Republic of Ireland produce brilliance to defeat defending champions Netherlands and reach maiden World Cup of Darts final
NewsSunday, 09 June 2019 at 19:55
Republic of Ireland will face Scotland in the final of the World Cup of Darts after smashing defending champions Netherlands in the pairs decider which saw Steve Lennon in particular play a starring role.
It all started though with Lennon facing off against Michael van Gerwen who is a familiar foe and one that usually gets the better of him and that was the case here.
Van Gerwen started the match off with a stunning 136 checkout with Lennon waiting on 49 to send a message to the Carlow ace.
MVG missed chances to go 2-0 up though and Lennon levelled. Van Gerwen though didn't let this affect him though and they went on the brink of an easy victory.
Van Gerwen missed more and Lennon stayed alive at 3-2; he forced a decider but Mighty Mike barring his slip up against Ian White in the European Tour recently is mesmeric in these situations and he collected the point with ease.
It was now O'Connor and Wattimena's go and 'The Magpie' was brilliant with the latter looking flat. This was shown with O'Connor collecting the first three legs with no reply and despite him not looking as good as against England, he didn't need those heroics.
Wattimena finally was clinical taking out a 64 checkout to make it 3-1 but it was too little too late and it went to a pairs decider.
This was when Ireland really shone. Lennon came flying out with a 131 checkout to send a message to the Dutch duo.
He extended that lead with D18 and made it 3-0 with another excellent ton-plus checkout in the form of a 128 which was the big turning point. O'Connor, the captain finished proceedings off with Netherlands sat on a finish to the relief of him and Lennon.
Van Gerwen started the match off with a stunning 136 checkout with Lennon waiting on 49 to send a message to the Carlow ace.
MVG missed chances to go 2-0 up though and Lennon levelled. Van Gerwen though didn't let this affect him though and they went on the brink of an easy victory.
Van Gerwen missed more and Lennon stayed alive at 3-2; he forced a decider but Mighty Mike barring his slip up against Ian White in the European Tour recently is mesmeric in these situations and he collected the point with ease.
It was now O'Connor and Wattimena's go and 'The Magpie' was brilliant with the latter looking flat. This was shown with O'Connor collecting the first three legs with no reply and despite him not looking as good as against England, he didn't need those heroics.
Wattimena finally was clinical taking out a 64 checkout to make it 3-1 but it was too little too late and it went to a pairs decider.
This was when Ireland really shone. Lennon came flying out with a 131 checkout to send a message to the Dutch duo.
He extended that lead with D18 and made it 3-0 with another excellent ton-plus checkout in the form of a 128 which was the big turning point. O'Connor, the captain finished proceedings off with Netherlands sat on a finish to the relief of him and Lennon.
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Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals
Scotland 2-0 Japan
Singles 1: Gary Anderson (100.48) 4-2 (100.16) Seigo Asada
Singles 2: Peter Wright (89.13) 4 (7) 1 (74.07) Haruki Muramatsu
Republic of Ireland 2-1 Netherlands
Singles 1: Steve Lennon (88.91) 3-4 (93.46) Michael Van Gerwen
Singles 2: William O'Connor (85.82) 4-1 (75.96) Jermaine Wattimena
Pairs: Lennon S / O'Connor W (100.2) 4-0 (90.84) Van Gerwen M / Wattimena J
Final
Scotland v Republic of Ireland
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1137792550029238272
Semi-Finals
Scotland 2-0 Japan
Singles 1: Gary Anderson (100.48) 4-2 (100.16) Seigo Asada
Singles 2: Peter Wright (89.13) 4 (7) 1 (74.07) Haruki Muramatsu
Republic of Ireland 2-1 Netherlands
Singles 1: Steve Lennon (88.91) 3-4 (93.46) Michael Van Gerwen
Singles 2: William O'Connor (85.82) 4-1 (75.96) Jermaine Wattimena
Pairs: Lennon S / O'Connor W (100.2) 4-0 (90.84) Van Gerwen M / Wattimena J
Final
Scotland v Republic of Ireland
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1137792550029238272
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UndartedWaters15-11-2024 - Agree. Van der voort will be the one taking a break when he loses his tour card. Everyone saying about how bad Wright's last 18 months have been, and in that time he's won several Euro tours and the European Championships.Matilda6215-11-2024
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