Scorpions battle back

PETERBOROUGH PANTHERS 46 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 43 (PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP, first round, first leg)

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions have put themselves in a good position to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Premier League Knockout Cup, after a narrow 43-46 loss in the first leg of their first round tie at Peterborough last night (Tuesday).

The Scorpions showed plenty of spirit to battle back into the match after a slow start, which saw them fall 10 points behind after just six races, despite a win for Nicolai Klindt over Peterborough No 1 Ryan Fisher in Heat 1.

The comeback started in Heat 8, courtesy of a 4-2 from Klindt and Matt Williamson, after Thomas Jorgensen had been excluded for touching the tapes.

The following race saw a brilliant 5-1 from Jorgensen and Ryan Douglas, despite both Scorpions missing the gate. The pair swooped past Ales Dryml and Ulrich Ostergaard in great style.

After a prolonged interval, while a problem with the starting tapes was fixed, the Scorpions enjoyed two very successful races. A 5-1 from Klindt (his third win of the evening) and Josh Auty in Heat 11 reduced the deficit to just two points. The Scorpions then moved 37-34 ahead after a 5-0 in Heat 12. Dryml was left at the tapes, then Oliver Greenwood fell after Jorgensen moved through into second place, behind David Howe.

Douglas held back a charging Ryan Fisher in Heat 13, to maintain that three-point lead. The Panthers scored heat advantages in the final two races, to edge back ahead, but the Scorpions have just three points to haul back when the teams meet for the second leg at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Bank Holiday Monday (May 26).

Klindt ended up as Scorpions’ top scorer on 11 paid 12, while Howe, Douglas and Jorgensen were all paid for 9 points.

Team manager Dave Peet said: “If someone had offered me for us to hold Peterborough to a three-point lead before the meeting, I’d have definitely taken it.

“We did well to get back in the meeting after falling 10 points behind. It took us a while to get dialled into the track. There are no tactical rides in the Knockout Cup, so we had to earn every single point.

“Everyone chipped in with points, and there was a good spirit. Thomas (Jorgensen) had a few bike problems and finished the meeting on Ryan Douglas’s spare machine.

“With hindsight, maybe I could have put Ryan in Heat 15. But I felt Nicolai (Klindt) and David (Howe) were going as well.

“We’ve done half the job. There won’t be any complacency from us for the second leg at Scunthorpe next Monday. Peterborough have riders who can ride our place. We did the job we needed to tonight, but there’s still a job to be done for the home leg.”

PETERBOROUGH PANTHERS 46
1. Ryan Fisher 1* 2* 3 2 3 (11+2)
2. Lewis Blackbird 2 3 2 1 (8)
3. Ales Dryml 3 3 1 R (7)
4. Ulrich Ostergaard 1 FX 0 3 (4)
5. Lasse Bjerre 3 3 1 1* 2* (10+2)
6. Joe Jacobs 3 0 0 (3)
7. Oliver Greenwood 2* 0 0 FX 1 (3+1)

FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 43
1. Josh Auty R 2 2* F (4+1)
2. Nicolai Klindt 3 1* 3 3 1 (11+1)
3. David Howe 2 2 2 3 0 (9)
4. Ashley Birks 0 1* 2 (3+1)
5. Ryan Douglas 1* 1 2* 3 (7+2)
6. Matt Williamson 0 0 1 (1)
7. Thomas Jorgensen 1 2 TX 3 0 2* 0 (8+1)

1: Klindt, Blackbird, Fisher, Auty (ret), 60.7 (3-3) (3-3).
2: (Re-run) Jacobs, Greenwood, Jorgensen, Williamson, 61.7 (5-1) (8-4).
3: Dryml, Howe, Ostergaard, Birks, 61.5 (4-2) (12-6).
4: Bjerre, Jorgensen, Douglas, Greenwood, 61.6 (3-3) (15-9).
5: (Re-run) Dryml, Auty, Klindt, Ostergaard (fell, excluded), 61.7 (3-3) (18-12).
6: Blackbird, Fisher, Douglas, Williamson, 61.6 (5-1) (23-13).
7: Bjerre, Howe, Birks, Jacobs, 61.7 (3-3) (26-16).
8: (Re-run twice) Klindt, Blackbird, Williamson, Greenwood, Jorgensen (excluded, touched tapes), 62.1 (2-4) (28-20).
9: Jorgensen, Douglas, Dryml, Ostergaard, 61.8 (1-5) (29-25).
10: Fisher, Howe, Blackbird, Jorgensen, 62.3 (4-2) (33-27).
11: Klindt, Auty, Bjerre, Jacobs, 62.6 (1-5) (34-32).
12: Howe, Jorgensen, Greenwood (fell, excluded), Dryml (ret), awarded – no time (0-5) (34-37).
13: Douglas, Fisher, Bjerre, Auty (fell), 62.4 (3-3) (37-40).
14: Ostergaard, Birks, Greenwood, Jorgensen, 62.9 (4-2) (41-42).
15: Fisher, Bjerre, Klindt, Howe, 63.0 (5-1) (46-43).