Scorpions triumph in topsy-turvy encounter

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49 NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 44 (LEAGUE CUP)

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions won their third successive meeting, after a 49-44 victory over the Newcastle Diamonds at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday afternoon (Good Friday).

Both teams played their part in a meeting where the scoreline went one way and then the other, with the Diamonds picking up a match point after a 5-1 in the final race. .Combined with Sheffield winning at Redcar, it means the end of the mathematical chances of either team qualifying for the semi-finals of the League Cup.

In a topsy-turvy meeting, the Scorpions strode into a 23-13 lead after six heats, with the pairing of Ashley Birks and Thomas Jorgensen posting two early 5-1s, and Ryan Douglas winning a hat-trick of races.

Heat 7 turned the meeting on its head, with Newcastle’s tactical ride Stuart Robson and Chris Schramm taking an 8-1 over Douglas and Josh Auty. Newcastle took the lead with a 5-1 in Heat 9 (although Ashley Birks was less than impressed a ruthless second bend by Anton Rosen), and an engine failure for Rosen prevented another 5-1 to the Diamonds in Heat 10.

Auty came to life with a superb pass to defeat Christian Henry in Heat 11, while Matt Williamson rode a great race to defeat Diamonds’ No 1 Ludvig Lindgren for third place, as the Scorpions edged back in front by a single point.

Auty burst from last to first on the opening lap in Heat 13, to join David Howe for a 5-1, and then Douglas and Birks took a match-winning 5-1 from an eventful Heat 14 that saw Nathan Greaves excluded for a fall and Schramm put back 15 metres for demolishing the starting tapes.

In Heat 15, Scunthorpe needed two points to clinch the third match point. Auty & Birks gave it their all, but were unable to overhaul Robson & Rosen, with a last lap dash by Auty just falling short.

Speaking after the meeting, Scunthorpe team manager Dave Peet said: “The meeting was slightly frustrating, to be honest. I thought we should have taken all three points.

“Newcastle put in a tactical ride in Heat 7. We thought we had that covered; on any other day, you expect Ryan and Josh to see that off, but Newcastle got an 8-1. They got a bit of momentum behind them, and we had to dig deep to save the meeting.

“We are getting it together, although perhaps it is slower than I expected. At least we are now winning meetings – but our home form must improve. We have to be taking three points from the home meetings.

“Rider replacement scored 8 paid 10 for us today, but I do think using R/R can take it out on man and machine.

“If you look down our scorecard, although we had five different heat winners today, everyone except Ryan also had a last place and Ryan was also on the wrong side of an 8-1. That inconsistency across the team cost us the third point. We need to show more consistency when it comes to our league meetings.”

Ryan Douglas, who has now scored 16+1 and 15 in the last two meetings at the Eddie Wright Raceway, said: “I’m really happy how I’ve started the year. I’m now getting double figures pretty much every week, which is great.

“The boys are now starting to click. Once we all hit top form together, I think we can be one of the strongest teams in the Premier League.

“I’m glad to be over here riding this season. I was a bit worried that I wasn’t going to get a visa at one point during the winter. But a big thank you to Rob (Godfrey) and Scunthorpe Speedway, they kept on plugging away and eventually got me my visa to be able to come over here.”

SCUNTHORPE 49: Ryan Douglas 15, Ashley Birks 10+2, Thomas Jorgensen 8+2, Josh Auty 8, David Howe 7+2, Matt Williamson 3, Anders Mellgren R/R
NEWCASTLE 44: Stuart Robson 15, Chris Schramm 9+3, Anton Rosen 9+1, Christian Henry 5, Ludvig Lindgren 4, Nathan Greaves 2+2, Lewis Kerr R/R

* Redcar’s Aaron Summers guests for the Scorpions in place of the injured Anders Mellgren in the return match at Newcastle tomorrow (Sunday) evening..