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WOLVERHAMPTON WOLVES 50 - EASTBOURNE EAGLES 42 |
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Mon 6 Jul 2009
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| Posted by
Jenni thanks to Elite Eagles website. |
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Another great night for Cam 11points.
Eastbourne Eagles staged a frantic last ditch effort and a stunning fight back to claim an Elite League point from their ‘B’ fixture at Wolverhampton’s Monmore Green stadium but unfortunately for them it was to prove just in vain as they went down to an 8-point 50-42 defeat to the title chasing Wolves.
The Sussex side were trailing by 14-points (41-27) and looked to be well out of contention with just four races remaining but a brace of 5-1’s from top scorer Davey Watt and rejuvenated reserve Simon Gustafsson in heats 12 and 14 and a last gasp 4-2 as Watt ended Grand Prix star Fredrik Lindgren’s maximum hopes in the last, the Eagles skipper handing out a rare Monmore defeat to the dominant Swede.
Those three heats alone saw them claw back 10-points on their hosts in a relatively short space of time however it was the maximum 5-1 garnered for Wolves by Lindgren and fellow countryman Peter Karlsson in between in heat 13 that effectively administered the final blow to their hopes, saw Wolves claim the full 3-points on offer and Eastbourne just miss out on some reward by just 2 race points.
Inevitably, the visitors will view the nightmarish performance endured by number one Lewis Bridger whose single point across the evening contributed little to their chances of pulling off a shock win. Equally Gustafsson suffered with machinery problems in the first instance and then a time exclusion that clearly hampered his progress, a fighting third place behind Lindgren and Nicolai Klindt in the sixth as the Eagles slipped those 14-points in arrears (25-11) gave a glimpse of what was to come but thereafter a runaway victory in the eighth, a 4-2 shared with the wholly impressive Cameron Woodward and then those two late 5-1’s when teamed with Watt almost snatched some reward for the visitors.
It remains anybody’s guess what might have happened had Bridger demonstrated his more usual Monmore Green form, the circuit widely regarded as one of his favourites and had Gustafsson started the meeting had he finished it.
With rain falling in the area for much of the day, the meeting must have been held in some doubt effectively right up to start time and in20truth had the SKY Sports cameras not have been in attendance the match would probably have been called off in the early part of the afternoon.
With rain continuing to fall the riders lined up at the tapes for the start of heat one, however they were quickly called back to orders, a malfunction with the starting gate being cited, all four competitors leaving the traps seemingly at different times, as the cause of the restart.
At the second time of asking the sun seemed to come out momentarily for the visitors, Woodward leaving the tapes the fastest with home hero Lindgren in hot pursuit. It wasn’t too long before the clouds gathered once more however, the Wolves rider forcing a way past the Australian at the start of lap two and with Bridger seemingly far from happy with the conditions he pulled off the track to leave Klindt to ride unchallenged for third place and an opening Wolves 4-2.
They were to double their lead in heat two, another race to be called back under starter’s orders, this time with Eagles reserve Gustafsson receiving a public warning to remain stationary at the tapes. The visitors had initially led the first running in the 5-1 position but as the riders charged away for the second time the boot was certainly on the other foot, Ty Proctor leading the pack from partner Hynek Stichauer with the Eastbourne duo bringing up the rear. That was soon to change however, the Czech Republican moving wide on bends three and four allowing Gustafsson and Ricky Kling to sweep through on his inside. A 3-3 appeared the bolt on result as the race moved towards a conclusion but the final sting in the tail came as Gustafsson’s machine failed him coming down the back straight thus gifting Stichauer the point.
The Sussex fans had a moment to cheer in race three however, skipper Watt enjoying a runaway win ahead of Adam Skornicki, the man who guested in his place at Arlington two days previously, however with Kl ing unable to gain any ground on Tai Woffinden for third place, the spoils remained shared, the scores moving to 11-7 in Wolves favour.
Karlsson was an all the way winner of the fourth race, Eagles Lukas Dryml seemingly set for second place. The final bend was destined to see the Eagle lose his shape, Proctor proving sufficiently alert to sneak through on his inside to snatch the 5-1 that extended the home lead to 8-points, the progressive scores standing at 16-8. Indeed heat four was again to see Gustafsson fall foul of officialdom, the young Swede being disqualified having failed to beat the two minute time allowance. With Kling having already been replaced, the Eagles had little choice but to go from 15 metres back, a handicap he seldom appeared likely to recover from.
Race five and a slice more ill fortune for the Sussex side, Bridger taking a tumble on the final turn of lap one while giving chase to and clipping the back wheel of arch rival Woffinden. The heat continued, Bridger despite having apparently taken a knock quickly wheeled his machine from the circuit, Woffinden completing the course to take the three points with Woodward in pursuit ahead of Skornicki , however the Wolves 4-2, their third of the night so far stretched the advantage further to double points, 20-10 progressively.
The lights dimmed further for the Sussex side in the next, Lindgren romping to his third win with side kick Klindt in close attendance ahead of the hard chasing Gustafsson, the second maximum win to the home side in the space of three races putting further daylight between the sides, 14-points now the difference, 25-11 the overall scores.
The Eagles did at least achieve a measure of success over the course of the next two heats, the seventh being awarded but nevertheless witnessing an impressive victory for Dryml at the expense of Karlsson. The race was brought to a premature halt, Stichauer experiencing some difficulties which saw both he and tactical rider Watt come to grief on the final bend of lap three. With Watt handed 2-points for third place the resultant 5-2 narrowed the margin to 27-16 and then with Gustafsson taking heat eight at a canter from Klindt for a further 4-2, suddenly the Eagles were only 9-points (29-20) adrift. Once again the race had been the subject of a rerun, Proctor being warned to remain still at the start by referee Barbara Horley. Indeed the young Australian must have taken her20edict a little too literally and as the tapes rose for the second time, he remained on the grid, a snapped chain being responsible for his plight.
Wolverhampton redressed the balance almost immediately however, Dryml being excluded following a fall in the ninth, the rerun seeing Woffinden and Skornicki combine for a comfortable 5-1 at the expense of Kling, a 13-point margin now being established, the scores moving to 34-21.
Lindgren was untroubled as the winner of heat ten, Watt tracking him every step of the way, but a further tactical ride, this time for Woodward proffered a further heat advantage for the Eagles his third place in another awarded race, Klindt proving a faller in the latter part being sufficient to earn them a 4-3.
Again the Wolves hit back, this time with a 4-2 of their own, Karlsson breezing to his second win, Woodward remaining hot on his heels, the nightmare continued for Bridger however, once again a rerun having been required as the Eagle collided with his Australian team mate on bends one and two bringing the pair of them down and earning Bridger an inevitable disqualification.
That took the scores to 41-27 and it looked very much to be a case of lights out for the Sussex side, however it was at that point that the Eagles and Watt and Gustafsson in particularly stepped up to the plate and launched a final offensive to snatch a late point. Sadly for them their efforts were to prove just in vain, the Wolves claiming the 8-point win to keep up the pressure on the Swindon Robins (50-40 winners away to the Belle Vue Aces earning them 4-points the same evening) at the head of the Elite League table.
Scorers :
Wolves : Fredrik Lindgren 13+1(5), Peter Karlsson 11(4), Tai Woffinden 8+1(5), Adam Skornicki 6+1(4), Nicolai Klindt 5+1(4), Ty Proctor 5+1(4), Hynek Stichauer 2(4). – 50
Eagles : Davey Watt 15+1(6), Cameron Woodward 10+1(6), Simon Gustafsson 9+1(6), Lukas Dryml 4(5), Ricky Kling 3(3), Lewis Bridger 1(4), Rider Replacement for David Norris. – 42 |
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