Scorpions keep the dream alive

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 46 SOMERSET REBELS 44 (PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS)

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions edged home 46-44 against Somerset Rebels in a tightly-fought Play-Off encounter at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday), to keep alive hopes of qualifying for the Grand Final.

In a close battle, Somerset twice edged four points ahead, while Scunthorpe twice led by two points (after 5-1s in Heats 6 & 13).

It all boiled down to Heat 15, with the teams locked together at 42-42 entering this race.

The Scorpions pair of David Howe & Josh Auty made the start, while Somerset’s Nick Morris fell on the fourth bend, forcing a stoppage.

Charles Wright was quickest away in the re-run, but Auty – a specialist at winning last-heat deciders at the Eddie Wright Raceway – raced around him on the second bend to secure a 46-44 victory for the injury-hit Scorpions.

Howe (13+2) and Auty (12) were the pick of the home side, and Auty was unlucky to not score more, after a debatable exclusion from Heat 9, after Morris left him no room at all in a passing manoeuver.

Scunthorpe captain Ashley Birks made a successful return from injury, just 13 days after breaking his scaphoid in two places.

Birks, who has had his scaphoid screwed and platted, fell in his first outing, while second in Heat 2, but then scored an invaluable paid 12 from his remaining five rides.

A telling statistic for the night is that the four regular Scunthorpe riders scored 42 out of 46 points for the Scorpions, while the two guests struggled, as the third point for a win by seven points or more went begging.

The two results from this week – a narrow home win and a heavy away defeat – mean that Scunthorpe are now heading to Somerset next Wednesday (October 1) with the aim of winning that meeting to regain control of their play-off group.

Skipper Ashley Birks said: “I feel good. I’m happy to get my first meeting back out of the way. I knew I was ready to come back, and I wouldn’t have raced if I wasn’t.

“I’ve been working hard to get myself fit and thanks to everyone who helped me out on that score, including the guys at the oxygen chamber in Rotherham.

“It would have been nice to take all three points tonight, but it was so important we won in the end, so that we’re still in with a chance.

“Somerset away is now a must-win meeting for us, so we’ll go there all guns blazing. We know we can do it. We’ve all got five days to get our equipment back up and make sure everything is right.”

Top-scorer David Howe said: “At one stage, it was looking dodgy for us, but we got the win. We had to work hard; Somerset are a strong side and we were missing riders.

“For whatever reason, Skiddy (Hugh Skidmore) didn’t have his usual performance around here. But even on form, Skiddy couldn’t have covered for Ryan (Douglas), because Ryan is such a strong rider around here.

“It was nice to see Ash (Birks) back on a bike and doing well for the team, his contribution was vital.

“We’ve made it hard on ourselves, because Somerset is a tough place to go, but we’ll go there and see what we can do. It’s not over yet.

“It’s nice going back to No 1 in October. I’d set my sights on getting back the No 1 racejacket at Scunthorpe, but it was a target I’d set myself for some time in 2015.

“I don’t feel I’m riding quite at my best, but I’m not far off at all.

“I’d had a good run going on, so I was a bit of nervous about these last couple of meetings after a break of a couple of weeks, but it’s come back well.

“I was disappointed not to win Heat 15, I made the first one. But in the re-run, the seat bracket bolt snapped as I dropped the clutch and the seat moved back and I got too much lift off the start. But it’s a good sign that I’m disappointed at not winning Heat 15, it’s a sign I have moved forward.”

SCUNTHORPE 46: David Howe 13+2, Josh Auty 12, Ashley Birks 10+2, Thomas Jorgensen 7+1, Hugh Skidmore 3, Benji Compton 1, Nicolai Klindt r/r
SOMERSET 44: Charles Wright 11+1, Paul Starke 10+1, Charles Wright 8+1, Pontus Aspgren 7+1, Nick Morris 6, Olly Allen 5+1, Todd Kurtz 5, Brady Kurtz r/r