Scorpions so close at Rye House
RYE HOUSE ROCKETS 48 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 45 (PREMIER LEAGUE)
HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions lost 45-48 in a humdinger of a meeting at Rye House last night (Monday).
The point for a narrow away defeat means Scorpions are guaranteed of at least 11th in the Premier League table, ahead of Plymouth and Redcar.
In a match of fluctuating fortunes, Scorpions trailed 7-17 after four races, but hit back with an 8-1 from tactical ride Thomas Jorgensen & Michael Palm Toft in Heat 5, and took a 38-37 lead after a 5-1 from free-scoring reserve Josh Bates & Lewis Kerr in Heat 12.
But Rockets edged the match with 4-2s in Heats 13 & 15, as Rye House skipper and Great Britain international Edward Kennett came to the fore.
Scunthorpe promoter and stand-in team manager Rob Godfrey reflected: “We thoroughly deserved the point we got from the meeting, but it could have so easily been more, and then we’d have had every chance of finishing ahead of Rye House in the final league table as well.
“Had the dice fallen slightly differently, we could have won the meeting. For example, Ryan Douglas blew an engine, and that massively restricted his usual scoring.
“It looked a bit of a struggle when we went ten points behind after four races, but the 8-1 from Thomas Jorgensen and Michael Palm Toft in Heat 5 got us back in the match. That was a superb decision from the team manager, whoever he might have been”, quipped Godfrey.
“But, seriously, that seemed to inspire us for the rest of the night.
“I can’t fault any of the lads tonight, while Thomas (who scored 13 points) and Josh Bates (14 points) were simply superb guests.
“He may now be riding elsewhere, but Thomas is still part of the Scunthorpe family – that will never change, wherever he goes. We know he’ll always give 100% for us.
“Meanwhile, I have a good relationship with the Bates family, and Josh jumped at the chance of a guest booking for us, and likewise he put his absolute all into the meeting.”
Godfrey also clarified the situation in Heat 15.
“I selected Thomas & Michael for the race. But, at the last moment, I was told Michael wasn’t eligible, so I had to name another rider.
“So I named Lewis Kerr, even though he had no chance to make it out on time, but the extra time then allowed us to get Josh Bates out there for a reserve ride. It still gave us two competitive riders out there.
“I’ll be honest – I think it’s a rule we need to look at, because the team manager should be free to name the two riders that he wants.”
RYE HOUSE ROCKETS 48
1. Edward Kennett 3 2 3 3 3 (14)
2. Kasper Lykke 1 1* 2 1 (5+1)
3. Cameron Heeps 3 1 R 1 (5)
4. Leigh Lanham 0 0 2 F (2)
5. Stuart Robson 3 3 2 TX 1 (9)
6. Robert Branford 2* 1 R 1 3 (7+1)
7. Ben Morley 3 2* 1* 0 (6+2)
HENDERSON INSURANCE SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 45
1. Thomas Jorgensen (Guest) 2 6# 3 0 2 (13)
2. Michael Palm Toft 0 2* 3 1 (6+1)
3. Lewis Kerr 1* 2 2 2* MX (7+2)
4. Fritz Wallner 2 R 0 1* (3+1)
5. Ryan Douglas 1 R 1 (2)
6. Josh Bates (Guest) 1 3 3 3 2 2 0 (14)
7. Nathan Stoneman (Guest) 0 0 FX (0)
# = tactical ride
1: (Re-run) Kennett, Jorgensen, Lykke, Palm Toft, 57.8 (4-2) (4-2).
2: (Re-run) Morley, Branford, Bates, Stoneman, 58.8 (5-1) (9-3).
3: Heeps, Wallner, Kerr, Lanham, 58.2 (3-3) (12-6).
4: Robson, Morley, Douglas, Stoneman (fell, remounted), 58.2 (5-1) (17-7).
5: JORGENSEN (TR), Palm Toft, Heeps, Lanham, 58.0 (1-8) (18-15).
6: Bates, Kennett, Lykke, Douglas (ret), 58.0 (3-3) (21-18).
7: (Re-run) Robson, Kerr, Branford, Wallner (ret), 57.5 (4-2) (25-20).
8: (Re-run twice) Palm Toft, Lykke, Morley, Stoneman (fell, excluded), 57.3 (3-3) (28-23).
9: Bates, Lanham, Douglas, Heeps (ret), 57.8 (2-4) (30-27).
10: (Re-run) Kennett, Kerr, Lykke, Wallner, 57.5 (4-2) (34-29).
11: (Re-run) Jorgensen, Robson, Palm Toft, Branford (ret), 57.3 (2-4) (36-33).
12: Bates, Kerr, Heeps, Morley, 58.4 (1-5) (37-38).
13: (Re-run) Kennett, Bates, Branford, Jorgensen, 57.4 (4-2) (41-40).
14: Branford, Bates, Wallner, Lanham (fell), 58.1 (3-3) (44-43).
15: Kennett, Jorgensen, Robson, Bates, Kerr (excluded, two minutes), 57.8 (4-2) (48-45).
