ALLOA postman John Connal joined an elite group of darts players last Saturday when he threw a nine-dart finish in Clackmannanshire’s inter-county BDO match against Highland in Inverness.

The 33-year-old’s first ever nine-darter came as he lost out in by four legs to three, but he admitted he was still delighted with the achievement.
And he revealed that he had been overwhelmed by the messages he had received congratulating him, writes Jamie Hall.

Connal told Advertiser Sport: “I hit the first 180 which was a great start to the leg, and then when I hit the second one everybody started turning round to watch. The 141 finish is a bit of a blur but I hit it, turned round and the whole hall was jumping about. I can’t really remember what I did. I think I did a celebration on the stage, jumping about like a dafty! It’s the first nine-dart finish I’ve ever had.

“My phone was going off its head all day. I was getting messages all night and then on Sunday, every two minutes a new message would come through. My team-mates were all there watching as well. The bus journey back down from Inverness to Clackmannanshire was good because I was able to share it with my team-mates. If it had been a singles tournament it would just have been myself so it was great that the whole team was able to watch it and cheer me on.”

Connal, who says he got into the sport by watching his father play when he was a child, revealed that the duo are now both part of the Wee County’s squad.

He went on to admit that although he represented his country as a youngster, Saturday’s perfect check-out was one of his proudest moments at the oche.

He said: “I’ve been playing darts for about twenty years. I played for the Scotland youth team at under-18 and under-21 level but hitting a nine-dart finish is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. There are lots of better players than me who have not hit one so it is definitely up there.

“I’m 33 now and I used to play in a lot of youth tournaments. My dad still plays in the County team so he was there to see it. I used to go and watch him play when I was younger and I got into it through him.”

The local postie revealed he uses his fellow Clackmannanshire players as inspiration to try and boost his own game, and he is hoping to enjoy another successful Alloa Masters.

Connal took on top pro Robert Thornton and pushed him all the way in a close match, and he says playing against someone of Thornton’s calibre was a great experience.

“There are a couple of guys playing just now. Craig Baxter has played for Scotland and John Goldie is in the PDC. I am trying to improve my game to keep up with them.

“I played in the Alloa Masters last year where I won my qualifying game and I got the chance to play on the stage against Robert Thornton. I lost 4-3 but I played well and took three legs off him. It was great to get the walk-on and to be able to turn round and see a hall of people.”