|
|
|
|
|
|
ELITE LEAGUE A: SATURDAY 2ND MAY 2009 |
|
|
|
|
Sun 3 May 2009
|
| Posted by
jenni |
|
EASTBOURNE EAGLES 52 IPSWICH WITCHES 40
Eastbourne kept up their 100 per cent home record on Saturday (May 2) with a hard-fought victory over Ipswich.
The visitors went into the last race with an outside chance of going away with one league point but that hope was snuffed out by a 4-2 heat win by Eagles’ captain Davey Watt and veteran David Norris.
The home riders all scored well while Ipswich relied heavily on the efforts of Daniel King and Jaroslaw Hampel. They scored 25 of the visitor’s 40 points.
The victory again demonstrated the Eagles’ strength in depth and keeps the club in touch with the leaders at the top of the Elite League.
Eastbourne fell behind in the early stages but gained the upper hand when one of their riders took the chequered flag in eight successive heats. This opened up a sufficient gap for them to see off an Ipswich tactical ride and a late flurry from the Suffolk side.
Eastbourne went into the match without Lukas Dryml, riding for the Czech Republic in a World Cup match, and Simon Gustafsson, riding in the Swedish Under 21 championship.
They used the rider replacement rule to cover for Dryml and it netted nine points from his four programmed rides – three wins and a fall for Lewis Bridger in heat 13.
Chris Schramm made his debut for the Eagles to cover for Gustafsson, having signed as the club’s No 8 earlier in the week.
Schramm battled hard and was well worth his three third places.
Ipswich were missing Tobias Kroner and used rider replacement to cover his rides, garnering six points.
Hampel showed his liking for Arlington with a fast start in the first race. Home captain Davey Watt was all over his back wheel but the visiting number one held on for victory.
Chris Schramm marked his debut for the Eagles’ by falling coming out of the pits bend on the first lap of heat two. It was probably a case of trying too hard in a bid to make an instant impression.
His fellow Eastbourne reserve Ricky Kling was an easy winner but with the two Ipswich riders in second and third places, the overall score was tied at 6-6.
Ipswich grabbed the advantage in heat three with a 5-1 thanks to sharp starts by Daniel King and Dawid Stachyra. Home star Lewis Bridger struggled to get on terms after a sluggish getaway from the tapes with Cameron Woodward at the back.
Eastbourne immediately hit back with a 4-2. David Norris was the winner and early leader Schramm was eventually pegged back to third place by the Witches’ Piotr Swiderski.
The Bridger/Woodward combination quickly made up for their blip in heat three by taking a comfortable 5-1 over Hampel in heat five to give the Eagles the lead at 16-14 for the first time.
Eastbourne fired in another 5-1 in the next heat but were fortunate to get such an emphatic result.
Norris and Watt were early leaders but Swiderski swooped into second place when Watt made a slight mistake coming out of turn two on the second lap.
Swiderski then set about chasing Norris and closed up quickly but on the last lap fell as he tried to round the home rider.
Eastbourne fans gave him a cheer as he remounted to finish the race in fourth place – appreciation for the all-action effort of the Ipswich rider.
In the seventh race Woodward held off King for first place and Schramm resisted Leigh Lanham for third and the resulting 4-2 extended the home side’s lead to 25-17.
David Norris recorded his third win in four races in heat eight but Eastbourne could not add to their advantage with Kling in last place and not being able to get on terms with third placed Lanham.
Swiderski ground to a halt coming off the second bend of heat nine as he became tucked up behind Woodward. Bridger ran round near the fence into the lead and with Woodward in tow it was another comfortable 5-1 for the Eagles and an interval lead of 33-21.
Ipswich team manager Pete Simmons immediately used Daniel King as a tactical (double points) rider in heat ten.
It looked initially as if the move would fail. Watt and Norris made the start and were on a 5-1 until the fourth bend when Norris’s machine slipped away from him and he fell.
Norris managed to clear the track but once on the centre-green sank to his knees.
Watt won the race but with King second and Wilkinson third the visitors took a 5-3 and were still in with a chance of salvaging something from the match.
Watt took the chequered flag again in heat 11 but not without a huge fight. He stalked Hampel for virtually the whole race before going wide into the dirt on the last two bends to go round the Ipswich star for victory.
Stachyra was excluded from heat 12 when he fell as Schramm stormed inside him going into turn three of the first lap.
The Ipswich management contested the decision but referee Barbara Horley was unmoved.
In the re-run King made a fast state and Bridger could not get near.
And in heat 13 Bridger fell while desperately trying to make up ground on Hampel. The race was stopped and awarded as a 4-2 to Ipswich, making the overall score 46-36.
Eastbourne made a brave attempt to kill the match off and secure all three points in heat 14. Kling made a fast start and raced to victory. Woodward at one stage was in second place but was pegged back to third by the Ipswich rider King. Woodward bravely battled to try and get the important second place and at one time was on the brink of falling.
King held on leaving the overall socre at 48-38 meaning Ipswich could gain one league point if they gained a 5-1 in the final race of the night. But Watt was having none of it.
He won a fierce battle to turn one against Hampel and rode off to victory while Hampel was forced to deal with the ever-present threat of Norris on his back wheel while King ran his only last place of the night.
It meant another three points were in the bag for the Eagles.
Scorers:
Eagles:
Davey Watt 15+1 (6), David Norris 11+1 (6), Lewis Bridger 9 (5), Cameron Woodward 8+2 (5), Ricky Kling 6 (4), Chris Schramm 3+1 (4)
Witches:
Daniel King 14 (6),Jaroslaw Hampel 11 (5),Dawid Stachyra 5+2 (6), Carl Wilkinson 5+1 (4), Piotr Swiderski 3 (4), Leigh Lanham 2+2 (5).
|
|
|
|
|
|
