Maggie Thatcher, your boys took one hell of a beating! England entered this year's World Cup of Darts as the favourites, with the pairing of Michael Smith and Rob Cross expected to advance deep into the tournament.
They faced Ireland for a place in the quarter finals this evening, with many expecting a routine victory for the English against the relatively unheralded pair of William O'Connor and Steve Lennon.
The tie would see two singles matches and a doubles game, with the winners being decided in a best two out of three format.
They may have entered this one as massive underdogs, but O'Connor and Lennon looked very confident during their walk-on.
UP NEXT!
It's time for England and Ireland to battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals, with Michael Smith and Steve Lennon kicking off the singles action in this tie
📺 Watch LIVE on @SkySports pic.twitter.com/roGCnapwqb— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 8, 2019
Lennon would face Smith in the first game, and he put in a strong showing to bring the match to a deciding leg. He had two match darts to get Ireland off to a dream start, and he managed to get the job done.
ADVANTAGE IRELAND!
After Michael Smith has two darts bounce out of the bullseye in this last leg shootout, Steve Lennon cleans up and puts Ireland 1-0 up over England!
If Rob Cross doesn't win here, England are OUT pic.twitter.com/NQnN2QLUDD— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 8, 2019
The pressure was on Rob Cross to save the tie for England, but he came up against a man on fire. William O'Connor put in the performance of his life, averaging 115 in a comprehensive 4-1 victory. Ireland were on their way to the quarter finals for the first time.
☘ - The Republic of Ireland have done it!
England are out! 😱
It's one of the greatest performances we've seen at the World Cup of Darts as Steve Lennon and William O'Connor breeze to a 2-0 win!
Watch live reaction and more on Sky Sports Action now: https://t.co/oLjIxRjNzk pic.twitter.com/ulDTLogC5q— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) June 8, 2019
Ireland will now face Austria in the quarter finals, where they have an excellent chance of coming away with the win should they repeat this performance.
The Netherlands and Michael van Gerwen will no doubt be favourites at this point, but this Irish pairing have already shown they pay little attention to such tags.
Come on you boys in green!
🤪 - Republic of Ireland's current mood after knocking England out of the World Cup: pic.twitter.com/wsUWeatpaF
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) June 8, 2019
