Scorpions fall away in final stages

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions missed out on taking any points in a 39-53 Premier League defeat at Ipswich last night (Thursday).

The Scorpions were 9-3 behind after Heat 2, but stayed in contention throughout most of the meeting, without ever getting on level terms.

Matt Williamson was very close to winning Heat 2, but made brief contact with the safety fence on the final lap, and Ritchie Hawkins pipped him. Ryan Douglas fell while third in the same race.

The Scorpions twice closed to four points behind. A 4-2 from David Howe and Leigh Lanham in Heat 5 took the scoreline to 17-13 in favour of the Witches, and then a 5-1 in Heat 7 from Ashley Birks and Scunthorpe’s star turn, Dane Thomas Jorgensen, meant again the Scorpions were only four behind at 23-19.

A win from Jorgensen in Heat 10, with Birks fending off Richie Worrall in a fine battle for third place, meant the Scorpions went into the interval with a 27-33 deficit.

However, Ipswich pulled away after racing resumed. Scunthorpe team manager Dave Peet tried to stem the flow by nominating Jorgensen, previously unbeaten by an opponent, as a tactical rider in Heat 12. Douglas was excluded from the race, and then Morten Risager fended off Jorgensen’s early challenge in the re-run.

Fourteen points behind, the Scorpions needed two 5-1 from the final two races to snatch a league point. Douglas and Birks took one of those, but then it was the Witches who took maximum points from the final race.

Jorgensen finished as top-scorer for the Scorpions with a fine paid 14 tally, while Douglas – whose eventful evening included two wins and two falls – scored 9 points from seven races, including four successive outings in Heats 12 to 15.

Scorpions’ star Thomas Jorgensen said: “My gating was much better in tonight’s meeting. I seem to have got my old form back again. It hadn’t been a good start to the season at all for me until today.

“Although I made some good gates, I still think I didn’t have that much speed, especially as the meeting went on. I’m not sure if that’s because the track changed, or because the engine is getting a bit flat and needs a service; I’ll get that done.

“I nearly made it off gate 4 when I was on a tactical ride. Morten (Risager) just beat me into the turn. I made a mess of the third bend, it was slicker than I expected and my rear wheel drifted out; Ryan Douglas clipped my back wheel and fell. That was my fault really, but fortunately he was OK. In the re-run, I tried something different but Morten got to the dirt before me.

“But I am much happier than my performance tonight – it was good for me.”

IPSWICH 53: Rohan Tungate 12+1, Morten Risager 11, Richie Worrall 8+1, Gino Manzares 7+3, Cameron Heeps 6+2, Ritchie Hawkins 6, Adam Ellis 3+1.
SCUNTHORPE 39: Thomas Jorgensen 13+1, Ryan Douglas 9, Ashley Birks 6+1, David Howe 4, Josh Auty 3+1, Matt Williamson 2, Leigh Lanham 2.