Reports from the week ending 15 April 2012.
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Location: Southampton Cycle Speedway, Winchester Road
Event: 14 April 2012
Report: Graham Sutton
Poole picked up their first away points of the South Wales League season with a convincing local derby victory at Southampton on a cold and wet afternoon. The Saints relied heavily on former British champion Gavin Wheeler with other key senior riders unavailable and their younger riders battled gamely to support him despite the elements and the strength of the opposition. Every Poole rider performed well and seven of the team won at least one race with Greg Gluchowski lowering the colours of Wheeler on two occasions.
Result
Southampton 71: Gavin Wheeler 17+1, Hayden Chant 15, Pete Chant 10+1, James Colling 8+1, Ben Turner 8, Ethan Day-Lewis 8, Connor Wilson 3, Lewis Wilson 2.
Poole 107: Greg Gluchowski 17+3, Sam Hearn 17+2, Arron Smith 16, Ben Donohue 15+2, Luke Armes 15+2, Arron Morgan 15+1, Dave Oddie 7, Jay Briggs 5.
Referee - Mike Legge
Division 2 result
Southampton 53: Pete Chant 14, Ben Turner 12, James Colling 11, Connor Wilson 7, Lewis Wilson 6, Ashley Wilson 4.
Poole 65: Alex Lane 15, Jay Briggs 13+1, Callum Albin 12+1, Dave Oddie 12+1, Callum Smith 6+1, Shane Hanmer 4, Niall Instone 3.
Conference League result
Southampton 53: Hayden Chant 15, Ethan Day-Lewis 12+1, Connor Wilson 10+2, James Colling 8, Lewis Wilson 4, Ashley Wilson 4.
Poole 67: Callum Albin 15, Alex Lane 13+2, Shane Hanmer 11+1, Jay Briggs 10+1, Callum Smith 7+1, Aaron Smith 6+1, Niall Instone 5.
S&SW Regional League - Poole v East Newport | South/South Wales League
Location - Harbourside Park, Dorset
Event 15 April 2012
Report: Graham Sutton
Images: John Burge
Depleted East Newport fought bravely but were no match for a full strength seaview line-up, meaning for the second day running Poole scooped all the South Wales League points in a somewhat one sided affair.
Sam Hearne started off with a tapes exclusion and then returned four excellent unbeaten rides, a return exactly matched by Wil Bristowe who saved up his tapes error until his last ride. Team colleagues Pete Young, Arron Morgan and Aaron Smith were also unbeaten while Leyton Glover returned to action with a couple of impressive races. The Welsh club relied upon the experience of Neil Power and Rob Absolum and the talented Dan Bock to front their attack but sorely missed the services of several first team regulars. Despite the cold wind a good crowd enjoyed some lively races.
Result
Poole 111: Arron Morgan 18+2, Ben Donohue 15+2, Wil Bristowe 15+1, Sam Hearne 15+1, Pete Young 13+3, Luke Armes 13+1, Arron Smith 12, Leyton Glover 10+2.
East Newport 66: Neil Power 12+1, Josh Davis 12, Dan Bock 11+2, Matthew Davis 10+1, Rob Absolum 9+1, Adam Bennett 7, Ieuan Payne 3, Jason Cutler 2.
Referee - Robin Spicer
Conference League
There was some excellent racing in the under 16s match with Callum Albin leading the young Poole team to victory while Adam Bennett and Callum Smith featured in the race of the day in heat 7 with the East Newport rider just getting the verdict on the line.
Result
Poole 66: Callum Albin 14+2, Jay Briggs 13+2, Callum Smith 9, Alex Lane 7+1, Niall Instone 7, Shane Hanmer 6, Kristina Mines 5, Kayleigh Stiggants 5.
East Newport 48: Adam Bennett 14, Jason Cutler 13, Ieuan Payne 8+3, Dan Wright 8, Jamie Lee-Waters 5.
SE Division 1 - Hethersett v East London | South East League Div 2, South East League 1
Location: Hethersett Cycle Speedway Memorial Playing Fields
Event: 15 April 2012
Hethesrett Hawks secured their first division 1 win of the season by defeating East London. The Hawks rode tactically well early in the match, Dave Martin and Lee Grange scoring a 7-3 win in heat 7. An interval lead of 14 points saw them coasting to victory but they only won one heat in the second-half and two late East London 7-3 wins almost made them pay until man of the match Nick Myhill and Leigh Cossey shared the points in the last heat. Phil Adams notched three wins and Scott Grimes rode well coming into the team.
Result
Hethersett 92: Nick Myhill 19, Phil Adams 15, Lee Grange 14, Dave Martin 14, Leigh Cossey 10, Ben Collins 10, Scott Grimes 6, Oliver Buxton 4, Harley Hamill 0.
East London 87: Lee Galley 19, Denis Hubble 16, Toby Millen 14, Les Stevens 11, Nicky Gunkel 8, Neil Lester 7, Steve Woodroof 6, Steve Myhill 6.
Referees - Nicky Gunkel, Lee Grange, Phil Adams
Division 2
East London got some consolation by winning the division 2 match despite giving away 15 points for using a first-team restricted rider. They had far too much experience for the Hawks, particularly the Steve Woodroof/Les Stevens pairing who scored three 7-3 wins. Hethersett won just three races including two 6-4 wins in the last two heats to make the score more respectable.
Result
Hethersett B (69+15) 84: Axl Johnson 13, Oliver Buxton 12, Harley Hamill 11, Scott Grimes 9, Calvin Grimes 9, Roger Carter 7, Tiffany Collins 7, Mel Perkins 1.
East London B 90: Nicky Gunkel 20, Les Stevens 17, Steve Myhill 17, Steve Woodroof 16, Neil Lester 13, Kevin Smith 7.
U10s
In the first South-East U10 League match at Eaton Park Hethersett finished fourth thanks mainly to a terrific performance from Tyler Matthews who won three races, two with well thought out passes. 8-year-old Giles Awbery gave an encouraging debut in a Hawks' shirt.
Result
Kesgrave II 52, Kesgrave I 52, Ipswich 36, Hethersett 33, Norwich 23.
U14s
In the U14 League match that followed Hethersett were hit by Easter holidays and only Ayrin Larter was available to battle away gamely on her own.
Result
Ipswich 59, Kesgrave II 54, Norwich 49, Kesgrave I 41, North Park 25, Hethersett 7, Somersham Ns.
Northern League - Bury v Stockport | Northern League
Location: Bury Cycle Speedway, Goshen Sports Centre, Bury
Event: 15 April 2012
A good sized crowd gathered at Goshen on a perfect day for racing, the recent rain had left a surface made for exciting cycle speedway.
The spectators were not disappointed as both sides produced racing of excellent quality, exclusions and tension in a close fought match which Bury won 91-86. Heat 1 saw Chris Parish race away from northern legend Terry Norman who, once realised Chris was away, rode expertly to guide his young team partner for a five all. Disaster followed in heat 2 for Bury, whilst sat in second place, Scranage lost his wheel on the pit bend resulting in him falling and gifting Stockport a 7-3.
Heat 3 saw Whitaker then saw his seat break while setting up on the start, so on borrowed machinery he battled hard to hold off a strong challenge from Jack Lush and Jake Read for a shared heat.
Bury brought the scores level in heat 5 with a 7-3, which Stockport then reversed in the following heat with great riding from Radcliffe and Higham.
Shared heats followed up until heat 9 in which Whitaker was excluded, while leading a hard chasing Radcliffe with Dylan trying the inside pass, Whitaker closed the gap and brought Doyle round for a 7-3, a lap later realising that he had been excluded for slowing down and impeding the hard chasing Stockport youngster. This race left Stockport leading 47-42 at the half way stage.
A determined Bury regrouped and planned the programme changes to perfection, with reserves Scranage and Doyle racing superbly. Bury immediately closed the gap with heat wins in 10 and 11. Heat 12 saw a lightning fast gate by Parish over Radcliffe to race away for a shared heat. Shared heats followed until heat 15 when Bury duo of Howarth and Scranage hammered in a 7-3 at a key time.
Stockport were probably hopeful of a score in 16, with Higham and Norman off insides to Whitaker and Renc. A good start from Higham saw Whitaker change tactics to drift Norman on turn one, a move which saw Polish rider Renc through to chase the lead. Norman then drove hard inside Whitaker with the Bury rider using his track knowledge to pull back at the right moment, causing Norman to slip off whilst defending his line on the pit bend allowing Whitaker to pass for a five all.
Bury now had a five point lead with two races to go and had the flying Chris Parish off insides in heat 17 who did his job and left Radcliffe and Read behind to secure the race win that barring a disaster would see Bury win the match. Only exclusions would save Stockport but with Scranage and Howarth out for Bury. An assured pairing were never in doubt and happily followed Lush home resulting in a fantastic victory against a very good Stockport side that missed Matt Lush through injury.
Great credit to both sides for a great match and Bury showing with a full team what is possible with Irish star Tom Doyle jetting in from Spain riding well in his first match of the season. Stockport continue to impress with the excellent squad of young fit riders, Terry Norman providing the calm experience and despite losing today, anyone finishing above them in the league in October will be champions as they are the team to beat.
Bury also won the combination match 91-58 to carry on the winning start to the season for the Comets.
Dyson was unbeaten by an opponent and had excellent support from Joe Allen and Will Owens, with all three unlucky to be over looked for the first team.
South East Region Division 1 - Ipswich v Great Blakenham | South East League Div 1, South East League Div 2
Location: Ipswich Cycle Speedway, Whitton Sports & Community Centre
Event: 15 April 2012
Ipswich went into this fixture hoping to continue their good start to the season against local rivals Great Blakenham who themselves were looking to bounce back after their
shock defeat at the hands of East London.
A win for Ipswich would open up a four point cushion over their opponents, likewise Blakenham knew a victory for them would put them right back in contention even at this early stage of the season. Ipswich's plans were throw in to chaos with late withdrawals to the team which meant a reshuffle to the team with 14-year-old Matt Hill being called in at the last moment so that the hosts could field eight riders. Their opponents looked at full strength with Phil Howells coming for his first match of the season.
It was the away team that who dominated right from the start and would continue to do so
throughout the meeting only dropping two heats all afternoon as the hosts had no answer to Blakenham's big guns with Jason Ashford the stand out rider of the afternoon turning the clock back with some impressive riding and leadership which their hosts seemed to lack in fact the home team looked very flat all afternoon.
Jamie Chittock was the only home rider to look anywhere near his best with a good 15 point haul claiming five seconds and young Matthew Hill did well to score seven plus two from reserve against such strong opposition. This will surely only served to be a wake-up call for the Ipswich lads who have been in good form that they can't take their eye off the prize.
After match discussions were held with every rider allowed to have their say on
where they can improved and go forward from here before we lock horns again with Poole Comets up next in the Elite League. Ipswich will need to lick their wounds quickly and be ready to put things right.
Thanks must go to Richard Hunt for refereeing this afternoon and thank you for his efforts on controlling what could have been an explosive match. Ipswich can have no arguments on the final outcome - Great Blakenham were worthy winners and looked the more solid and hungry out of the two teams .
Result
Ipswich 81: Chittock 15, Roberts 13, Pike 11, Mower 10, Williamson 10, Stant 9, M.Hill 7, A.Hill 6.
Gt. Blakenham 95: Ashford 20, L.Osborne 18, C.Osborne 14 , Howells 14, Peck 14, Slaughter 7, Pyke 4, Jennings 4.
Division 2
Defending champions Ipswich were looking to get back to winning ways this afternoon with the visit of Great Blakenham. Team manager Tony Stant gave a first start to young Jack Chaplin at reserve to give him some experience in team riding and to in his development
as a cycle speedway rider.
Ipswich had pretty much a full strength team to call upon The home side wasted no time in setting the standard that they are accustom to by winning six of the first eight heats.
In fact they weren't to drop a heat all afternoon with only four of the sixteen heats being shared. To their credit Blakenham never dropped their heads and raced every heat to the best of their ability but the biggest cheer came in heat five where at first Terry Gilbert - Rolfe threw a chain on the second lap, only for moments later going into the third lap Sam Turland suffered the same leaving the two to scoot the final lap much to everyone else's amusement - Sam just holding off Terry to secure a shared heat.
Pick of the Ipswich riders was Fraser Harris and Jack Chaplin with Fraser looking better each time he goes out and Jack can be pleased with his errors with two race wins and one particular inside pass to secure a 7-3 with partner Lauren Jacobs who along with Daniel Knights gave solid displays.
Result
Ipswich 101: Dan Knights 16, Lauren Jacobs 16, Fraser Harris 14, Charlie Rumbold 13,
Matthew Hill 13, Jack Chaplin 10, Terry Gilbert - Rolfe 9, Will Clark 9.
Great Blakenham 57: Will Jennings 14, Jonjo Slaughter 10, Sam Turland 9, Sam Broom 7,
Ray Pyke 7, Gavin Whitehouse 6, Terry Ashford 4.
Referee - Dave Hill (Suffolk).
Northern League - Sheffield v Hull | Northern League
Location: Sheffield Cycle Speedway, Sheffield
Event: 15 April 2012
Sheffield and Hull fought out a classic 'match of two halves' Northern League fixture at a bright but cold Cookson Park circuit.
Sheffield were fast out of the tapes with an opening heat one two from Luke Morton and Aiden Owen with Radek Handke teaming up with Louis German for a home 6-4 in heat two. The visitors momentarily stemmed the tide but Mick Knowles/Aiden Owen took maximum points from heat 5 to extend Sheffield's lead to 10 points. This was further increased to 14 points thanks to good team riding from Radek Handke to shepherd Louis German to a heat 8 maximum and a healthy interval lead. All of the Sheffield side was contributing to their score while only Ben Swanborough's heat 4 win aided the efforts of Andy Angell and Adam Stephenson for Hull.
With the exultations of British champion Angell still ringing in their ears Hull started the second half brightly with a win for Rich Pawson and a 6-4 advantage to Andy Angell/Ian Swanborough. The visitors made further inroads when Andy Angell team rode David Cooper to a 7-3 win in heat 14 but Sheffield restored their 10 point advantage in heat 15 via Radek Handke/Andy Blackburn.
This looked a comfortable lead with three races left but heat 16 was the most incident packed of the day as first Sheffield's Liam Webster fell when in a good second place then team mate Aiden Owen was controversially excluded after forcing Ben Swanborough wide on the final bend to give Hull a 7-2. Then Adam Stephenson team rode with Ian Swanborough to a penultimate heat 7-3 and for the second match running Hull pairing Andy Angell/Lewis Aylmer needed to win the final heat to take the points. Sheffield's top scorer Radek Handke had other ideas and sped away from gate one to hold off Andy Angell with Kyle Holland taking third to give the home side a deserved 91 points to 88 victory.
Sheffield only provided six heat winners to Hull's 12 but packed the middle order and Radek was well backed by Aiden Owen and surprise package Luke Morton. Hull relied heavily on Adam Stephenson and Andy Angell with Ben Swanborough looking a real prospect and the rest of the side responding to a second half revival.
Result
Sheffield 91: Radek Handke 18+1, Luke Morton 14+1, Liam Webster 13+1, Aiden Owen 11+3, Kyle Holland 11+3, Louis German 10, Mick Knowles 9 , Andy Blackburn 5+2.
Hull 88: Adam Stephenson 18+1, Andy Angell 18+1, Ben Swanborough 16, Rich Pawson 10+1, David Cooper 10, Ian Swanborough 9, Lewis Aylmer 6, Andy Cooper 1.
Combination match
The days racing had begun with a combination match between the Sheffield Rockets and a very young looking Hull side. Sheffield dominated the racing as expected, despite the sporting racing of the home sides Rob Mace. The visitors only race wins came from Andy Cooper in heats 8 and 15 and brother David from a reserve berth in heat 11. There was, however, much to admire in Sheffield's mainly young side for whom Ed Morton, Andy Blackburn and Rob Mawhood were unbeaten and in the determination of Hull riders such as Katie Greaves and Harvey Southcoat.
Result
Sheffield Rockets 93: Ed Morton 19+1, Andy Blackburn 15+1, Niall Morton 13+2, Lindon German 12+1, Rob Mawhood 10+2, Rob Mace 10+1, James Unwin 8+1, Chris Bingham 6+1.
Hull 57: Andy Cooper 10, Rob Stockton Garner 10, Katie Greaves 10, Charlie Wade 9, Harvey Southcoat 7+1, David Cooper 6, Fynley Southcoat 5.
Combination match
The final match of the day was a combination meeting between Sheffield's all girl team the 'Phantoms' and a Hull side making their second appearance. Again the home side led the way but there was some good racing with Rob Stockton Garner narrowly failing to hold off Sandra Tomborska and Ellie Sullivan in heat 10 being a highlight.
Andy and David Cooper were the visitors only heat winners until the final heat when Katie Greaves sped away from Alice Unwin with the loudest cheer of the day reserved for Fynley Southcoat holding off the determined challenge of Brogan Burn. Sandra Tomborska was unbeaten for the Phantoms with good support from Vicky Brown while Charlie Wade impressed for the visitors.
Result
Sheffield Phantoms 84: Sandra Tomborska 16, Vicky Brown 15, Ellie Sullivan 14+3, Amber Webster 12+1, Billie Owen 11+3, Alice Unwin 8, Niamh Morton 6, Brogen Burn 2.
Hull 66: Rob Stockton Garner 13, Andy Cooper 11, Katie Greaves 11, Charlie Wade 10+2, David Cooper 8, Harvey Southcoat 7+1, Fynley Southcoat 6.
Northern Combination - Edinburgh v Astley & Tyldesley | National League
Location: Edinburgh Cycle Speedway, Edinburgh
Event: 15 April 2012
Astley and Tyldesley made the long trip to Edinburgh for a Northern Combination League match on Sunday.
Edinburgh fielded an experienced line-up for this level and they made that count, banging in two 7-3 heat wins in the opening three races to take command of the match. Reece Pollitt took a good win from the back in heat 4 to steady the ship for the away side, but Edinburgh moved into a 16 points lead after heat 7.
The visitors rallied in the second half, as Reece Pollitt won two more races and Adam Phillips bounced back to win his last three races. However, Edinburgh held on to run out 86-64 winners and inflict Astley’s first defeat of the season in this league. All of Astley’s riders gave it their all and can feel well satisfied with their efforts against a very determined team. For a very solid Edinburgh team, both Michael Lee and super veteran John Murphy raced unbeaten.
Result
Edinburgh 86: Michael Lee 16, Mark Lee 14 (1), Chris Lee 13 (1), Callum Slight 12, Marcin Czarkowski 11 (2), John Murphy 9 (3), Dougie Morgan 7 (1), Paul Kelly 4 (2).
Astley and Tyldesley 64: Reece Pollitt 17, Adam Phillips 17, Beccy Heslop 11, Roy Heslop 8 (1), Ron Makin 5 (1), Max Evans 3, Daniel Burns 3.
Referee - Alan Hewitson.
S/SW Regional League - Swindon v Newport |South/South Wales League
Location: Swindon Cycle Speedway, Swindon
Event: 15 April 2012
A keenly fought match on the newly resurfaced track at the Swindon Oasis Centre saw Newport run out winners by a fairly comfortable margin. The first heat saw a dead heat between Swindon's Harper and Mark Carmicheal. Jack Harold top scored with 16 paid one for the visitors with able support from Oli, Nicky, and Colin. For Swindon a fine man of the match performance was seen from Sean Rudman weighing in with an unbeaten 22 paid two, with strong support from Harper.
Result
Swindon 84.5: S Rudman 22, D Harper 17.5, R Hunt 10, D Milner 10, A Hill 9, J Neighbour 6, P Matthews 5, M Rayson 4.
Newport 94.5: J Harold 16, M Carmicheal 15.5, O Sidwick 14, N Evans 14, C Simmons 11, C Davies 10, S Bendon 9, D Bonnici 5.
Division 2
Another close match with Swindons Matty Rayson top scorer for the home side. For Newport D Bonnici raced to a faultless 16 point maximum with sterling support from Jacob Soper and Kevin Greaves. Youngsters Stuart Ward, Rebecca Davies and Leigh Bonnici also weighed in with useful tallies.
Result
Swindon 56: M Rayson 12, P Mattews 11, A Fear 9, D Rayson 9, J Collier 8, S Brown 4.
Newport 63: D Bonnici 16, J Soper 13, K Greaves 13, S Ward 8, R Davis 8, L Bonnici 4, A Dixon 1.
Conference result
Swindon 61: J Neighbor 13, M Rayson 13, D Rayson 9, A Fear 9, S Brown, E Greenslade 7, A Neighbour 2.
Newport 53: J Soper 14, R Davies 13, L Bonnici 10, S Ward 10, A Dixon 6.
