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Last Updated: Jul 22nd, 2010 - 00:49:10 |
Poole's young Australian Darcy Ward became their KO cup hero in a spell of three mid-meeting heats where he twice denied the Belle Vue Aces their sought after big double point returns through the tactical ruling.
With the Pirates being reined in by the Aces over the early heats , Ward and his compatriot skipper Davey Watt shook the home side into action with a 5-1 in heat 7 which was backed up by a similar scoreline from Leon Madsen and Jason Doyle.
Whilst that levelled the aggregate scores for this cup-tie it gave the Aces a slight advantage as they were able to deploy the tactical ride option. First to have a go was Peter Karlsson in heat 9 but Ward was too strong for a man 23 years his elder!
By leading the Swede home Ward and with Bjarne Pedersen occupying third place the Aces were unable to eat into the Pirates lead of 10 points. That advantage then became 14 when Holder and Madsen fired in another Poole 5-1 and instantly the Aces tried their hand again by using Hans Andersen under a black and white helmet. Ward superbly defended the move and with Watt also in attendance the Pirates were rapidly heading towards the semi-finals.
With Poole providing the next two race winners - Pedersen and Holder - it was most fitting that the man to seal the Pirates place in the semi-final was the youngster Ward, completing his maiden Poole maximum and admitting that "hopefully my Polish club Torun wiil hear about this performance and reconsider as they have dropped me "
Poole chief Matt Ford applauded Ward for his efforts "Darcy rode superbly for us tonight and he thoroughly deserved the maximum and I am really pleased for him as he has been through a tough time of late. His performance tonight certainly kept us on the right track and ensured that at last we put the Knockout cup voodoo against Belle Vue to rest, but I will add that it wasn't a one-man show by any stretch of the imagination, yet again it was a very good team effort. I've said it before and I make no apologies for repeating it, that this Poole side is a very special team indeed."
The Pirates will now switch their focus back to league action with a trip to Ipswich on Thursday. Earlier in the season the Pirates claimed a 46-44 victory. The Witches have recently dropped Oliver Allen and Carl Wilkinson, drafting in former Pirate Chris Slabon and Kozza Smith.
Poole 57 (97) D.Ward 14+1 (2',3,3,3,3), B.Pedersen 12 (2,3,1,3,3), C.Holder 10 (0,3,3,3,1), L.Madsen 8+1 (3,R,3,2'), D.Watt 6+2 (2,2',2',0), J.Doyle 6+2 (3,1',2',0), A.Mroczka 1 (0,0,1)
Belle Vue 35 (85) P.Karlsson 10+1, H.Andersen 9, P.Hougaard 6, L.Lanham 4, J.Wright 3+2, U.Ostergaard 2+1, J.Grajczonek 1+1
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