STEELERS PICK UP BONUS POINT AT OXFORD

STEELERS PICK UP BONUS POINT AT OXFORD

OXFORD CHARGERS 52 STEELERS 38 (WSRA National League)

LUKE HARRISON led the scoring, as Steelers – the joint WSRA National League side for Scunthorpe and Sheffield – went down by 38-52 at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium yesterday afternoon (Sunday). However, Steelers won the aggregate bonus point by 97-83 against the current league leaders.

Steelers may have pushed Chargers all the way, but for the withdrawal Vinnie Foord a day before the meeting. Foord completed the Workington vs Glasgow Cab Direct Championship fixture on Saturday afternoon, collecting 5+2 and scoring in every race, but then informed Steelers’ manager Simon Lambert that he was injured and could not ride for Steelers the following day. Foord has appeared only twice in seven fixtures for Steelers in 2025.

Foord’s withdrawal was too much for a Steelers side already missing Nathan Ablitt, Mickie Simpson and Jamie Etherington through injury.

Steelers had defeated Chargers by 59-31 at Scunthorpe on June 20 – Chargers’ only defeat of 2025 to date – and they secured the aggregate bonus point at Oxford when Harrison overtook Dayle Wood and then fended off Darryl Ritchings to win Heat 13.

Harrison (16) and Ben Morley (10+1) – the replacement for Ablitt – collected the bulk of Steelers’ points, although there was a pleasing win for Luke Harris in Heat 14, as he held off Chargers’ stand-in skipper Ashton Vale for victory.

Luke Harrison won four races of his six races and scored 16 points. He said: “It was a tough afternoon for the team. Half the team is out injured, while we were using rider replacement for one of our main riders. It would have been asking a lot for us to win today, so the main focus was to pick up the aggregate point and we did that.

“I had a good day personally and got in plenty of racing, while there’s always something to improve on.

“Darryl (Ritchings) was quick today for Oxford, but I was making fairly decent starts today and I beat him in Heat 13 and Heat 15. It’s always nice to beat the top scorer from the other side a couple of times.”

OXFORD 52: Darryl Ritchings 13, Jacob Clouting 8+2, Ashton Vale 8+1, Dayle Wood 7+3, Senna Summers 7, Max Broadhurst 5+2, Arran Butcher 4.

STEELERS 38: Luke Harrison 16, Ben Morley 10+1, Luke Harris 6, Sam Woods 3+1, Harrison Rogers 2, Kenzie Cossey 1, Mickie Simpson r/r.

Steelers win the aggregate point.

* THE last meeting of the season at Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway takes place on Friday (August 29) at 7.30pm, with the Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions at home to the Redcar Bears in the Cab Direct Championship. There is plenty of interest in the fixture after the punch-up between Scunthorpe’s Jake Allen and Redcar’s Charles Wright in the reverse fixture at Redcar last Friday.