1 scoreline. Just when it looked like Longford were set to level the game, Sean Fleming took a vital 2-1 win in the next game, impressing under pressure to checkout 100 with his game tied at one leg apiece. Longford were not to be outdone, however, and were not left wanting when given a second opportunity to level the game. Despite good darts from both players, consecutive 2-0 defeats for Matthew Hynes and Patrick Tansey left the game tied at 4-4.
From here on in, however, Roscommon went up a gear. Despite losing the first leg of his game, David Concannon impressed with a 2-1 win, where he was aided by a 180 in his second leg and a 140 in his third. Lenny Docherty piled on the pressure further, hitting 125 and 140 on his way to winning his first leg and checking out 88 in the second leg to seal a 2-0 victory.
With the overall score at 6-4, Roscommon needed only one more game to seal their win. This task fell to Mark Finneran, who stepped up to the plate hitting scores of 100 and 140 on his way to a 2-0 win and a 7-4 win for Roscommon.
Despite the tie being a foregone conclusion, the remaining fixtures were played out. Rather than taking their feet off the pedal, however, the Roscommon players kept the pressure on as Mick Kilroe and Brian McCormack stormed to 2-0 wins. Kilroe, in particular, played excellent darts, hitting two 140s on his way to an 18-dart leg win.
As well as the 13 players who played competitively, three more Roscommon players played against their Longford counterparts on the day. All were victorious with wins for Gerry Owens (2-0), John Paul Feeney (2-1) and Sean Finan (2-1) to leave the overall score at 12-4. Feeney, in particular, played well, checking out with 114 in his win. Well done to manager Martin Fleming, captain Mick Egan and all the players on the day for the great darts and effort shown. Thanks also to all supporters who travelled as well as both the Shannon Bar and the Longford team for their hospitality on the day.
Attention now turns to this weekend as the INDO Inter-counties competition in the Breaffy House Hotel, Castlebar, County Mayo on February 4th and 5th. Last year saw a successful run for the men’s team. Wins over Offaly, Cavan and Clare saw Roscommon top their group and take their place in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately defeat to Wexford brought an end to the team’s involvement, but with a successful run at the West Coast Challenge as well as a Donlon Cup win, hopes will be high for a good run in this year’s competition.
