Schindler kept himself in contention with a 124 check-out which made it 6-5, but ultimately could not prevent Van den Bergh from taking the tie 10-6.
Brendan Dolan bowed out as Joe Cullen averaged over 100, thanks in part to a 130 finish in the penultimate leg.
World number six Rob Cross survived six match darts and four bullseye finishes against Dutch debutant Gian van Veen before edging to a 13-12 sudden-death victory as the evening session got underway with a classic.
Twice world champion Peter Wright fell at the first hurdle to Andrew Gilding, the 2021 winner slipping to a 4-1 deficit and missing five darts to level at 4-5 before eventually going down 10-5.
Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski cruised into the second round with a 10-2 rout of five-time quarter-finalist Dave Chisnall, racing into a 5-0 lead before closing it out in nervy fashion on double two.
In the afternoon session, Stephen Bunting and Ryan Joyce fought out a tooth and nail battle with Bunting, who checked out on 164 in the 17th leg after his opponent had levelled at 8-8 with a 167, eventually prevailing 12-10 after a tie-break
James Wade, the champion in 2007, also progressed with relative comfort after a 10-5 win over 2022 semi-finalist Danny Noppert with the Englishman in control throughout after taking a 3-0 lead.
Compatriot Ross Smith eased his way to a 10-4 victory over Josh Rock, clinching the win in style with successive 160 and 120 finishes
He left Mervue United to go to Man City at just 16 years of age and spent 17 years in English football in total.
The 33-year-old won four caps for Ireland under Giovanni Trappatoni, making his debut against Algeria in 2010.
Cunningham had been training with United in recent weeks before putting pen to paper today.
He said: “It means a lot, being away for so long, it’s very pleasing to be back home. I’m going to give it everything I got and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“When I’m at home I try to get to as many games as I can. I’ve always kept an eye on how Galway have been doing and they’ve made a great start to life in the Premier Division.
“It’s an exciting time for the club and it means a lot to be here
“In general I have always given everything every time I’m on the pitch. I think I understand the game quite well. I’ll try to give
.
Leave a Reply