Location: Ashmore Park, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton
Event: 31 March 2013
Report: Tim Jarvis/Snowdon Sports
Wednesfield Aces scored their expected win in a meeting which was one for the record books, marking the first encounter between the club’s two Midland League teams.
With a more experienced side the Aces were always going to win, but the Dragons refused to lie down and die – putting up a spirited fight and sharing many of the heats with a couple win advantages thrown.
Dragons mainly fielded a team of riders on the fringe of breaking into the Aces, and with the experience they gain from encounters like this they can only get better and stronger as the season progresses.
Aces got off to a flyer with a perfect 7-3 from Ricki Johnson and Sam Parr, but fast-improving Troy Allen ensured that Dragons shared the next couple of heats before another 7-3 from the power pair of Johnson and Chris Jewkes opened up an eight-point gap for Aces.
Dragons showed they had fire in their bellies when they hit back with a 6-4 and a race win for Allen, getting the better of Sam Parr – making his return after a number of years out of the sport – and Lloyd Brown.
The next heat saw Conner Dyke and Tom Haddock spring a surprise 7-3 against Matt Haddock and Glyn Rowley to bring Dragons to within two points, but Aces quelled the fire with a 7-3 reply from Jewkes and Johnson with the interval score stretching to 49-41.
Aces started the second half the same as the first with 7-3 from Haddock and Parr which was followed by four 5-5 drawn heats thanks to somre spirited riding from Dragons’ Allen, Harry Everiss, Haddock and Jordan Holdcroft, but the experienced Mark Griffiths and Parr put the match to bed with a 7-3. The only exclusion of the day came in the final heat for movement at tapes for Matt Haddock, giving Dragons a 5-4 heat advantage.
Result:
Wednesfield Aces 99 (Ricki Johnson 19+1, Mark Griffiths 19+1, Chris Jewkes 18+2, Sam Parr 18+1, Matt Haddock 13+1, Glyn Rowley 5, Alex Aris 4, Lloyd Brown 3).
Wednesfield Dragons 80 (Troy Allen 15, Tom Haddock 13+1, Jordan Holdcroft 11, Harry Everiss 10+3, Conner Dyke 9+1, Hayden Rowley 8+3, Dave Meanley 8+1, Phil Hemming 6+1).
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