Plymouth suffered a disappointing defeat away to top of the table Boston in Friday’s Conference League match at the Norfolk Arena, King’s Lynn.

The Devils were never in contention after suffering maximum 5-1 heat defeats in the first three races.

Tom Brown battled well with 10 points from four rides after suffering a hand injury when he fell while leading in his first race.

Kyle Hughes showed some spirit, scoring eight (paid nine) points with a couple of second places in his five rides.

The five remaining team members were well off the pace, managing only 12 points between them.

This was by far the heaviest defeat of the season for Plymouth and sounds a clear warning that their 63-28 first leg lead over Boston in the Conference Trophy final could come under threat in the return leg later this month.

Boston:
Simon Lambert 11+1 (4 rides), Darren Mallett 10+1 (5), James Cockle 10+1 (4), Darcy Ward 9+1 (4), Joe Haines 14+1 (5). Res: Adam Lowe 6+1 (4), Chris Widman 4+2 (4).

Plymouth:
Mark Simmonds 5 (5), Kyle Hughes 8+1 (5), Tom Brown 10 (5), Jamie Jaimie Pickard 1 (4), Seemond Stephens 4 (4). Res: Jamie White-Williams 2+1 (5), Paul Starke 0 (2).