Josh Auty’s season could be over

WORKINGTON COMETS 54 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 35 (CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD, semi-final, second leg)
Workington win 99-80 on aggregate

HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions were eliminated at the semi-final stages of the Championship Shield last night (Saturday), after a 35-54 defeat at Workington’s Derwent Park, with the Comets completing a 19-point aggregate victory.

Scunthorpe were only two points down after five races, but two Scorpions then crashed out of the contest mid-meeting, Josh Auty in Heat 9 and Jason Garrity in Heat 10.

While Garrity is OK, the news is not as good on Josh Auty. He sustained further damage to an ankle injury, also sustained at Derwent Park, and could well be missing for the remainder of the season.

Any chance of Scorpions had of getting back into the contest disappeared with the double withdrawal. Steve Worrall (11) and Jake Allen (10+1) were left to do the bulk of the scoring for the visitors.

Speaking post-meeting, Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “Josh Auty hasn’t been completely right since he previously did his ankle, which also happened at Workington, although with Josh being Josh he’d still been getting out there and scoring the points.

“He’s now done further damage to the ankle. He’s gone off to have a MRI scan on it, but bearing on mind that we’re right towards the end of the season, it could well be the last that we see of Josh Auty in 2018, which would be a great shame because he’s been in great form for us this year.

“Even before Josh and Jason crashed out, we were already chasing the meeting, but Josh’s injury rubbed salt into the wound.

“Jake Allen was superb yet again – he took one ride to get the correct set up and then he was flying. Between them, he and Steve Worrall scored most of our points.

“My congratulations go to Workington on reaching the Championship Shield final, while our attentions switch to the Knockout Cup, where we just awaiting to see whether it’s Peterborough or Lakeside that we face in the semi-finals.”

WORKINGTON 54: Ben Barker 13+1, Rasmus Jensen 8, Ty Proctor 8, Nicolai Klindt 7+3, Mason Campton 7+2, Rene Bach 7+1, Kyle Bickley 4.
SCUNTHORPE 35: Steve Worrall 11, Jake Allen 10+1, Gino Manzares 5+1, Josh Auty 3, Danny Phillips 2+1, Stefan Nielsen 2, Jason Garrity 2.

* SCUNTHORPE-born Tai Woffinden took a major step towards his third World title, after winning the German Grand Prix in Teterow last night. He holds a healthy 10-point lead after nearest rival Bartosz Zmarzlik, with just a single round remaining, in Torun, Poland in a fortnight. The 28-year-old, who rode for Scorpions at the start of his professional career in 2006 and 2007, is on the verge of becoming the first-ever British triple champion.