Full details of Sunday’s meetings

SCORPIONS 42 SHEFFIELD 48 (League Cup)

FLUID-AIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions may have started their season with a 42-48 home defeat to Sheffield Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday afternoon, but there were a number of positives to take from the meeting.

Skipper Ashley Birks put in a performance that totally belied the fact that this was his first competitive meeting since a serious back injury; while new signing, super smooth Swede Anders Mellgren, had a good first meeting for the club.

Josh Auty showed speed aplenty and was unfortunate to have his scoring curtailed by a harsh Heat 13 exclusion. David Howe and Thomas Jorgensen both showed flashes of form, and will gain greater consistency over the coming weeks.

Matt Williamson had a tough debut, but kept on the pace; if he can sharpen up his starting skills, the points will follow.

Meanwhile, the absence of Ryan Douglas at No 7 left a big hole. Guest James Sarjeant put in a fine performance that couldn’t be faulted (it’s difficult to think of another NL guest who could have come in and taken both a win and a paid win), but Douglas’ scoring was missed in Heats 12 & 14. Once Ryan is back, the Scorpions will be stronger.

Heat 1 saw a fine win for Mellgren, with Tigers’ No 1 Simon Stead coming out on top in an early battle for second place with Howe. The Scorpions took a lead that they wouldn’t surrender until Heat 12.

Sargeant produced a great burst around the outside on the opening bends to win Heat 2, and the Scorpions took a 5-1 from Heat 3. Jorgensen emerged from the second bend in front, and then Birks flew around Leigh Lanham on the fourth turn.

Auty quickly moved past Josh Bates into second place in Heat 4, but Adam Roynon had already disappeared into the distance, as the Tigers clawed back a 4-2.

The Scorpions jetted out of the start in Heat 5, but the race was brought back, with Birks warned for moving. Stead took his second chance to lead the re-run all the way.

The Tigers appeared to hit back with a 5-1 in Heat 6. Roynon got out of shape on the final lap, Mellgren bustled under him, only for Roynon (on the outside) to grab the verdict on the line. Well, accordingly to many in the crowd. The verdict of referee Phil Griffin was to give second place to Mellgren. The race winner was Sheffield reserve Andre Compton.

Auty showed why Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey calls him “Mr. Entertainment “ in Heat 7, as he charged from third to first, including a fine overtake of Lanham on the fourth turn of the second lap.

Howe, after a slow start to the meeting, won Heat 8 with ease, while Sarjeant fended off a stern challenge from Simon Nielsen to take second place and join Howe for a 5-1 that moved the Scorpions 27-21 ahead.

Compton and Roynon hit straight back with a 5-1 in Heat 9, but Mellgren & Howe reopened the gap to four points with a 4-2 in Heat 10. It briefly looked like it could have been a 5-1, but Lanham got the better of Howe in a battle for second place.

Auty flew past Nielsen into second place in Heat 11, but Stead was a worthy race winner. Jorgensen find himself trapped on the inside on the first turn of Heat 12, and couldn’t stop Compton and Lanham taking a 5-1 that moved Sheffield in front for the first time at 34-32.

The Scorpions needed to hit back in Heat 13, but a ragged start was followed by a fall by Auty on the second bend, as he ran out of room. Auty’s blue exclusion light came on; it seemed a little harsh. In the re-run, Stead romped away, while Roynon took second place after he and Mellgren swapped places several times. The second successive 5-1 to Sheffield left them within touching distance of winning the meeting.

It was difficult to know what action to watch in an enthralling Heat 14. Bates took charge after “a wall of death” ride on the second bend, bouncing off the air fence into the lead. Sarjeant held onto third place out of the second bend, but he was then involved in a battle with Taylor Poole, with the two passing and repassing. Poole held the upper hand, when Sarjeant’s bike expired on the third lap. Meanwhile, up front, Birks fought his way twice past a battling Bates, to win the race. But the 3-3 clinched the meeting for the Tigers.

There was still time for a good battle between Stead and the Scorpions’ pair of Birks and Mellgren in Heat 15. Birks thrust inside Stead on the fourth turn, with Mellgren also drawing alongside, but Stead roared back around on the second bend of the second lap, to finish his afternoon on 14 points.

The disappointment of the defeat for the home supporters was tempered by the entertainment of a well-contested meeting. If every meeting between Scunthorpe and Sheffield is this good in 2014, then some classic encounters lie ahead. With Douglas now set to be on his way from Australia to the UK, the Scorpions will be hoping for revenge against the Tigers at Owlerton on April 10th.

FLUID-AIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 42
1. Anders Mellgren 3 2 3 1 1* (10+1)
2. David Howe 1 0 3 1 (5)
3. Thomas Jorgensen 3 1* 0 1 (5+1)
4. Ashley Birks 2* 2 1 3 2 (10+1)
5. Josh Auty 2 3 2 FX (7)
6. Matt Williamson 0 0 0 (0)
7. James Sarjeant 3 0 2* 0 R (5+1)

SHEFFIELD TIGERS 48
1. Simon Stead 2 3 3 3 3 (14)
2. Simon Nielsen 0 0 1 1 (2)
3. Leigh Lanham 1 2 2 2* (7+1)
4. Taylor Poole R 1* 0 1* (2+2)
5. Adam Roynon 3 1 2* 2* (8+2)
6. Andre Compton 1* 3 3 3 0 (10+1)
7. Josh Bates 2 1 0 2 (5)

1: Mellgren (S), Stead (SH), Howe (S), Nielsen (SH), 57.60 (4-2) (4-2).
2: Sarjeant (S), Bates (SH), Compton (SH), Williamson (S), 58.78 (3-3) (7-5).
3: Jorgensen (S), Birks (S), Lanham (SH), Poole (SH) (ret), 58.19 (5-1) (12-6).
4: Roynon (SH), Auty (S), Bates (SH), Sarjeant (S), 58.31 (2-4) (14-10).
5: (Re-run) Stead (SH), Birks (S), Jorgensen (S), Nielsen (SH), 56.97 (3-3) (17-13).
6: Compton (SH), Mellgren (S), Roynon (SH), Howe (S), 58.59 (2-4) (19-17).
7: Auty (S), Lanham (SH), Poole (SH), Williamson (S), 58.88 (3-3) (22-20).
8: Howe (S), Sarjeant (S), Nielsen (SH), Bates (SH), 58.97 (5-1) (27-21).
9: Compton (SH), Roynon (SH), Birks (S), Jorgensen (S), 58.50 (1-5) (28-26).
10: Mellgren (S), Lanham (SH), Howe (S), Poole (SH), 58.31 (4-2) (32-28).
11: Stead (SH), Auty (S), Nielsen (SH), Williamson (S), 58.25 (2-4) (34-32).
12: Compton (SH), Lanham (SH), Jorgensen (S), Sarjeant (S), 58.60 (1-5) (35-37).
13: (Re-run) Stead (SH), Roynon (SH), Mellgren (S), Auty (S) (fell, excluded), 57.92 (1-5) (36-42).
14: Birks (S), Bates (SH), Poole (SH), Sarjeant (S) (ret), 58.54 (3-3) (39-45).
15: Stead (SH), Birks (S), Mellgren (S), Compton (SH), 57.87 (3-3) (42-48).

STAGS 21 KENT 62 (National League)

SCUNTHORPE STAGS 21
1. Steve Jones 1 1 1 2 (5)
2. Ryan MacDonald 0 0 3 0 (3)
3. Danno Verge 1 1 1 1 (4)
4. Tyler Govier 0 0 TX FX (0)
5. Aaron Mogridge 2 1 1 1* (5+1)
6. Liam Sanderson 3 F 0 FX 0 FX 1 (4)
7. Reece Downes FN (0)

KENT KINGS 62
1. Simon Lambert 3 2* 2* 3 (10+2) (PAID MAXIMUM)
2. Luke Chessell 2* 3 3 1* 3 (12+2)
3. Ben Morley 2* 2* 3 3 3 (13+2) (PAID MAXIMUM)
4. Benji Compton 3 3 3 2* 3 (14+1) (PAID MAXIMUM)
5. David Mason R/R
6. Daniel Blake 2 1 2* 2 2* 2* 2* (13+4)
7. Brandon Freemantle FN (0)

1: Lambert (K), Chessell (K), Jones (S), MacDonald (S), 59.75 (1-5) (1-5).
2: (Re-run) Sanderson (S), Blake (K), Downes (S) (fell, unable to contest re-run), Freemantle (K) (fell, unable to contest re-run), 61.69 (3-2) (4-7).
3: Compton (K), Morley (K), Verge (S), Govier (S), 60.03 (1-5) (5-12).
4: Chessell (K), Mogridge (S), Blake (K), Sanderson (S) (fell), 59.84 (2-4) (7-16).
5: Chessell (K), Lambert (K), Verge (S), Govier (S), 59.59 (1-5) (8-21).
6: Compton (K), Blake (K), Jones (S), MacDonald (S), 59.47 (1-5) (9-26).
7: Compton (K), Morley (K), Mogridge (S), Sanderson (S), 59.65 (1-5) (10-31).
8: (Re-run) MacDonald (S), Blake (K), Chessell (K), Sanderson (S) (fell, excluded), 60.32 (3-3) (13-34).
9: (Re-run) Morley (K), Blake (K), Verge (S), Govier (S) (excluded, tape touching), 58.84 (1-5) (14-39).
10: Morley (K), Compton (K), Jones (S), MacDonald (S), 59.90 (1-5) (15-44).
11: Chessell (K), Lambert (K), Mogridge (S), Sanderson (S) 59.41 (1-5) (16-49).
12: Morley (K), Blake (K), Verge (S), Sanderson (S) (fell, excluded), no time – awarded (1-5) (17-54).
13: Lambert (K), Jones (S), Mogridge (S), three riders only, 59.91 (3-3) (20-57).
14: (Re-run twice) Compton (K), Blake (K), Sanderson (S), Govier (S) (fell, excluded) no time – awarded (1-5) (21-62).
Heat 15 not re-run after three-man incident involving Mogridge, Lambert and Morley.