By Marcus Uhe
Cheers has let a golden chance to apply further pressure to the top two in the South West Gippsland Dart League slip through its fingers in a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to Snipers.
In a battle between first and third, Dean’s absence for Snipers presented an opening for Cheers to inflict the ladder leaders with their first loss of the season, and in turn keep the pressure on both first and second place.
Liam threw eight tons for Cheers and Shane four, but they couldn’t find the magic formula to upset the benchmark team in the competition, who notched 20 straight wins.
Cheers, meanwhile, fall eight points behind second-placed Predators as a result, and face an uphill battle to climb into the top two with six weeks remaining.
Like Snipers, Gembrook made a huge statement on Tuesday night, thrashing Dart Vaders 12-3.
Doug led the way for Gembrook with six tons in the upset that continued its recent hot streak, having won five of its last seven games in a mid-season revival.
The loss could prove costly for Dart Vaders, falling back to fifth place behind Mud Rats and taking a major hit to its percentage.
Bullseyes, meanwhile, broke a six-game winless streak with a 9-6 win over Hoodies.
Results R20: Gembrook 12 v Dart Vaders 3, Mud Rats 8 v Fore 7, Snipers 8 v Cheers 7, Bullseyes 9 v Hoodies 6, Predators 10 v Generals 5, Just Social 13 v Railway 2, 26ers 8 v Dart Attack 7.
Ladder: Snipers 80, Predators 76, Cheers 68, Mud Rats 56, Dart Vaders 52, Gembrook 48, Just Social 44, 26ers 40, Fore 32, Railway 24, Generals 20, Bullseyes 16, Dart Attack 4, Hoodies 0.
Fixture R21 (20 August): 26ers (8) v Gembrook (6), Hoodies (14) v Cheers (3), Dart Vaders (5) v Generals (11), Snipers (1) v Fore (9), Predators (2) v Railway (10), Mud Rats (4) v Dart Attack (13), Just Social (7) v Bullseyes (12).
