Five-nils cost battling Scorpions

NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 49 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 39 (LEAGUE CUP)

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions completed their League Cup fixtures with a battling 39-49 defeat at Newcastle last night (Easter Sunday), to end a run of three successive wins. The difference between the teams were two 5-0 race results to Newcastle in an incident-packed meeting.

The Diamonds took an early 11-7 lead, but the Scorpions then took three successive 4-2 heat advantages between Heats 4 & 6, with Josh Auty (twice) and David Howe taking race wins, to edge 19-17 ahead.

Newcastle levelled the scores in Heat 7, but Ryan Douglas and Howe took a 4-2 in Heat 8 to move Scunthorpe back ahead. A 3-3 in Heat 9 took the score to Newcastle 26 Scunthorpe 28.

However, disaster struck in Heat 10. Thomas Jorgensen (pictured) was involved in a first bend incident, receiving a knock with resulted in his rear chain coming off and being caught on the sprocket. Jorgensen was unable to move his bike off the track and signalled to the referee to stop the race.

Unfortunately both the Newcastle fans and the referee believed that the Dane had intentionally left his machine on the track, and Jorgensen was fined £250 for ungentlemanly conduct, as well as gaining a debateable exclusion from what had looked like a first bend incident. With Ryan Douglas suffering a subsequent fall, the Diamonds took a 5-0.

Another 5-0 followed in Heat 12, with Douglas excluded for a fall and Jorgensen picking up a questionable exclusion after Lewis Rose fell in a first bend incident.

Newcastle tied up the meeting with a 5-1 in Heat 13, before Douglas & Ashley Birks scored a consolation 5-1 in Heat 14. The final margin of victory for the Diamonds was ten points – the ten points gained from the two 5-0 race results.

Speaking after the meeting, Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “We were doing well until the first 5-0 against us in Heat 10.

“David Howe put in a real battling performance tonight, fighting for his points, while Josh Auty put some decent starts together.

“Ryan Douglas deserved a higher points tally. I was going to put Ryan in Heat 15, alongside David, but Ryan’s shoulder was starting to stiffen up. It had popped out and in, during his fall in Heat 12. Ryan had a rough night. He’s a bit sore, but he’ll be fine for Ipswich on Thursday night.

“I prefer not to comment about the refereeing decisions, apart to say I thought some of the decisions given both ways were questionable.

“It’s not hard to see it would have been very close without the two 5-0s. We matched the Diamonds in the other 13 races.”

NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 49
1. Ludvig Lindgren 3 2 3 3 R (11)
2. Christian Henry TX FX 2 2* (4+1)
3. Stuart Robson 3 2 3 3 3 (14)
4. Lewis Kerr 0 0 FX 0 (0)
5. Anton Rosen 2 3 3 2* (10+1)
6. Chris Schramm 0 3 1 1 1 (6)
7. Lewis Rose 2* F 0 2* (4+2)

FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 39
1. Aaron Summers 1* 1 FX 0 1* (3+2)
2. David Howe 2 3 1 2 2 (10)
3. Thomas Jorgensen 2 2 FX FX (4)
4. Ashley Birks 1* R 2* (3+2)
5. Josh Auty 3 3 2 1 (9)
6. Matt Williamson 0 1 1* (2+1)
7. Ryan Douglas 1 1 3 FX FX 3 (8)

1: (Re-run) Lindgren. Howe, Summers, Schramm, Henry (excluded, tape touching), 63.0 (3-3) (3-3).
2: Schramm, Rose, Douglas, Williamson, 65.7 (5-1) (8-4).
3: Robson, Jorgensen, Birks, Kerr, 64.7 (3-3) (11-7).
4: (Re-run) Auty, Rosen, Douglas, Rose (fell), 66.0 (2-4) (13-11).
5: Howe, Robson, Summers, Kerr, 65.3 (2-4) (15-15).
6: (Re-run) Auty, Lindgren, Williamson, Henry (fell, excluded), 64.9 (2-4) (17-19).
7: Rosen, Jorgensen, Schramm, Birks (ret), 65.00 (4-2) (21-21).
8: (Re-run) Douglas, Henry, Howe, Rose, 66.10 (2-4) (23-25).
9: (Re-run twice) Robson, Auty, Williamson, Kerr (fell, excluded), 64.3 (3-3) (26-28).
10: (Re-run twice) Lindgren, Henry, Douglas (fell, excluded), Jorgensen (excluded), awarded – no time (5-0) (31-28).
11: Rosen, Howe, Schramm, Summers (fell, excluded), awarded – no time (4-2) (35-30). 12: (Re-run three times) Robson, Rose, Jorgensen (excluded), Douglas (fell, excluded), 66.3 (5-0) (40-30).
13: Lindgren, Rosen, Auty, Summers, 66.3 (5-1) (45-31).
14: Douglas, Birks, Schramm, Kerr, 66.7 (1-5) (46-36).
15: Robson, Howe, Summers, Lindgren (ret), 63.70 (3-3) (49-39).