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Last Updated: Nov 28th, 2010 - 10:22:29 |
Bank Holiday Monday saw a bumper crowd at the Eddie Wright Raceway for the Premier League clash between the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions and their arch-rivals the Sheffield Tigers but after a thrilling meeting full of controversy it was the visitors from South Yorkshire who earned the bragging rights with a 51-41 victory that still gives them a chance of finishing in the top four. Top scorer for Sheffield was Ricky Ashworth with 11 points whilst the Scorpions’ David Howe racked up 16 points.
After six races the meeting was nicely poised at 18-18 with each side having provided three race winners. David Howe, Tero Aarnio and Magnus Karlsson had won heats 1,3 and 4 respectively but failed to repeat in their second rides when switched to an inside gate position. Howe and Aarnio did claim second places but Karlsson was unable to make an impression on former Scorpion Richard Hall and his partner, Josef Franc, in heat 7. Sheffield’s 5-1 heat advantage was the first of the match and their four-point lead was extended to six with a 4-2 for Hugh Skidmore and Simon Lambert over Viktor Bergström and Jan Graversen in heat 8.
Heat 9 was undoubtedly a pivotal race and the Scorpions’ top pairing of Tero Aarnio and Carl Wilkinson ended up losing it 5-0 when more often than not they have been producing 5-1s of their own in recent times. First up and Team Manager Richard Hollingsworth was calling for the exclusion of Sheffield’s Ricky Ashworth as Aarnio seemed to be left with nowhere to go on turn two. Instead, it was Aarnio who was excluded and then in the re-run Wilkinson was also excluded as both he and Ashworth fell whilst he was attempting to pass the Tigers’ rider. It left the Sheffield pairing to claim a 5-0 and open up a 32-21 lead.
Hollingsworth immediately gave David Howe a tactical ride and it looked like he and Viktor Bergström were on their way to an 8-1 when heat 10 had to be stopped because Richard Hall had fallen on the first turn. Hall was excluded from the re-run but there was a delay to the meeting after he was involved in a pit-gate incident in which Bergström was injured. Thankfully Bergström was fit enough to ride and he and Howe secured the 8-1 that the Scorpions so badly needed at the second time of asking. It reduced the gap to just four points but, despite giving it everything, Magnus Karlsson was unable to get past Hugh Skidmore or Josh Auty in heat 11 and the deficit doubled to eight points.
Partnering Karlsson was Jan Graversen and sadly neither he, nor his reserve partner, Gary Irving will remember the meeting with any great affection as they struggled to get amongst the points. With Irving struggling it was down to Tero Aarnio in heat 12 but with injured ribs from his heat 9 crash Alex Davies was able to pass the diminutive Finn and join Josef Franc at the front for the Tigers third 5-1. It put Sheffield 43-31 in front with three races to go and, despite Carl Wilkinson being the better bet for the second tactical ride, the Scorpions needed a heat advantage in heat 13 if they were realistically going to claim something from the meeting. It meant the experienced Magnus Karlsson being given the responsibility but in an ‘all or nothing’ situation it turned to nothing as Karlsson seemed to have bike troubles in the early stages of the race. It left Howe to mount a challenge to Josh Auty and Ricky Ashworth and after four laps of great racing he managed to split the pair on the line with a big blast around the outside.
With the match won it was simply a matter of pride in the last two races. Carl Wilkinson produced a thrilling last to first blast to win heat 14 before he joined Howe for a 5-1 in the nominated riders’ race. After the meeting the Scorpions’ Team Manager Richard Hollingsworth reflected on the Scorpions’ third home league defeat of the season. “That was hugely disappointing and quite simply not good enough. We might not have had the rub of the green tonight but we were vying for sixth spot and had beaten Sheffield convincingly on their last three visits. We had one of the best home records in the Premier League but now we have lost three times and have no say in who our opponents are in the Young Shield”.
“There might have been plenty of great racing and controversy but it is a bitter pill to swallow; that is for certain. Losing is bad enough but against Sheffield makes it even worse. Looking forward we have to be pleased with Viktor dropping to reserve on Friday. We will operate rider replacement for Jerran (Hart) and will have Steve Worrall at number eight. Hopefully that line-up will be able to do the job both home and away”.
The Scorpions are next in action at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday night (3rd September, 7.30pm) when the Glasgow Tigers visit complete with Joe Screen, Travis McGowan, Josh Grajczonek and Nick Morris.
Scunthorpe Scorpions 41 – David Howe 16 (5 rides, including a six point tactical ride), Viktor Bergström 5+2 (4), Tero Aarnio 6 (4), Carl Wilkinson 7+2 (5), Magnus Karlsson 5 (4), Jan Graversen 2 (4), Gary Irving 0 (4),
Sheffield Tigers 51 – Josh Auty 8+1 (4), Hugh Skidmore 7+1 (4), Josef Franc 9+1 (5), Richard Hall 5 (4), Ricky Ashworth 11 (5), Alex Davies 5+2 (4), Simon Lambert 6+2 (4
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