Super Scorpions snatch it after grandstand finish
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 46 SHEFFIELD TIGERS 44 (CHAMPIONSHIP)
JOSH AUTY and Jake Allen were the last-heat heroes, as Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions produced a comeback from the dead worthy of Lazarus, as they grabbed a marvelous 46-44 victory over local rivals Sheffield Tigers, in a thrilling conclusion at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).
Scorpions led the match just once – after the conclusion of the final race!
Sheffield may be bottom of the league, but they came to Scunthorpe determined to grab a victory, to avoid the wooden spoon.
With new signing Kasper Andersen looking a real prospect, Tigers stormed into a six-point lead after two races and then led 28-20.
Allen and Jason Garrity hit back with a 5-1 in Heat 9, but after a tapes infringement by Garrity, Tigers took a 5-1 from Heat 12 and led 40-32 with just three races remaining.
Josh Auty and Steve Worrall stormed to a 5-1 in Heat 13 to cut Scorpions’ deficit to four points.
Heat 14 saw the fourth win of the evening for Allen, while Gino Manzares put an otherwise indifferent night behind him to grab a crucial third place from Broc Nicol, by passing his fellow American on the second lap.
With Scorpions still trailing by two points heading into the decisive Heat 15, Allen made a terrific start from the outside gate, but Todd Kurtz pushed through on the inside on the opening lap to take the lead.
All four riders were almost together on track, and Allen was momentarily pegged back to fourth for a few moments on the fourth bend, before regaining third from Andersen.
Auty swooped inside Kurtz on third lap, to become the third leader of the race, while Allen started to get tantalisingly close to the inside of his fellow Australian. On the final lap, Allen finally got past Kurtz and then held him off on the run-in to the chequered flag, as Scorpions snatched the verdict in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Allen (with from 15+1 from six rides) and Auty (14 from five rides) led the charge, with both showing fine form on their return from respective injuries.
Speaking post-meeting, Jake Allen said: “In that final race, I made the start off gate 4, but they beat me in the run to the dirt, so I had to cut back and make sure I was running where no-one was in front of me.
“I was trying to make the inside work. The first time I went there, I noticed a fresh little piece of dirt, and after that, I was trying to clip that each time and every lap I got closer and closer and I just did enough to pass Todd Kurtz and then keep him back on the run to the line, to get the 5-1 with Josh (Auty) that we needed.
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves early on, with Sheffield taking a couple of heat advantages to get out in front.
“But we all dug deep and did our job, and got just there in the end, so it’s happy days.
“I’ve only been out of action for a week, but it took me with a couple of races to get back into the gist of things.
“I felt fine, although I’m a little sore now, but that’s to be expected. I’ve got the weekend off, and then I’ll be ready for a busy week with both Scunthorpe and Somerset next week.”
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We put a mountain in front of ourselves. Not for the first time, we made silly mistakes. I hope we’ve learnt from that prior ready for next week, when every point will count.
“We never led until the last heat, well until the last corner really!
“There’s a healthy rivalry between the two clubs, but I’m also good friends with the Sheffield management, so I’m sorry that it looks likely that they will finish bottom of the league this season.
“But we needed a result ourselves, to banish any chances we had of the wooden spoon. After so much promise at the start of the season, I didn’t want that.
“I was sure Josh and Jake were going to get the result in the last race. But after a lap, they weren’t were I expected them to be, and they had to do it from behind.
“We did it the hard way, but it was one of those meetings, where if Carlsberg did speedway meetings, they’d do it like that! The euphoria comes when you get the result in Heat 15 and snatch it 46-44.
“After the disappointment of last week, we need that – I’m very pleased. It boosts everyone going into the meeting with Workington next week.”
SCUNTHORPE 46: Jake Allen 15+1, Josh Auty 14, Jason Garrity 8+1, Steve Worrall 6+1, Gino Manzares 3, Danny Phillips 0, Stefan Nielsen r/r.
SHEFFIELD 44: Kasper Andersen 9+2, Todd Kurtz 9+1, Connor Mountain 8+2, Charles Wright 6+1, Broc Nicol 6+1, Kyle Howarth 6, James Shanes r/r.
PHOTO: Decisive moment, as Jake Allen works his way inside Todd Kurtz on the final lap of Heat 15, to join Josh Auty for a match-winning 5-1.