SCORPIONS LEFT WITH MAMMOTH TASK

POOLE PIRATES 60 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 29 (Cab Direct Knockout Cup, semi-final, first leg)

HOLDERS Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions will require a stellar performance at the Eddie Wright Raceway to progress to the cup final, after they lost 29-60 at Poole in the first leg of the semi-final of the Cab Direct Knockout Cup last night (Wednesday).

And while Scorpions have scored 61 against Plymouth and 63 against Berwick at home in the same competition, it will prove trickier against Pirates.

There was rain before the clash at Wimborne Road, and a couple of further delays – firstly due to a mishap with the water cart that flooded the fourth bend and then after Poole’s Tobias Thomsen suffered an ankle injury in Heat 6.

Once racing resumed, Poole turned on the heat and scored six 5-1s in the closing nine races.

Scunthorpe promoter and stand-in team manager Rob Godfrey said: “It’s not the result that we were after.

“We weren’t doing too badly to begin with, following the rain. But after the delays, the track became slick and we were just being hammered out of the starts and there wasn’t a lot of overtaking.

“It leaves us with a massive task in the second leg. But Poole’s big strength is their home form and so is ours, so we won’t wave the white flag yet.

“We’ll just move on after tonight’s disappointing result and bounce back when we host Workington at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday night, as we seek three precious league points in the Cab Direct Championship.”

POOLE 60: Tom Brennan 14+1, Richard Lawson 13+1 Ben Cook 10+1, Zach Cook 8, Sam Hagon 7+2, Vinnie Foord 6+1, Tobias Thomsen 2+1.

SCUNTHORPE 29: Jake Allen 7, Michael Palm Toft 6+1, Kyle Howarth 6, Nathan Ablitt 4+1, Simon Lambert 3, Connor Mountain 3, Luke Harrison 0.

* ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL host the Workington Comets at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday (July 26) at 7.30pm.