No bullseye for the Banner

MUNSTER champions, Clare went into the weekend’s All-Ireland darts championships with high hopes of finishing near the top but disappointment was their lot.

One of the biggest entries for many years meant there was some excellent competition at the West County Hotel on Saturday and Sunday.

The draw for the group stage was made on Saturday morning and this ensured Clare would have to be at their very best if they were to have a chance of progressing to Sunday’s knockout stage.

The Banner County team was grouped with Dublin, the Leinster champions, Wexford, the beaten All-Ireland finalists of the previous yearn and Connacht champions, Galway.

Dublin and Wexford were amongst the pre-tournament favourites for the title and they showed their strength when reaching the semi-finals with Wexford going on to contest the final.

Clare’s opening game was against Dublin who recorded a 10-2 win with Martin Conroy and Daniel Ryan picking up Clare’s points. They then faced Wexford, a match they lost 9-3 and this result meant that the Banner side’s hopes of progressing were dashed. In their final group game, Clare went down 5-7 to Galway.

Dublin and Wexford had to play off to determine who would take top spot in the group and this went to Dublin.

In the semi-finals, Wexford overcame the tournament favourites, Donegal, while Dublin went out to Mayo who went on to claim the crown.

Meanwhile, the Clare ladies’ team reached the quarter-finals where their hopes were dashed when they suffered a 4-3 loss to Carlow.

In the group stage topper, their group, which included Dublin, Cavan and Louth to secure a quarter-final date against Carlow. Things looked good when they took a 3-1 lead but they failed to find the remaining win and ended up losing a 4-3, a result which ended their involvement in the championship.

Attention reverts to the local scene this weekend with the final stages of the North Clare league set for this weekend, while the race for the Clare doubles will get underway this Friday.

The qualifiers for the Clare singles are expected to begin next week with the finals set for April. The Ryan Cup, a team-of-four competition, is set for March 2.