GREAT PERFORMANCE FROM HARRISON ENSURES HOME WIN

BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE FROM LUKE HARRISON ENSURES HOME VICTORY FOR SCORPIONS

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 48 OXFORD CHEETAHS 42 (MAXiCab Knockout Cup, quarter-final, second leg)

Oxford win 97-83 on aggregate

ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions recorded a 48-42 win over the Oxford Cheetahs in the MAXiCab Knockout Cup at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday) – although Cheetahs clinched a semi-final spot with a 97-83 aggregate victory.

Local rider Luke Harrison put in a sensational performance for Scorpions, amassing paid 19 from seven rides. The 17-year-old has upped his average in 2025, but with both Declan and Zaine Kennedy moving onto new averages last night, Harrison was pushed down to reserve.

The scores were level on the night with two heats remaining. Harrison thrust inside Francis Gusts in the early stages of Heat 14 to win his third race on the night, as he and Connor Mountain took a 4-2 to place Scorpions ahead.

In Heat 15, Oxford No 1 Sam Masters led early on, but Steve Worrall passed him on the second lap and then Harrison burst under Masters with a lap remaining, to a large cheer from the Scunthorpe faithful, as Scorpions clinched victory with a 5-1.

Scunthorpe took an early four-point lead after a 5-1 from Harrison and skipper Simon Lambert in Heat 2. But Cheetahs moved into a 20-16 lead themselves after six races, and it became clear that Scorpions would not overhaul the 20-point-deficit from the first leg.

Scorpions levelled the scores on the night, after Harrison overtook both Gusts and Cameron Heeps in Heat 7, to join Jake Allen for a 5-1.

The home fans felt two decisions went against them in the next two races. Firstly, they felt the referee had denied them a 5-1 in Heat 8, in a close finish for second between Lambert and Luke Killeen, with the referee giving the verdict to Killeen.

Zaine Kennedy was then excluded from Heat 9, after a coming-together with Oxford’s impressive reserve Mitch McDiarmid, which saw both hit the deck and Kennedy taking a pearler in the air fence. Kennedy eventually walked off looking battered and bruised, while the Scunthorpe fans were not pleased about his exclusion from the re-run, where Cheetahs took a 5-1 to rub salt into the wound.

Scorpions re-took the lead with a 5-1 from Worrall and Declan Kennedy in Heat 10, and the scores remained tight until the final two races.

In addition to Harrison’s tremendous 16+3 tally, Scunthorpe No 1 Worrall won three races and totted up 12 points.

In reality, in terms of progression to the semi-finals, the damage was done in the first leg at Oxford on April 9. Scorpions are hoping for a much improved performance at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium next Wednesday (May 28) in a Cab Direct Championship encounter.

Luke Harrison said: “I’ve dropped back to reserve, not because I’ve been doing badly, but because Declan and Zaine got new averages and went above me.

“I’m riding well at the moment and I proved that by getting paid 19 tonight from my seven rides. It might be the highest score that I ever get, because it’s not that often that you take seven rides.

“That’s my first proper Heat 15, where it’s been a tight score going into the race, so there was a little bit of pressure on me. I made an okay start and I was in the mix. Sam (Masters) made a small mistake and I nipped inside him. It was the same I was doing all night – picking riders off.

“It was a great meeting for me. Especially being given a proper last-heat-decider Heat 15 and doing the business in it.

“There’s no worst feeling than losing at home, so it was important that we won the meeting on the night and the fans left happy.

“My goal at the moment is to push myself back into the main body of the team and I’ll challenge myself in every single race until I do that.

“We now really start get going with our league matches in the Cab Direct Championship. I couldn’t have asked for a better meeting than tonight to get myself into form ready for the league matches, because those are the most important meetings and hopefully I’ll be scoring big in every league meeting.”

MAXICAB KO CUP QUARTER-FINAL, 2nd leg

SCUNTHORPE 48: Luke Harrison 16+3, Steve Worrall 12, Simon Lambert 6+2, Jake Allen 6+1, Connor Mountain 6, Declan Kennedy 2+1, Zaine Kennedy 0.

OXFORD 42: Sam Masters 12, Jordan Jenkins 9+1, Mitch McDiarmid 9+1, Francis Gusts 6, Jonas Knudsen 2+1, Cameron Heeps 2, Luke Killeen 2.

Oxford win 97-83 on aggregate

* ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions are next at home, when they host the Berwick Bandits in the Cab Direct Championship at the Eddie Wright Raceway in a fortnight (Friday, June 6) at 7.30pm.

PHOTOS by IAN RISPIN