Scorpions do it again at Owlerton
SHEFFIELD TIGERS 41 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49 (PREMIER LEAGUE)
FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions registered their second win of the season at local rivals Sheffield last night (Thursday), registering a fine 49-41 victory, to take all four Premier League points on offer.
The result takes the Scorpions back to second place in the Premier League table, one point behind leaders Edinburgh.
After three shared races, including a fine win for guest Sam Masters over home No 1 Simon Stead in Heat 1, the Scorpions took control in a re-run Heat 4, where Ryan Douglas and Thomas Jorgensen took a 5-1 over new Sheffield signing Ty Proctor.
The teams then traded 4-2s, before the Scorpions had extended their lead to eight, after Josh Auty swooped past Proctor to join Ashley Birks for a maximum in Heat 7.
Sheffield came back at Scunthorpe and reduced the deficit to 29-31, but then two vital 5-1s to the Scorpions followed. Masters and David Howe took a 5-1 over Proctor (enduring a nightmare debut) in Heat 11, and Auty and Jorgensen took the Scorpions to within sight of the winning post when they left Leigh Lanham trailing in their wake in Heat 12.
Sheffield edged back with a 4-2 in Heat 13, with Douglas taking a battling second place for the Scorpions. Masters finished last, dropping his only points of the evening in a fine guest performance.
An overeager Josh Bates was excluded in Heat 14 for bringing down himself and Jorgensen, and the resulting 3-3 clinched the win for the Scorpions.
Heat 15 saw Scunthorpe needing a 3-3 or better to take the fourth league point. While Stead was out in front, Douglas and Auty were involved in a battle-royal with Andre Compton which was concluded when Compton fell on the third lap, as the Scorpions secured the extra point.
Speaking after the meeting, Scunthorpe team manager Dave Peet said: “We produced an excellent team performance tonight.
“The lads did a fantastic job, and pulled out the stops when we really needed them to.
“Sam Masters was a fine guest, and only dropped points in Heat 13, by which time we were almost home-and-dry.
“Josh (Auty) and Ryan (Douglas) both had terrific nights, with both Ryan and Thomas (Jorgensen) both in the wars after clashes with Josh Bates, but getting up to score us points. Fair play to Thomas, who was struggling to get the speed from his bikes, but still weighed in with a paid double figure score.
“David Howe got it together to score the points when we needed him to, and Ashley Birks was another who battled hard.
“I really can’t say any negative about Matt Williamson either. He ended up with three zeroes, but he was in the thick of the action. I’ve told him he is definitely getting there and to stick at it, because the points are going to come.
“We needed the four points from this meeting. We’d dropped four points at home, and tonight we recovered those. It’s a night where it really couldn’t have gone much better.”
SHEFFIELD TIGERS 41
1. Simon Stead 2 3 3 3 3 (14)
2. Taylor Poole 1* 1 2* 1 (5+2)
3. Leigh Lanham R 2 1* 1 (4+1)
4. Andre Compton 3 0 2 3 FX (8)
5. Ty Proctor 1 1 1 1 (4)
6. Simon Nielsen 1* 0 0 (1+1)
7. Josh Bates 2 0 3 0 FX (5)
FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49
1. Sam Masters (Guest) 3 3 3 0 (9)
2. David Howe R 1 1 2* (4+1)
3. Josh Auty 2 2* 2 3 1* (10+2)
4. Ashley Birks 1* 3 0 2 (6+1)
5. Ryan Douglas 3 2 3 2 2 (12)
6. Matt Williamson 0 0 0 (0)
7. Thomas Jorgensen 3 2* 0 2* 1* (8+3)
1: Masters, Stead, Poole, Howe (ret), 60.6 (3-3) (3-3).
2: Jorgensen, Bates, Nielsen, Williamson, 61.8 (3-3) (6-6).
3: Compton, Auty, Birks, Lanham (ret), 61.5 (3-3) (9-9).
4: (Re-run) Douglas, Jorgensen, Proctor, Bates, 62.5 (1-5) (10-14).
5: Masters, Lanham, Howe, Compton, 61.6 (2-4) (12-18).
6: Stead, Douglas, Poole, Williamson, 61.1 (4-2) (16-20).
7: Birks, Auty, Proctor, Nielsen, 62.5 (1-5) (17-25).
8: Bates, Poole, Howe, Jorgensen, 62.0 (5-1) (22-26).
9: Douglas, Compton, Lanham, Williamson, 62.1 (3-3) (25-29).
10: Stead, Auty, Poole, Birks, 61.4 (4-2) (29-31).
11: Masters, Howe, Proctor, Bates, 63.3 (1-5) (30-36).
12: Auty, Jorgensen, Lanham, Nielsen, 63.8 (1-5) (31-41).
13: Stead, Douglas, Proctor, Masters (4-2) (35-43).
14: (Re-run twice) Compton, Birks, Jorgensen, Bates (fell, excluded), 64.4 (3-3) (38-46).
15: Stead, Douglas, Auty, Compton (fell, excluded), no time – awarded (3-3) (41-49).
* Scunthorpe have now won their last FOUR meetings at Sheffield – two in 2013 and two in 2014.
* Dane Nicolai Klindt makes his seasonal debut for the Scorpions at the Eddie Wright Raceway tonight (Friday, 7.30pm) as the Scorpions entertain 2011 PL champions Glasgow Tigers. All three league points will consolidate Scunthorpe’s position of second place in the Premier League table.
Dave Peet says: “We need to avoid any complacency, and make sure we get the three points against Glasgow tonight. Apart from Edinburgh, we can create a gap between us and the other teams in the league and leave them playing catch-up.
“We know from his spell with us last season that Nicolai Klindt is going to be a terrific signing. He gives us a regular seven-man team and makes us stronger. I think we can now really push on and become a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.”
