COVENTRY slipped to a narrow defeat at Monmore Green with home reserve Nicolai Klindt doing a significant amount of the damage.

It was Wolves skipper Fredrik Lindgren who won the last race ahead of Chris Harris and Hans Andersen to secure the win, but Klindt's 15-point contribution was arguably his best performance in British speedway.

Both teams lost a rider due to injury, and the Buildbase Bees will be waiting on the results of an X-ray for Simon Stead, who may have broken a bone in his thumb.

Stead had no chance of avoiding Jesper B Monberg in Heat 4 when the Dane turned broadside right in front of him, and Klindt piled into the fourth-bend carnage as well.

Monberg was immediately withdrawn with concussion and whilst Stead was able to win the re-run, his thumb then swelled up and he could take no further part.

And it was clear that with Klindt in form and the Coventry reserves finding the going tough on an unfamiliar track, Wolves would be better equipped to cope with the loss of a rider.

Bees remained in touch throughout, and even after going six points down they battled back to 33-33 with Harris defeating Lindgren in Heat 10 and Andersen then combining with Olly Allen for maximum points in the next race.

However, Wolves then took two important 4-2s as Niels-Kristian Iversen beat Harris in Heat 12 and Lindgren took advantage of Andersen locking on the first bend of Heat 13 on a surface made slightly greasy by rain.

Billy Janniro kept Bees in contention for a draw by winning Heat 14 ahead of Klindt, but it was Lindgren who had the final say to see Wolves home by four points.

Bees boss Peter Oakes said: "Again we hit an injury when we didn't want it, and although Wolves lost a rider as well, they took a lot more points from their rider being out than we did, and that was a big difference.

"We got one point from Simon Stead's three missing rides, and they got five points from Jesper Monberg's. But we just didn't win enough races - six heat wins in fifteen wasn't enough, and the combination of those two factors cost us.

"It was a meeting that we were expecting to win, we thought we could win it and I still think we should have won it."

WOLVES 47: Nicolai Klindt 15, Fredrik Lindgren 13, Niels-Kristian Iversen 11, David Howe 3+2, Chris Neath 3+1, Ales Dryml 2, Jesper B Monberg 0.

BUILDBASE BEES 43: Hans Andersen 12+1, Chris Harris 11, Billy Janniro 6+2, Olly Allen 6+1, Simon Stead 3, Filip Sitera 3, Robbie Kessler 2.