Lloyd: English Spirit The Key

COLIN LLOYD has hailed the team spirit of the victorious England squad at the Keukenconcurrent Masters of Darts.

The first five days of the tournament have seen the five-man teams from England and Holland competing in a league format.

The result has been a comprehensive win for the English players, all of whom have won at least two games, with the overall total 14-6 in favour of the 'away' side.

Lloyd has picked up three wins, keeping him in contention for a semi-final spot on Saturday when the tournament resumes with the top two players from each country.

"It seems that Team England's spirit is just a little better than the Dutch," Lloyd told the infodarts.nl website.

"We are concentrating on our game only - tunnel vision, that is the keyword.

"I won't say that the Dutch guys don't want to win, but it seems that Team England's fighting spirit is just a bit more.

"Let's be honest, Raymond, Jelle, Michael, Vincent and Roland are superb darts players.

"You don't get easy wins from them, so it may be that our spirit is just a bit stronger this week."

Lloyd takes on Raymond van Barneveld in his final group match, knowing that he needs to defeat the World Champion to hope for a semi-final berth.

"I'm here to grab the points for the English squad, but I would be lying if I said I didn't have the intention of getting into the semis.

"It will be tough, though. The guys of Team England are my team-mates, but they are also my opponents in the battle to reach the final four."

Picture courtesy Henk Westerdaal - Darts4You