Scorpions hit Devils for six!
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 53 PLYMOUTH DEVILS 40 (PREMIER LEAGUE)
FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, finished their 2015 home fixtures, with an excellent 53-40 victory over in-form Plymouth Devils at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).
In a match of fluctuating fortunes, the Devils took an early 16-8 lead, only for the Scorpions to register an extraordinary six 5-1s on the trot between Heats 5 & 10, as the scoreline was transformed to 38-22 in favour of Scunthorpe.
Plymouth reduced the deficit back to seven, with the aid of an 8-1 in Heat 11, after a successful tactical ride by visiting No 1 Ryan Fisher.
But Leigh Lanham and Nike Lunna steadied the Scunthorpe ship with a key 4-2 over Fisher and Kyle Newman in Heat 13, which left the Scorpions almost home and dry, with a 9 point-advantage with only two heats remaining. Any doubts were removed after Carl Wilkinson and Alex Davies provided the minor placings behind an aggressive James Holder in Heat 14.
Lanham and Wilkinson scored a 5-1 in Heat 15, the last race of the season at the Eddie Wright Raceway, after Holder crashed out of the race.
For Scunthorpe, despite being reduced to only four of their own riders, this was a very solid team performance. Experienced campaigners Wilkinson and Lanham were at the forefront; Davies and Lunna provided real strength at reserve (heavily outscoring the Devils in this area); and guests Andre Compton and David Bellego both put in solid performances.
Meanwhile, the Devils came to the Eddie Wright Raceway seeking the four points they needed to qualify for the play-offs, but lost their heads and will need to regroup for another try at Rye House tonight (Saturday).
The frustration of the Devils’ riders showed a couple of times last night, as the match came to a fiery conclusion, with a couple of after-race altercations as the meeting marched towards its conclusion, with Holder, the younger brother of former World Champion Chris Holder, at the centre of the storm.
A jubilant Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “I wish the season was just starting. A few weeks ago I couldn’t wait for it to finish, but since then, we’ve won five on the bounce at home.
“Every rider chipped in again against Plymouth – it’s been like that the last few weeks. Normally you go into a meeting with a plan for rider replacement, but every week it’s been different for us and evolving as the meeting has progressed.
“For example, on this occasion, we ended up with Nike Lunna in Heat 13, and he came in to take the 4-2 with Leigh Lanham, just when it looked like Plymouth might come back into it.
“It was awesome when we registered six 5-1s on the trot, especially against a team as strong as Plymouth. The Devils were under a bit of pressure to get a result and they just fell apart; we were just too solid and strong for them.
“Our heads have not gone down all year. The lads have kept on fighting, whatever we’ve had thrown at us in terms of injuries. We’ve took it on the chin all season, and the last six to seven weeks, we’ve proved that we are a good team.”
FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS SUPPORTED BY HENDERSON INSURANCE 53
1. Zdenek Holub R/R
2. Andre Compton (Guest) 0 3 3 2* (8+1)
3. David Bellego (Guest) 1 2* 2* 0 (5+2)
4. Carl Wilkinson 0 3 3 3 1* 2* (12+2)
5. Leigh Lanham 2 0 2* 1 3 3 (11+1)
6. Alex Davies 1 2* 3 0 2 (8+1)
7. Nike Lunna 3 1 2* 2 1 (9+1)
PLYMOUTH DEVILS 40
1. Ryan Fisher 3 1 6# 2 1 (13)
2. Morten Risager 1 3 0 1 2* (7+1)
3. Jack Holder 2* 1 1 1 3 FX (8+1)
4. Todd Kurtz R/R
5. Kyle Newman 3 1 FX TX 0 (4)
6. Sam Simota 2 0 0 3 0 (5)
7. Linus Eklof 0 2* 0 1 0 (3+1)
#=tactical ride
1: Fisher, Lanham, Risager, Compton, 59.12 (2-4) (2-4).
2: Lunna, Simota, Davies, Eklof, 58.06 (4-2) (6-6).
3: Risager, Holder, Bellego, Wilkinson, 58.69 (1-5) (7-11).
4: Newman, Eklof, Lunna, Lanham, 59.69 (1-5) (8-16).
5: Wilkinson, Bellego, Fisher, Risager, 58.37 (5-1) (13-17).
6: Compton, Davies, Newman, Simota, 59.25 (5-1) (18-18).
7: (Re-run) Davies, Lanham, Holder, Newman (fell, excluded), 58.44 (5-1) (23-19).
8: Compton, Lunna, Risager, Eklof, 59.87 (5-1) (28-20).
9: (Re-run) Wilkinson, Bellego, Eklof, Simota, Newman (excluded, tape touching), 59.82 (5-1) (33-21).
10: Wilkinson, Compton, Holder, Eklof, 58.25 (5-1) (38-22).
11: FISHER (TR), Risager, Lanham, Davies, 59.94 (1-8) (39-30).
12: Simota, Lunna, Holder, Bellego, 60.13 (2-4) (41-34).
13: Lanham, Fisher, Lunna, Newman, 59.50 (4-2) (45-36).
14: Holder, Davies, Wilkinson, Simota, 59.94 (3-3) (48-39).
15: Lanham, Wilkinson, Fisher, Holder (fell, excluded), no time – awarded (5-1) (53-40).
EDIT ON MONDAY: There was some confusion who finished second in Heat 14, with the referee’s programme in conflict with other sources, but Alex Davies has confirmed that he finished second and the referee was indeed correct!
