TOUGH NIGHT AT OXFORD

OXFORD CHEETAHS 55 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 34  (Cab Direct Championship)

ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions lost their 100% league record in the Cab Direct Championship with a 34-55 defeat at Cowley last night (Wednesday).

Scunthorpe had entered the meeting with a run of five successive victories, including away 46-44 victories in the Cab Direct Championship at both Redcar and Berwick. But they were using rider replacement for broken collarbone victim Michael Palm Toft and were left ruing a slow start at Cowley that saw then fall 16 points behind after just five races.

Scorpions then started to hold their own and shared a couple of races, before gaining a 5-0 from an extraordinary Heat 8, in which both Oxford riders were excluded. Nathan Ablitt led, when Kyle Howarth pounced to overtake both Cheetahs on the opening bend of the second lap. Jacob Hook came down and was excluded, while strangely Luke Killeen was also thrown out of the re-run after crashing into the fence to avoid the fallen Hook.

Oxford then pulled ahead again, but Scorpions started a mini-comeback after Jake Allen fought off Oxford skipper Scott Nicholls to win Heat 11, despite Nicholls twice surging inside him.

Allen came into Heat 12 as a tactical substitute and overtook Jordan Jenkins to win the race as Scorpions took a second successive 4-2.

Howarth then fended off Nicholls to win Heat 13, as Scorpions provided their third successive heat winner. But Scorpions then conceded a 5-1 in both the final races, which means they will need a big performance at the Eddie Wright Raceway a week on Friday (June 14) to land the aggregate bonus point.

Allen was Scunthorpe’s top scorer with 10 points across seven riders, while Howarth (9+1), Nathan Ablitt (7+1) and Connor Mountain (6+1) all had their moments.

Team manager David Howe said: “It wasn’t the night that we wanted. Oxford showed their home track knowledge and really made us pay early on. For the first half of the meeting, we just weren’t sharp enough from the gate.

“We did better in the second half of the meeting. Maybe we were a bit lucky with the decision in Heat 8, but we were on a 5-1 at the time of the stoppage in any case.

“There are positives to take. Nathan took a big knock at the weekend, and he’s come back and had a good meeting tonight and shown he can do the same job away that he does at home. Jake’s score didn’t reflect how he rode – he had at least eight laps banging handlebars with Scott Nicholls which takes some doing around here.

“It was a tough night and Oxford were the better team on the evening. We just need to put it aside and make sure we hit back against Berwick at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday evening and take another three points.”

OXFORD 55: Sam Masters 12+2, Scott Nicholls 12+1, Cameron Heeps 10+2, Jordan Jenkins 8+1, Ashton Boughen 6, Luke Killeen 4, Jacob Hook 3+1.

SCUNTHORPE 34: Jake Allen 10, Kyle Howarth 9+1, Nathan Ablitt 7+1, Connor Mountain 6+1, Simon Lambert 2, Luke Harrison 0, Michael Palm Toft r/r.

* ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL host Berwick at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday (June 7) at 7.30pm. A re-arranged fixture then sees Oxford Cheetahs at the EWR on Friday, June 14.