THIS game was cancelled a week before by Kirkham who had no venue due to a stocktake, but a league ruling forced both teams to play the match or be fined.

With only 23 hours to go, a venue, 20 players and catering had to be found and in all fairness both captains worked hard to ensure the fixture went ahead. In the end playing the match suited Kirkham, with St Annes missing some regulars who had made alternate arrangements for the day.

The match was played at the Royal Oak, Kirkham, and the first game had Jamie (Kryten) Clare taking the first leg, but missed doubles in the next three legs cost him the game (3-1). Game Two pitted the two Steves -- Doran for St Annes and Smith for Kirkham -- against each other with the latter enjoying a good run of form notching an impressive 3-0 victory. Last-minute stand in Paul Schofield took the bull by the horns and earned St Annes a valuable point (3-1) making the match score 2-1 to Kirkham.

What followed was impossible to predict, with the next five games all going to Kirkham. Jon Fish lost 3-0 and Peter Bainbridge lost 3-1 despite registering the highest finish of the day (116). Frazer Badnall (1-3), Bob Warham (2-3) and Tony (Tant) Dyer (0-3) left Kirkham with a guaranteed victory and a 7-1 lead.

The mood in the St Annes camp was obviously low but a never-say-die attitude by Alan Dyer and a 3-0 win, coupled with team captain Malcolm Pooles 3-1 victory, made the match result 7-3 to Kirkham.

With only four games left St Annes must take the opportunity to regroup. Promotion is now impossible but avoiding relegation is a priority. Other results in the division were unavailable at the time of going to press, but Burnley and Littleborough will be fighting for the top spot with Kirkham hoping one of them slips up so they can take the second promotion spot.

March 17 is the date for St Annes' next game, home to Castleton, at St Annes Ex-Servicemen's Club, with the match starting at 12.30pm.

Kirkham 7 St Annes 3

As reported in your Citizen newspaper, Alec Butcher held a 12-hour darts challenge as 12 local pubs and clubs, which resulted in a staggering £437 being raised for KISS (Kirkham Integrated Stroke Support). Alec would like to thank all the people who turned out to play him and bought raffle tickets. All prizes were claimed and a list of all winning numbers has been sent to each venue, along with details of the final amount raised.

On the local darts scene, St Annes Ex-Servicemen's Club has reached their first final in the Blackpool and Fylde Tuesday night Darts and Domino League beating one of the favourites, Highfield B, in an amazing game which saw Jamie Clare needing to win 3-0 in the last game. He produced a faultless performance, winning all three legs in some style.

In the other semi-final, favourites Waterloo Social Club easily dismissed the Progress Club with the latter only taking three legs in the match. One notable result in this match saw local darter Stuart Peacock beat PDC professional Bob Anderson 2-1. Bob just missed a 170 checkout and Stuart hit a 180, then Bob missed 25 with his next three darts and Stuart duly obliged hitting double 18. The final will be played on May 7, at a venue to be announced.