Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
.
.
Friday, 11 April
.
.
There were four matches due to be raced tonight but it was doubtful how many of them would get underway with so many heavy showers around the country. The sole casualty was at Edinburgh where the Monarchs were due to face Newcastle in a Premier League match. The other three matches went ahead. At King’s Lynn the Stars took on Birmingham and at Somerset the Rebels raced against Reading both matches in the Premier Trophy. Finally at Scunthorpe the Scorpions had Sheffield as their visitors in the second leg of their Knock Out cup tie.
Well it’s not often that three matches in one night produce three away wins. Maybe Edinburgh did well to avoid the jinx. Once again the six o’ clock shower made its appearance on cue to pose the only question – “Dale or no Dale?” It turned out to be ‘no Dale’ as a beautifully prepared track before the downpour was turned into a rain-soaked inevitable postponement.
Now who could have foreseen the result at King’s Lynn? I suppose all teams have their off nights but they were racing a side which had two guests and were using R/R for one of their top two. When was the last time, if ever, that the bottom five scorers in a Stars’ side scored just 11 points between them at home? When, too did King’s Lynn ever have to resort to a tactical ride and a tactical substitute in a home match? It will be interesting to see how they respond at Workington on Saturday night and Glasgow on Sunday afternoon.
It seems that Jason Doyle saw red three times at Somerset after his track altercation with Tom P Madsen in the crucial Premier Trophy match against Reading. Not only did he see the red stop light and the red exclusion light but also the red card as the referee threw him out of the meeting after he threw a punch at Madsen. This may well have cost the Rebels dearly since they lost the match and may well be pipped at the line for qualification from the section. True, Reading lost Madsen but they at least were able to replace him in his remaining rides, a facility the referee denied Somerset. There may also be repercussions when the matter goes to the authorities. They have been known to ban riders for a number of meetings when they have got up to mischief.
Scun.thorpe were certainly unlucky at Sheffield with engine failures in the first leg of their cup tie but it all looked a bit academic when they went down at home to the Tigers in the second leg. The Scorpions don’t have far to look to see where the problems lie. The inconsistency of their top three must be a worry. Magnus Karlsson’s one point return left them with little hope of overturning a 19 point deficit. They will surely be glad to see the back of Sheffield for a while now to ride some home matches against teams less familiar and less comfortable round their track than the Tigers.
Premier Trophy: King’s Lynn 39, Birmingham 55
King’s Lynn were at full strength but Birmingham were missing Kyle Legault (broken femur), James Birkinshaw (broken collarbone) and Phil Morris (broken ribs etc). They used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Legault, Mark Burrows (Stoke) at number 2 for Birkinshaw and Ben Barker (Stoke) for Morris.
With only four of the Birmingham declared 1-7 riding in this match it looked as though King’s Lynn were in for a comfortable win but they got a real shock from the patched up Brummies who ripped into them from the start. The home fans must have been in a daze watching this match unfold. The bookies would surely have given huge odds against the Stars failing to hit 40 points in a home match against another Premier League side.
Tomas Topinka won heat 1 after passing Ben Barker but, with Shaun Tacey falling and remounting on the first bend, the race was shared. Birmingham looked to have the reserves race in the bag but, heading for a 1-5, Jack Hargreaves fell on the last bend so Lee Smart’s victory again produced a shared race. It only delayed the Brummies from taking the lead. Adam Roynon won heat 3 for them by a distance from Kevin Doolan while Jason Lyon’s third place gave the visitors a two point lead with the 2-4. They followed that with a 1-5 in heat 4. Rusty Harrison and Simon Lambert gated but Harrison fell on the second bend and remounted while Lambert was passed by both Birmingham riders at the end of the first lap. This took the score to 9-15.
In heat 5 Kozza Smith fell requiring the race to be stooped and rerun. In the rerun Kevin Doolan came from last to pass first Burrows on the second lap then Lee Smart on the third lap. It resulted in a shared race as was heat 6 won by Topinka from Hargreaves and Barker. It went from bad to worse for the Stars when Birmingham added another 1-5 in heat 7 to rocket into a ten point lead. Jason Lyons and Adam Roynon had a comfortable ride to the maximum after Rusty Harrison had fallen causing the race to be rerun without him. The Stars pulled two points back with a 4-2 in heat 8. Shaun Tacey finally woke up to win the race from Lee Smart while Simon Lambert scored a point after Jack Hargreaves fell while lying third. This took the score to 20-28.
In heat 9 King’s Lynn gave Tomas Topinka a tactical substitute ride from 15 metres replacing Kozza Smith and joining Kevin Doolan in an attempt to pull the deficit back. To the dismay of the Stars Lee Smart, in superb form, gated and never looked like being caught. Indeed Birmingham were heading for a 2-4 until Ben Barker, in third, suffered an engine failure which let Topinka through for third. He was too far behind Doolan to get past for second so the Stars had to settle for a 4-3 advantage. Birmingham still led by seven points and were distinctly unlucky not to be further ahead. There was an interval at this point while some work was done to the track. Topinka won heat 10 from Jason Lyons while Adam Roynon, on an ailing bike, still had enough to finish third ahead of Tacey to share the points. Roynon was out again in heat 11 as R/R and, along with Mark Burrows, the Brummies pair took full advantage of the misfiring Stars third pairing by taking another 1-5 to lead by eleven points. Kevin Doolan took a tactical ride in heat 12 and beat Jason Lyons for the full six points. However Lyons and Hargreaves finished behind him to limit the damage to a 6-3 which took the score to 34-42.
Birmingham finally sealed victory with yet another 1-5 in heat 13. Jason Lyons and the immense Lee Smart saw off Tomas Topinka to take the Brummies out of sight now twelve points ahead. A further 1-5 in heat 14 from Smart and Roynon looked inevitable against the struggling John Oliver and Kozza Smith before Jason Lyons wrapped things up by winning from Topinka and Doolan in the last heat.
Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 14+1 (5) (with 6 point TR), Tomas Topinka 14+1 (6) (with 2 point TS), John Oliver 5 (5), Simon Lambert 3+1 (4), Shaun Tacey 3 (4), Rusty Harrison 0 (3), Kozza Smith 0 (3).
For Birmingham – Lee Smart 17+2 (7), Jason Lyons 14 (6), Adam Roynon 11+3 (6), Ben Barker 6+1 (4), Mark Burrows 4+3 (3), Jack Hargreaves 3+1 (4).
Premier Trophy: Somerset 42, Reading 47
Somerset were at full strength while Reading had Jay Herne replacing Jaimie Smith at number 6.
Reading needed to win this match to have any chance of displacing Somerset at the top of their Premier Trophy section. It turned out a stormy match as the Racers ‘did the business’ although their cause was helped by the dismissal of Jason Doyle in heat 6.
Jason Doyle won the opener from Lemon and Mills but the Racers edged a point in front in heat 2 with a 2-3. Former Rebel, Danny Warwick, celebrated his return to his old track by winning the reserves race from Jordan Frampton after Stephan Katt had been excluded for a tapes offence and Jay Herne had been excluded for delaying the start. Frampton went from 15 metres back after touching the tapes and nearly caught Warwick on the race to the line. The Rebels moved a point in front with a 4-2 in heat 3. Emil Kramer won the race while Ulrich Ostergaard had to fend off a determined challenge by Simon Walker for second place. Things started to go pear-shaped for the home side when Reading took a 1-5 in heat 4. Danny Warwick and Tom P Madsen made the gate leaving Katt and Brent Werner to bring up the rear. This took the visitors into a three point lead with the score standing at 10-13.
Simon Walker got the better of Mark Lemon and Chris Mills on the opening bend of heat 5 but the Reading pair combined to keep Emil Kramer at the back to share the heat. Then came an eventful heat 6. Jordan Frampton replaced Henning Loof. Down the back straight Madsen and Doyle fell with the Somerset number 1 anything but happy with Madsen. However it was Doyle who was excluded. Madsen needed attention from the paramedics before the race could be rerun but he came out to win it from Frampton and a 2-4 putting the Racers five points in front. It was then announced that Jason Doyle was banned from the rest of the meeting after attempting to throw a punch at Madsen while Madsen was also withdrawn from the meeting suffering from mild concussion. Since Doyle had been thrown out of the meeting Somerset were not allowed to use a replacement for him in any of his remaining rides. It got worse for the Rebels when Ostergaard and Tomas Suchanek added another 1-5 from Frampton and Werner in heat 7 to stretch their lead to nine points but, in heat 8, Stephan Katt and Jordan Frampton recovered some of the damage with a 5-1 after the race had been rerun when Danny Warwick brought down Henning Loof and was excluded. Loof hurt his hand and was withdrawn from the meeting. The score now stood at 21-26.
The Rebels then came roaring back into contention with another 5-1 in heat 9. Emil Kramer and Simon Walker finished ahead of Jay Herne, after Danny Warwick had fallen, to leave the home side trailing by just one point. Reading stretched their lead again to three points with a 2-4 in heat 10 when Ostergaard beat Katt, who replaced Loof. Since there were only three riders in the race, Tomas Suchanek picked up the gift third place. The home side got some much-needed luck in heat 11 when Chris Mills suffered an engine failure while on a 1-5 with Mark Lemon. This left Frampton and Werner to share the race. Ostergaard won heat 12 for a 3-3 taking the score to 34-37.
Somerset could only field one rider in heat 13. Mark Lemon won the race but Brent Werner passed Danny Warwick, in for Madsen, for second. However it was another two point gain for Reading who now led by five points with just two heats to go. Somerset needed a 5-1 from heat 14 to keep their hopes alive. They were comfortably on course as Walker and Frampton led Suchanek but Jordan Frampton lost a chain on the third lap so the heat was shared 3-3 sealing a Reading victory. Emil Kramer won heat 15 from Ostergaard and Lemon but it was all academic by then.
Scorers: For Somerset – Emil Kramer 12 (5), Simon Walker 10+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 9+1 (6), Stephan Katt 7+1 (5), Jason Doyle 3 (2), Brent Werner 2 (4), Henning Loof 0 (1).
For Reading – Ulrich Ostergaard 13 (5), Mark Lemon 11+1 (5), Danny Warwick 8+1 (7), Tom P Madsen 5+1 (2), Tomas Suchanek 5+1 (4), Chris Mills 4+2 (4), Jay Herne 2 (3).
Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Scunthorpe 44, Sheffield 48 Sheffield won on aggregate by 103-80
Both teams were at full strength.
Engine failures cruelly hit the Scorpions late on last night in the first leg of this cup tie leaving the home side with a massive 19 point deficit to claw back instead of the 7 points it might have been. It looked like they would need a large slice of luck themselves to overturn the Tigers who started as strong favourites to qualify for the next round. In the event Sheffield ran out comfortable winners again to set up a second round tie against the Isle of Wight.
The teams traded 4-2s in heats 2 and 4 while shared races in heat 1 and 3 kept the scores tied. Joel Parsons won heat 1 for the Tigers but Ricky Ashworth’s retiral at the back led to Carl Wilkinson and Magnus Karlsson sharing the race. It turned out to be Karlsson’s only point of the match! Byron Bekker won the reserves race for a 4-2 then Andre Compton took heat 3 for another shared race. Sheffield levelled the scores with a win from Ben Wilson in heat 4 with the sides locked at 12-12.
A shared heat 5 won by Andrew Moore was followed by another Ben Wilson success in heat 6. He was supported by Sam Martin who passed Magnus Karlsson to follow Carl Wilkinson home for a 2-4 which put Sheffield two points ahead. Andre Compton then won again in heat 7 and Carl Wilkinson heat 8 with both heats shared and the score progressing to 23-25.
The home side levelled the match again with a 4-2 in heat 9. A fine sweep round the unbeaten Ben Wilson by Andrew Moore led to him winning the race while Viktor Bergstrom got the better of Sam Martin for third place. Sheffield were back in front though with another 2-4 in heat 10. It was the pointless-till-then Paul Cooper who suddenly came to life to win from Carl Wilkinson while Andre Compton’s third place gave the Tigers a two point advantage again and a lead they were not to lose. The fat lady was getting ready to sing when Ashworth and Parsons gated to take a 1-5 from Richard Hall in heat 11. Sheffield now led by six points, 25 overall, and were home and dry on aggregate. Andrew Moore won a rerun heat 12 from Andre Compton and Sam Martin after Benji Compton had fallen and been excluded. This took the score to 33-39.
Any hopes that Scunthorpe entertained of winning on the night ended when Ashworth and Wilson scored a 1-5 from Richard Hall and Magnus Karlsson in heat 13. The Scorpions, now ten points adrift, tried a tactical substitute in heat 14 when Richard Hall, replacing Bergstrom, went from 15 metres back. He successfully passed Lee Smethills and his partner, Byron Bekker, but just couldn’t catch Paul Cooper. However the Scorpions took a 5-3 from the heat and ended the match with a consolation 5-1 from Andrew Moore and Carl Wilkinson to put a bit of gloss on the score.
Scorers: For Scunthorpe – Andrew Moore 14 (5), Carl Wilkinson 11+1 (5), Richard Hall 10 (5) (with 4 point TS), Byron Bekker 5+2 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 2+1 (3), Magnus Karlsson 1+1 (4), Benji Compton 1 (4).
For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 10+1 (5), Joel Parsons 9+1 (5), Andre Compton 9 (4), Ricky Ashworth 7+1 (4), Paul Cooper 6 (4), Sam Martin 4+1 (4), Lee Smethills 3 (4).
Well it’s not often that three matches in one night produce three away wins. Maybe Edinburgh did well to avoid the jinx. Once again the six o’ clock shower made its appearance on cue to pose the only question – “Dale or no Dale?” It turned out to be ‘no Dale’ as a beautifully prepared track before the downpour was turned into a rain-soaked inevitable postponement.
Now who could have foreseen the result at King’s Lynn? I suppose all teams have their off nights but they were racing a side which had two guests and were using R/R for one of their top two. When was the last time, if ever, that the bottom five scorers in a Stars’ side scored just 11 points between them at home? When, too did King’s Lynn ever have to resort to a tactical ride and a tactical substitute in a home match? It will be interesting to see how they respond at Workington on Saturday night and Glasgow on Sunday afternoon.
It seems that Jason Doyle saw red three times at Somerset after his track altercation with Tom P Madsen in the crucial Premier Trophy match against Reading. Not only did he see the red stop light and the red exclusion light but also the red card as the referee threw him out of the meeting after he threw a punch at Madsen. This may well have cost the Rebels dearly since they lost the match and may well be pipped at the line for qualification from the section. True, Reading lost Madsen but they at least were able to replace him in his remaining rides, a facility the referee denied Somerset. There may also be repercussions when the matter goes to the authorities. They have been known to ban riders for a number of meetings when they have got up to mischief.
Scun.thorpe were certainly unlucky at Sheffield with engine failures in the first leg of their cup tie but it all looked a bit academic when they went down at home to the Tigers in the second leg. The Scorpions don’t have far to look to see where the problems lie. The inconsistency of their top three must be a worry. Magnus Karlsson’s one point return left them with little hope of overturning a 19 point deficit. They will surely be glad to see the back of Sheffield for a while now to ride some home matches against teams less familiar and less comfortable round their track than the Tigers.
Premier Trophy: King’s Lynn 39, Birmingham 55
King’s Lynn were at full strength but Birmingham were missing Kyle Legault (broken femur), James Birkinshaw (broken collarbone) and Phil Morris (broken ribs etc). They used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Legault, Mark Burrows (Stoke) at number 2 for Birkinshaw and Ben Barker (Stoke) for Morris.
With only four of the Birmingham declared 1-7 riding in this match it looked as though King’s Lynn were in for a comfortable win but they got a real shock from the patched up Brummies who ripped into them from the start. The home fans must have been in a daze watching this match unfold. The bookies would surely have given huge odds against the Stars failing to hit 40 points in a home match against another Premier League side.
Tomas Topinka won heat 1 after passing Ben Barker but, with Shaun Tacey falling and remounting on the first bend, the race was shared. Birmingham looked to have the reserves race in the bag but, heading for a 1-5, Jack Hargreaves fell on the last bend so Lee Smart’s victory again produced a shared race. It only delayed the Brummies from taking the lead. Adam Roynon won heat 3 for them by a distance from Kevin Doolan while Jason Lyon’s third place gave the visitors a two point lead with the 2-4. They followed that with a 1-5 in heat 4. Rusty Harrison and Simon Lambert gated but Harrison fell on the second bend and remounted while Lambert was passed by both Birmingham riders at the end of the first lap. This took the score to 9-15.
In heat 5 Kozza Smith fell requiring the race to be stooped and rerun. In the rerun Kevin Doolan came from last to pass first Burrows on the second lap then Lee Smart on the third lap. It resulted in a shared race as was heat 6 won by Topinka from Hargreaves and Barker. It went from bad to worse for the Stars when Birmingham added another 1-5 in heat 7 to rocket into a ten point lead. Jason Lyons and Adam Roynon had a comfortable ride to the maximum after Rusty Harrison had fallen causing the race to be rerun without him. The Stars pulled two points back with a 4-2 in heat 8. Shaun Tacey finally woke up to win the race from Lee Smart while Simon Lambert scored a point after Jack Hargreaves fell while lying third. This took the score to 20-28.
In heat 9 King’s Lynn gave Tomas Topinka a tactical substitute ride from 15 metres replacing Kozza Smith and joining Kevin Doolan in an attempt to pull the deficit back. To the dismay of the Stars Lee Smart, in superb form, gated and never looked like being caught. Indeed Birmingham were heading for a 2-4 until Ben Barker, in third, suffered an engine failure which let Topinka through for third. He was too far behind Doolan to get past for second so the Stars had to settle for a 4-3 advantage. Birmingham still led by seven points and were distinctly unlucky not to be further ahead. There was an interval at this point while some work was done to the track. Topinka won heat 10 from Jason Lyons while Adam Roynon, on an ailing bike, still had enough to finish third ahead of Tacey to share the points. Roynon was out again in heat 11 as R/R and, along with Mark Burrows, the Brummies pair took full advantage of the misfiring Stars third pairing by taking another 1-5 to lead by eleven points. Kevin Doolan took a tactical ride in heat 12 and beat Jason Lyons for the full six points. However Lyons and Hargreaves finished behind him to limit the damage to a 6-3 which took the score to 34-42.
Birmingham finally sealed victory with yet another 1-5 in heat 13. Jason Lyons and the immense Lee Smart saw off Tomas Topinka to take the Brummies out of sight now twelve points ahead. A further 1-5 in heat 14 from Smart and Roynon looked inevitable against the struggling John Oliver and Kozza Smith before Jason Lyons wrapped things up by winning from Topinka and Doolan in the last heat.
Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 14+1 (5) (with 6 point TR), Tomas Topinka 14+1 (6) (with 2 point TS), John Oliver 5 (5), Simon Lambert 3+1 (4), Shaun Tacey 3 (4), Rusty Harrison 0 (3), Kozza Smith 0 (3).
For Birmingham – Lee Smart 17+2 (7), Jason Lyons 14 (6), Adam Roynon 11+3 (6), Ben Barker 6+1 (4), Mark Burrows 4+3 (3), Jack Hargreaves 3+1 (4).
Premier Trophy: Somerset 42, Reading 47
Somerset were at full strength while Reading had Jay Herne replacing Jaimie Smith at number 6.
Reading needed to win this match to have any chance of displacing Somerset at the top of their Premier Trophy section. It turned out a stormy match as the Racers ‘did the business’ although their cause was helped by the dismissal of Jason Doyle in heat 6.
Jason Doyle won the opener from Lemon and Mills but the Racers edged a point in front in heat 2 with a 2-3. Former Rebel, Danny Warwick, celebrated his return to his old track by winning the reserves race from Jordan Frampton after Stephan Katt had been excluded for a tapes offence and Jay Herne had been excluded for delaying the start. Frampton went from 15 metres back after touching the tapes and nearly caught Warwick on the race to the line. The Rebels moved a point in front with a 4-2 in heat 3. Emil Kramer won the race while Ulrich Ostergaard had to fend off a determined challenge by Simon Walker for second place. Things started to go pear-shaped for the home side when Reading took a 1-5 in heat 4. Danny Warwick and Tom P Madsen made the gate leaving Katt and Brent Werner to bring up the rear. This took the visitors into a three point lead with the score standing at 10-13.
Simon Walker got the better of Mark Lemon and Chris Mills on the opening bend of heat 5 but the Reading pair combined to keep Emil Kramer at the back to share the heat. Then came an eventful heat 6. Jordan Frampton replaced Henning Loof. Down the back straight Madsen and Doyle fell with the Somerset number 1 anything but happy with Madsen. However it was Doyle who was excluded. Madsen needed attention from the paramedics before the race could be rerun but he came out to win it from Frampton and a 2-4 putting the Racers five points in front. It was then announced that Jason Doyle was banned from the rest of the meeting after attempting to throw a punch at Madsen while Madsen was also withdrawn from the meeting suffering from mild concussion. Since Doyle had been thrown out of the meeting Somerset were not allowed to use a replacement for him in any of his remaining rides. It got worse for the Rebels when Ostergaard and Tomas Suchanek added another 1-5 from Frampton and Werner in heat 7 to stretch their lead to nine points but, in heat 8, Stephan Katt and Jordan Frampton recovered some of the damage with a 5-1 after the race had been rerun when Danny Warwick brought down Henning Loof and was excluded. Loof hurt his hand and was withdrawn from the meeting. The score now stood at 21-26.
The Rebels then came roaring back into contention with another 5-1 in heat 9. Emil Kramer and Simon Walker finished ahead of Jay Herne, after Danny Warwick had fallen, to leave the home side trailing by just one point. Reading stretched their lead again to three points with a 2-4 in heat 10 when Ostergaard beat Katt, who replaced Loof. Since there were only three riders in the race, Tomas Suchanek picked up the gift third place. The home side got some much-needed luck in heat 11 when Chris Mills suffered an engine failure while on a 1-5 with Mark Lemon. This left Frampton and Werner to share the race. Ostergaard won heat 12 for a 3-3 taking the score to 34-37.
Somerset could only field one rider in heat 13. Mark Lemon won the race but Brent Werner passed Danny Warwick, in for Madsen, for second. However it was another two point gain for Reading who now led by five points with just two heats to go. Somerset needed a 5-1 from heat 14 to keep their hopes alive. They were comfortably on course as Walker and Frampton led Suchanek but Jordan Frampton lost a chain on the third lap so the heat was shared 3-3 sealing a Reading victory. Emil Kramer won heat 15 from Ostergaard and Lemon but it was all academic by then.
Scorers: For Somerset – Emil Kramer 12 (5), Simon Walker 10+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 9+1 (6), Stephan Katt 7+1 (5), Jason Doyle 3 (2), Brent Werner 2 (4), Henning Loof 0 (1).
For Reading – Ulrich Ostergaard 13 (5), Mark Lemon 11+1 (5), Danny Warwick 8+1 (7), Tom P Madsen 5+1 (2), Tomas Suchanek 5+1 (4), Chris Mills 4+2 (4), Jay Herne 2 (3).
Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Scunthorpe 44, Sheffield 48 Sheffield won on aggregate by 103-80
Both teams were at full strength.
Engine failures cruelly hit the Scorpions late on last night in the first leg of this cup tie leaving the home side with a massive 19 point deficit to claw back instead of the 7 points it might have been. It looked like they would need a large slice of luck themselves to overturn the Tigers who started as strong favourites to qualify for the next round. In the event Sheffield ran out comfortable winners again to set up a second round tie against the Isle of Wight.
The teams traded 4-2s in heats 2 and 4 while shared races in heat 1 and 3 kept the scores tied. Joel Parsons won heat 1 for the Tigers but Ricky Ashworth’s retiral at the back led to Carl Wilkinson and Magnus Karlsson sharing the race. It turned out to be Karlsson’s only point of the match! Byron Bekker won the reserves race for a 4-2 then Andre Compton took heat 3 for another shared race. Sheffield levelled the scores with a win from Ben Wilson in heat 4 with the sides locked at 12-12.
A shared heat 5 won by Andrew Moore was followed by another Ben Wilson success in heat 6. He was supported by Sam Martin who passed Magnus Karlsson to follow Carl Wilkinson home for a 2-4 which put Sheffield two points ahead. Andre Compton then won again in heat 7 and Carl Wilkinson heat 8 with both heats shared and the score progressing to 23-25.
The home side levelled the match again with a 4-2 in heat 9. A fine sweep round the unbeaten Ben Wilson by Andrew Moore led to him winning the race while Viktor Bergstrom got the better of Sam Martin for third place. Sheffield were back in front though with another 2-4 in heat 10. It was the pointless-till-then Paul Cooper who suddenly came to life to win from Carl Wilkinson while Andre Compton’s third place gave the Tigers a two point advantage again and a lead they were not to lose. The fat lady was getting ready to sing when Ashworth and Parsons gated to take a 1-5 from Richard Hall in heat 11. Sheffield now led by six points, 25 overall, and were home and dry on aggregate. Andrew Moore won a rerun heat 12 from Andre Compton and Sam Martin after Benji Compton had fallen and been excluded. This took the score to 33-39.
Any hopes that Scunthorpe entertained of winning on the night ended when Ashworth and Wilson scored a 1-5 from Richard Hall and Magnus Karlsson in heat 13. The Scorpions, now ten points adrift, tried a tactical substitute in heat 14 when Richard Hall, replacing Bergstrom, went from 15 metres back. He successfully passed Lee Smethills and his partner, Byron Bekker, but just couldn’t catch Paul Cooper. However the Scorpions took a 5-3 from the heat and ended the match with a consolation 5-1 from Andrew Moore and Carl Wilkinson to put a bit of gloss on the score.
Scorers: For Scunthorpe – Andrew Moore 14 (5), Carl Wilkinson 11+1 (5), Richard Hall 10 (5) (with 4 point TS), Byron Bekker 5+2 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 2+1 (3), Magnus Karlsson 1+1 (4), Benji Compton 1 (4).
For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 10+1 (5), Joel Parsons 9+1 (5), Andre Compton 9 (4), Ricky Ashworth 7+1 (4), Paul Cooper 6 (4), Sam Martin 4+1 (4), Lee Smethills 3 (4).
No comments:
Post a Comment