MPT secures precious point for makeshift Scorpions
PLYMOUTH DEVILS 48 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 42 (PREMIER LEAGUE)
A DEPLETED Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions put in a terrific performance at Plymouth last night (Saturday) to take a well-earned Premier League point, after a narrow 42-48 defeat.
Scorpions went into Heat 15 four points adrift of their hosts. It soon became clear that the visitors would not be able to take the 5-1 to grab a draw. But a superb effort from Michael Palm Toft saw him pass Stefan Nielsen with a lap to go to snatch a vital second place.
The league point gained means, barring disasters at Rye House and Newcastle, that the Scorpions will finish ahead of both Plymouth and Redcar in the league table.
Such an outcome didn’t seem possible for Scorpions as yesterday morning dawned. A rib injury to key reserve Carl Wilkinson, sustained in the Elite League match at Coventry on Friday evening, left a frantic search for a guest. In the end, Scorpions tracked Richard Andrews, a second string with National League Cradley, in Wilko’s place.
Scorpions were therefore left with a massively inexperienced duo at reserve, as well as using rider replacement at No 1 for the ill Josh Auty. But Connor Coles, guest replacement for Josh Bailey, defeated Ellis Perks for third place in Heat 4, while Andrews rode steadily and scored a couple of points when home riders got into trouble.
Fritz Waller won only his second-ever race at the track in Heat 3, as he combined for a 5-1 with Lewis Kerr. Scorpions moved into a brief 13-11 lead after Heat 4, only for Devils to hit back with a 5-1 in Heat 5.
A run of seven shared races took place between Heats 6 and 12, with both teams seeing points slip through their fingers.
Scorpions looked set to take the lead with a 5-1 from Ryan Douglas and Michael Palm Toft in Heat 11, only for race-leader Douglas to fall in the closing stages after clipping the fence.
Wallner scored a priceless win in Heat 14, before Palm Toft did the business in Heat 15.
Palm Toft finished as top scorer with a superb 13-point contribution from six rides, and he was well-backed by the other three regular Scorpions; Kerr contributed 10+1, Douglas 8 and Wallner 7+1.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey, who also doubled up as team manager on the night, said: “It was a fantastic team effort to get a point with a depleted side.
“I just wouldn’t have believed this was possible as the day dawned. When we found out on Friday night that Wilko had damaged his ribs and wouldn’t be able to ride, I was straight on the phone, but everyone suitable was riding abroad, riding in the NLRC at Leicester or couldn’t commit to a trip to Plymouth with a day’s notice.
“Our thanks go to Richard Andrews for accepting the guest booking, otherwise we would have been a man short.
“We realised that it left us with more-or-less a four-man team, although having said that Connor Coles and Richard Andrews did superbly. Connor beat Ellis Perks fair and square in Heat 4, while Richard rode steadily with his head, and scored a couple of very important points after the Devils failed to finish.
“As for our regular lads, they did magnificently. I placed Fritz Wallner into Heat 1 to give him experience of the track, and he responded by heading home Kevin Doolan, and then he took a 5-1 from Heat 3 with Lewis, and Fritz also took a vital win in Heat 14.
“Ryan Douglas started with a couple of wins, but he was suffering a bit of back pain after he fell while leading Heat 11, a consequence of a fall in Heat 15 at Sheffield the other night. He’ll be OK, but he didn’t score again after that.
“Lewis scored well throughout, but had a bit of bother at the start of Heat 15. The start marshall interrupted his start procedure, and it messed him up for that race.
“Michael (Palm Toft) was again quality, and it was a great move from him in the final race, to pass Stefan Nielsen for the second place that secured our league point.
“The final result was a fair result, as both teams lost points during the night. It was a terrific team effort from our lads – I’m well chuffed with it.”
PLYMOUTH DEVILS 48
1. Jack Holder R/R
2. Kevin Doolan (Guest) 0 1* 1* 2 (4+2)
3. Stefan Nielsen 0 2* FX 3 3 1 (9+1)
4. Sam Simota 1 3 3 1* 2 3 (13+1)
5. Todd Kurtz 3 2 1* 1* 1 (8+2)
6. Steve Boxall 3 2 2 2 R 1* (10+1)
7. Ellis Perks 2* 0 2 (4+1)
HENDERSON INSURANCE SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 42
1. Josh Auty R/R
2. Michael Palm Toft 2 1 3 3 2 2 (13)
3. Lewis Kerr 2* 0 3 3 2 R (10+1)
4. Fritz Wallner 1* 3 FX 0 3 (7+1)
5. Ryan Douglas 3 3 2 F 0 (8)
6. Richard Andrews (Guest) 0 0 1* 1* (2+2)
7. Connor Coles (Guest) 1 1 0 0 (2)
1: Kurtz, Palm Toft, Wallner, Doolan, 50.79 (3-3) (3-3).
2: Boxall, Perks, Coles, Andrews, 50.90 (5-1) (8-4).
3: Wallner, Kerr, Simota, Nielsen, 50.50 (1-5) (9-9).
4: Douglas, Kurtz, Coles, Perks, 51.81 (2-4) (11-13).
5: Simota, Nielsen, Palm Toft, Kerr, 50.84 (5-1) (16-14).
6: Douglas, Boxall, Doolan, Andrews, 51.44 (3-3) (19-17).
7: (Re-run) Kerr, Perks, Kurtz, Wallner (fell, excluded), 50.97 (3-3) (22-20).
8: (Re-run) Palm Toft, Boxall, Doolan, Coles, 51.25 (3-3) (25-23).
9: (Re-run) Simota, Douglas, Andrews, Nielsen (fell, excluded), 50.94 (3-3) (28-26).
10: Kerr, Doolan, Simota, Wallner, 51.25 (3-3) (31-29).
11: Palm Toft, Boxall, Kurtz, Douglas (fell), 51.84 (3-3) (34-32).
12: Nielsen, Kerr, Andrews, Boxall (ret), 51.84 (3-3) (37-35).
13: Nielsen, Palm Toft, Kurtz, Douglas, 51.50 (4-2) (41-37).
14: Wallner, Simota, Boxall, Cole, 51.63 (3-3) (44-40).
15: Simota, Palm Toft, Nielsen, Kerr (ret), 51.00 (4-2) (48-42).
