Scorpions take point after epic battle

SCORPIONS TAKE POINT AFTER EPIC MEETING WITH LEAGUE LEADERS
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 45 OXFORD CHEETAHS 45 (Oxford win Superheat by 5-4) (Cab Direct Championship)

ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions battled back from six points behind to grab a 45-45 draw with league leaders Oxford, despite having to ride most of the meeting with five riders, but then missed out 5-4 in the concluding Superheat, after a classic meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).

Oxford Cheetahs went into the meeting with six straight victories in the Cab Direct Championship and this was the closest anyone has come to defeating them.

It was the first time a Superheat – a new innovation in British Speedway – has taken place at the Eddie Wright Raceway.

Such a race occurs when the scores are tied at the end of the evening. The winning team in the Superheat takes both league points, while the losing team still picks up a point, as they would have done for a draw.

Scorpions had the rider in the evening in the shape of the brilliant Ryan Douglas, who had scored 17 points in the main meeting. Skipper Simon Lambert had missed out in the concluding Heat 15, so Jake Allen was nominated for the Superheat. The scoring for the additional race is 4-3-2-0, so it is vital not to finish last.

Douglas flew from the outside gate, while Allen held the crucial third place early on, but Lewis Kerr flew around him on third bend and the Oxford pair of Kerr and Scott Nicholls then concentrated on keeping Allen behind them to win the race 5-4.

Drew Kemp withdrew from the meeting after a dubious exclusion in Heat 3, when he came together with Kerr on the third bend of the second lap. A shaken Kemp was unable to continue in the meeting.

Scorpions never led on the night, while was tremendous racing on display right from the start of the meeting. Eleven of the 15 races ended in a shared 3-3, with Cheetahs edging ahead courtesy of a 4-2 in Heat 5 and a 5-1 in Heat 9.

Douglas came into Heat 11 as a tactical substitute and while he won the race, Allen was pegged to the back, after a fine pass by NLRC champion Jordan Jenkins.

Lambert and Connor Mountain pegged it back level with two heat advantages – a 4-2 in Heat 12 and a 5-1 in Heat 14. In between, Douglas and Allen both got the better of a battle with Nicholls in the battle for minor placings in Heat 13, while Douglas dropped his only point after Sam Masters held on to win the race in a shared 3-3.

A tense heat 15 saw Kerr warned for moving at the start. In the re-run, Douglas got out in front of Kerr, while Lambert was close to Masters – enjoying his best meeting at the EWR in a long time – but could not pass the Oxford man for third.

Douglas scored 17, while Mountain took seven rides and was unbeaten in his last two rides to score 9+3. Lambert – who started his evening by passing Kerr and Henry Atkins to win the re-run of Heat 3 – collected nine points.

Allen scored 5+2, while Nathan Ablitt had his best evening in Scorpions’ colours, was in the thick of the action all evening, and totted up 5+1.

Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “It was always going to be tough when we were a rider down after three heats. When you’re using rider replacement, that makes it tough on the rest of the team for the remainder of the night. We had the same problem at Glasgow last Friday and it is the major hazard of using rider replacement and something we need to think about.

“I didn’t agree with the referee’s decision in Heat 3, for the incident that saw Drew ruled out of the rest of the evening. But I’ve been a referee and I’ve been in his position. He’s got a 90-degree angle to the incident and has to make his decision based on that view. He told me it thought it was a 50/50 decision and he decided to exclude the rider in blue.

“We gave it a good shot with five riders against Oxford, who are unbeaten in the league and top of the table. We still battled back and collected a point from the meeting, and it could be a very important point come the end of the season.

“All the lads dug deep and put a shift in, but Oxford aren’t top of the league for nowt. It would have been tough with six riders – with five riders it was just a little too much.

“Some of the lads were struggling for speed tonight while I can’t remember Sam Masters having such a good meeting around here for a long time. We gave our best, came up a little short, but we still took a league point.

“We knew the scoring was 4-3-2-0 in the Superheat and what we needed to do. Dougy was just Dougy and brilliant again tonight, but we knew we needed a rider who could score alongside him. I felt Jake may haven’t scored as many points as Simon in the meeting, but he was riding just as well. Simon took Heat 15 and then we gave Jake a go in the Superheat – we tried every avenue.”

SCUNTHORPE 45: Ryan Douglas 17, Connor Mountain 9+3, Simon Lambert 9, Jake Allen 5+2, Nathan Ablitt 5+1, Drew Kemp 0, Michael Palm Toft r/r.
OXFORD 45: Sam Masters 11+1, Lewis Kerr 11, Scott Nicholls 7+1, Jordan Jenkins 6+2, Cameron Heeps 5+1, Ryan Kinsley 3, Henry Atkins 2+2.
Oxford beat Scunthorpe 5-4 in Super Heat.

* ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions are back in action at the Eddie Wright Raceway next Friday (July 7, 7.30pm) when the club host Edinburgh Monarchs in the Cab Direct Championship.