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EASTBOURNE EAGLES 54 – BELLE VUE ACES 42 |
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Sat 4 Apr 2009
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| Posted by
Thanks to Eagles Website |
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ELITE LEAGUE A MATCH : SATURDAY 4th APRIL 2009
Eastbourne Eagles began their home league campaign with a 54-42 win over Belle Vue, collecting three league points in the process.
The visiting team from Manchester threatened an upset in the early stages of the meeting and were 10-8 ahead after three heats.
But the home side kept their nerve and began building up a lead they were not to lose.
Star man for the home side was Lewis Bridger with 13 points. He got better as the meeting progressed and won the last race of the night with a stunning victory over Krzysztof Kasprzak. Up to that point his rival was unbeaten and had looked unbeatable.
Backing Bridger all the way was Simon Gustafsson with ten points from the reserve berth and captain Davey Watt, also with ten points.
Polish rider Kasprzak immediately showed his liking for Arlington by passing Norris to win the opening heat. At the back the Eagles’ captain Davey Watt became involved in a big battle with James Wright before getting the third place point.
Patrick Hougaard kept the momentum rolling for the Aces with a tidy win in heat two but with his partner in last place it was another drawn heat.
Belle Vue took an early lead when Charlie Gjedde streaked to a tapes to flag win in heat three. Bridger was unable to get on terms and with Cameron Woodward falling when under pressure from Henning Bager on lap two, the resulting 4-2 win gave the visitors a 10-8 lead.
Simon Gustafsson and Lukas Dryml steadied the home fans’ nerves with a 5-1 win in the fourth race. Gustafsson was the runaway winner and with Dryml in tow as the lead changed hands.
Kasprzak fired in another fast time to win heat five. He swept around Lewis Bridger on the first two turns to streak off into the distance. But with team-mate Wright running another last, the gap remained at two points.
Eastbourne cashed in on the weak Ostergaard/Boxall partnership in heat six to stretch their lead to six points with a well-taken 5-1 from Watt and Norris.
Bager took another win for the Aces by passing Dryml early on and then Gjedde forced his way past Kling to give the Aces a 4-2 heat advantage.
Norris rolled back the years with a super win in heat eight and with reserve Gustafsson second the 5-1 heat win gave the Eagles an eight-point lead.
That lead was increased to 12 points as Bridger and Woodward shut out Ostergaard on the first corner of heat nine to take a second successive Eagles’ 5-1.
In the first race after the interval Watt and Norris were sitting on to a 5-1 until Gjedde forced his way inside Norris on the third corner of the third lap. Norris went flying into the safety fence and was excluded by referee Phil Griffin. Watt comfortably won the re-run.
The 3-3 result left the score at 36-24. As expected , Kasprzak took the black and white helmet colour as a tactical (double points) ride.
He duly collected six points with an easy win. However, Wright ran another last place and the damage was limited by the Eagles to 6-3 reverse.
Eastbourne immediately hit back with a 5-1 in heat 12. Bridger looked supreme as he rode to victory but Gustafsson had to work hard in the opening stages to fly around the outside on the two Aces to tuck into second place.
In heat 13 Kasprzak recorded a brilliant time of 55.4 to win the race. Watt pushed him early on but the Polish rider just pulled away to victory. But with Dryml third, the points were shared.
Belle Vue introduced Gjedde as a tactical ride in heat 14 in a bid to salvage a point.
Under speedway’s new scoring system, the Manchester club could still take a single point from the match, even though victory was beyond them.
Gjedde collected six points. Gustafsson kept in close contact but could not get on terms with the opposing captain.
The 6-3 to the Aces meant that if they scored a 5-1 in the final heat they would score a point – an early vindication of the change made by the promoters during the winter.
But the Eagles made no mistake. Bridger made a superb start and left Kasprzak trailing in his wake.
The young Eagle recorded a time of 55.6 – a wonderful time for the final race of the night. Watt rode a sensible race, staying in third place, just in case the wheels came off Bridger’s dash to victory.
Scorers:
Eagles: Lewis Bridger 13 (5), Simon Gustafsson 10 + 3 (5), Davey Watt 10 + 1 (5), Lukas Dryml 7 + 2 (4), David Norris 7 + 1 (4), Cameron Woodward 4 + 3 (4), Ricky Kling 3 +1 (3) – 54
Aces: Krzysztof Kasprzak 17 (5), Charlie Gjedde 12 (5), Henning Bager 6 + 1 (4), Patrick Hougaard 4, Ulrich Ostergaard 2, James Wright 1, Steve Boxall 0 – 42 |
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