By Michael Flatley-Roberts

LAST week I visited the Old Three Crowns where Warby's Wonders beat league leaders Crowning Glory in a thrilling encounter.

Crowning Glory went into the game in great form whereas the experienced Warby’s Wonders were languishing in mid-table.

And Glory looked the part as they had the better of the game until Warby's staged a brilliant finish to win 9-6.

The action kicked off with Marcus McCluskey of the Crowning Glory as he went toe to toe with Andrew Proctor.

McCluskey opened up well against a nervy Proctor hitting a 120 midway through the leg to give him some breathing space before then hitting a 94 to leave tops with Proctor back on 148.

He nailed double eight with his third dart in hand for the first leg of the match to get the home team off to the perfect start.

He soon doubled his advantage too as Proctor started to grow into the game hitting a 100 and a few steady 60s.

But McCluskey used the advantage of throw as well as hitting scores of 77 and 81 to hit a terrific 55 finish even though his first dart missed the board after Proctor missed three darts at 40.

It seemed to knock the stuffing out of Proctor and in the third leg McCluskey hit back-to-back scores of 100 and 101 and then finished 23 on double one to give the Crowning Glory a 3-0 lead.

Next up was Scott Lally for the Crowning Glory against Wonders' skipper Russell Warburton.

Warburton hit two 100s before an excellent 93 finish to take the first leg with his opponent having half a leg still to catch up.

Lally was really struggling to release his dart correctly in the first leg and the nerves were playing a huge part in how they entered the board but he did pick up his game midway through the second leg as his arm seemed to steady a bit and his darts started to enter at a more natural angle.

It was a bit too late though as Warburton had worked his way down to a double first and took advantage of his throw to hit double two with his second dart in hand.

Lally gradually got better as the game went on and in the third leg he got his just desserts. After hitting scores of 95 and 82 he hit double five to win an important leg for his team to keep them in the lead at 4-2.

Reaching the midway point we also reached our game of the night as Tony Parkinson of the Crowning Glory faced John Holton.

After some great scoring it looked like Parkinson was going to win the leg after hitting scores of 137 and 79 on the back of 3 80-plus scores before missing three huge darts at double six.

But Holton hit a superb 66 finish with treble 10 and double 18 in two darts.

The second leg saw Parkinson level after he dominated the leg with scores of 95 and 100 then double two to send the game into a decider.

Holton then put together a fantastic last leg with scores of 100, 125 and 98 before late pressure from Parkinson saw him reply with 100 and 118.

Holton showed great composure to hit double eight and reduce the deficit to just 5-4.

So with the Crowning Glory needing just three legs for the win from a possible six they were in with a great chance of extending their lead at the top of the table.

Rick Marley was their hope as he faced John Chadwick. Marley started well as he hit a 131 with 167 left to leave 36.

But he went on to miss 15 darts at double allowing Chadwick to step in and hit double eight for a crucial break of throw.

That double eight took the wind out of Marley's sails as he struggled in the second leg allowing Chadwick to ease victory hitting two 95s before hitting double two.

It was to be a very tight third leg with both players hitting trebles and it was to come down to the double.

Marley was the first up at the double but he missed nine darts to close out the match before Chadwick hit double eight for a 3-0 victory and give his team the lead for the first time in the match.

With Warby's leading 7-5 the final game of the match featured my man-of-the-match, Bob Curley.

Wes Brown of the Crowning Glory faced Curley, who could be the oldest player in the league at 77.

Curley explained how he had been in really poor form recently but this was the night he turned it around.

Brown hit a fantastic 121 to leave 32 but missed three darts at the double before Curley came back with 32 in hand.

His first two darts left him needing a miracle with his third to get it in and somehow he used the barrels to throw an unbelievable dart and give his team victory.

Brown was excellent in the third leg, hitting scores of 81 and 90 before missing double 18 for a 153 finish. But he came back to the board to hit the double with his third dart in hand.

The final leg saw Curley again hit the double 16 after finding his range on the 19 with Brown back on 107 to secure an excellent win for himself and his team.

Man of the Match: Bob Curley. There is nothing worse when you are struggling to win legs and matches than going on last against a good player having to win a leg for your team. His two legs will be absolutely priceless for his team and they will be looking to build on this for the rest of the season.

Next week I will be at the Park Hotel where they play Pineapple A.