Eastbourne Eagles Elite League Play Off hopes remained firmly in the melting pot following a disappointing 56-37 defeat at the Purfleet home of strong title contenders, the Lakeside Hammers in front of the SKY Sports cameras on Monday evening.
The Sussex side certainly need to pick up points on the road if they are yet to finish in the section's top four and qualify for the end of season showdown. Despite the two sides differing fortunes thus far and the fact that the Hammers had yet to drop points around their home circuit in 2008, the Eagles would have approached the fixture with a degree of confidence following an authoritative display that all but saw them take the points in the A' fixture at the venue back in May.
That occasion had seen the Eagles amass a 10-point advantage after seven races and had looked set to triumph before a late collapse saw them go down to a mere 3-point (48-45) defeat in the closing stages. However, hopes they might have harboured of building on the plus points of that clash failed to materialise and although they trailed the home side by just two points (10-8) at the end of three heats, Simon Gustafsson and Lee Richardson enjoying encouraging early wins, a fourth race maximum for the Hammers was destined to set the course of the meeting.
Scott Nicholls, 3 wins, one a 6-pointer as a tactical ride included in his 16-point haul was undoubtedly Eagles man of the moment, but although Richardson looked set to rattle up the points following a brace of wins in his opening two rides, he was set to tail off in the latter stages. Elsewhere, a heat 13 5-1 shared with Nicholls apart, Edward Kennett wasn't destined to enjoy the best of night's while Lewis Bridger was must have been left wondering how many black cats he'd run over, misfortune striking in virtually every one of his outings.
By contrast, the Hammers scored solidly down the order, building slowly but excerting their authority with a triple whammy of three 5-1's in heats 8, 9 and 10, a barrage that was destined to see them home.
A Nicholls inspired 6-3 in the eleventh and a 5-1 that ended the maximum hopes of home hero Andreas Jonsson two races on offered some solace but sadly it was a case of two little, too late as the Hammers held sufficient points in hand to take them to the top of the table.
As the tapes rose for heat one it appeared that once again it would be the Eagles who drew first blood. Lewis Bridger fired away from the start to lead Leigh Lanham down the back straight and with Nicholls rounding Andreas Jonsson heading into the third bend and putting pressure on Lanham it looked to be all Eagles. However, the red stop lights flashed on, seemingly as the riders entered lap two, all four being called back to orders with Bridger being warned to remain stationary at the start.
With the benefit of action replay it would seem that any movement on the young Eagle's part was minimal, but, as often happens in these situations, the second running saw fortunes turn around, Jonsson making a perfect gate, Nicholls having to haul Lanham down the back straight of lap one to limit the damage to an opening 4-2 in favour of the Hammers while Bridger, somewhat unfortunately trailed in at the back.
Simon Gustafsson gave Eagles followers cause to cheer in race two however, posting a gate to flag effort to deny man in form Ricky Kling as well as partner Lubos Tomicek. James Brundle also made a fine start and looked set to compound the Eastbourne joy however he couldn't quite maintain it and the night's first share of the spoils saw the home side holding a 7-5 lead heading into race three.
Two-points remained the difference following a further four laps of high octane action, Eagles skipper Lee Richardson fending off the attentions of home opposite number Adam Shields, fellow Hammer Jonas Davidsson similarly keeping Cameron Woodward at bay, the second 3-3 in successive races seeing the scores move to 10-8.
Brundle was again swift from the gate in heat four, but once again the race was to come to a halt, Edward Kennett having parted company with his machine heading into the first turn following a brush with former Eagle Joonas Kylmakorpi. Though contact appeared minimal, referee Chris Gay ordered all four riders into the rerun however the race was further frustrated as Tomicek was warned to remain still at the start, this necessitating a second restart.
It was at that point that events looked to go the shape of the pair for the Sussex side. Once again Brundle was fastest into the first bend; both Hammers giving chase and indeed the Eagle enjoyed the lead for the entirety of the first lap until Kylmakorpi sped through on his inside into the first bend of lap two. Tomicek was set to join the party a lap later, securing the first 5-1 of proceedings for the Hammers, Kennett chasing vainly in third place.
Eastbourne looked set to bite right back in the fifth, Purfleet track specialist Nicholls heading out alongside Bridger down the back straight in the 5-1 position. The scene was set to change however and although Nicholls held his position throughout, Davidsson soon battled his way past Bridger and then concentrating on forcing an opening for his partner, the Swede's efforts were set to bear fruit with Shields also forging a path past Bridger as the race moved towards its conclusion, the third 3-3 in five races protecting Hammers 6-point lead, one that now stood at 18-12.
Lakeside seemed sure to pile on further pressure in the next as Jonsson hit clean air from the start and Lanham swiftly battled his way into second place at the expense of Kennett. A home 5-1 appeared on the cards but inexplicably Lanham took a tumble heading into the third bend of lap three, the race being stopped and duly awarded as yet another 3-3.
The scores now stood at 21-15 in favour of the title chasing home side, however the Eagles were set to snip 2-points from that half dozen lead thanks to a further victory for skipper Richardson. The Eagle overcame an early advantage for Kylmakorpi to take the chequered flag and with Woodward holding off Kling for the full four laps, the resultant 4-2, the visitors first heat advantage of the night brought them ever closer to their hosts, the scores now standing at 23-19.
Their chances might have seemed to lift at that stage, but 4-points was as close as the Eagles were destined to come, a trio of 5-1's for the Hammers, the first admittedly somewhat fortuitous, opened up a 16-point lead (38-22) by the conclusion of heat 10 and established firm control for the home side.
Fate did indeed deal the Sussex side a poor hand in race eight, Bridger seeming sure to break his duck as he led proceedings with some authority. However, his wretched run of luck continued, a snapped chain on lap three seeing him head into the air barrier leaving Lanham and Kling (a replacement for Tomicek ruled out for breaking the tapes) to r oar past for the first of the three maximum's.
The second 5-1, this one seeing Davidsson and Shields overcome a similar early advantage for the visitors extended the margin to 12-points (33-21) and caused the Sussex chances to falter further.
Lanham looked set to take the 3-points in the tenth, a glimmer of hope still ignited for the Eagles as Richardson and Woodward held Grand Prix superstar Jonsson in fourth place. However, that wasn't how things were set to stay, the Swede producing a stunning burst of speed to outgun both opponents before swooping past his partner down the back straight at the final time of asking to the race by some distance.
It was time for tactics to play a part but although Nicholls did the job asked of him, roaring home for 6-points taking the tactical ride, Bridger's fortunes weren't set to improve however and despite a strenuous effort and a final bend swoop that almost caught Kling on the hop, once again he trailed the field, Kylmakorpi holding second and Kling third for a visitors 6-3, one that temporarily halted the home onslaught and one that realised an overall 41-28 score-line.
The match was effectively over bar the shouting, but the Hammers made certain of the two Elite League points as Shields and Kling claimed Hammers fifth 5-1 of the meeting and the fourth in the space of five races ahead of Richardson and Gustafsson who ground to a halt in the latter part of the race.
This took the Hammers beyond the 45-point barrier, their lead stretching to 17-points and out of the Eagles reach with the scores now standing at 46-29 but undoubtedly visions of stable doors and bolting horses must have passed through the minds as Nicholls and Kennett combined to end Jonsson's maximum hopes in devastating style in heat 13. Indeed it was pretty to watch but sadly it was to serve as little more than window dressing with Eag les now out of contention.
Further disappointment was in store however. In a bid to reduce the difference to a more gratifying level, Kennett was introduced as a tactical substitute in the penultimate race, starting 15 metres back from the grid.
Woodward did his best to hold Hammers Davidsson and Tomicek up in the hopes that his partner could pick up double points, however the Australian was to lose control and crash into the air barrier on the third lap, necessitating a rerun and one that Davidsson and Tomicek didn't pass up with Kennett still giving them that 15 metre start.
The Hammers sixth 5-1 restored their 17-point cushion and a lead that had already seen them move above both Poole and Swindon into the top spot in the Elite League table, however the last word still belonged to the Essex boys as Jonsson gained swift revenge over Nicholls and Shields reeled in Richardson on the run in t o the finish line to close the show with a 4-2 and a somewhat dominant 19-point winning margin.
