Glasgow v Poole Grand Final

For the double-seeking Pirates this Grand Final play-off first leg was possibly one of "if-onlys" as they ultimately went down by 10 points at the hands of the 2019 title runners up, Glasgow. 

'If only' Benjamin Basso could have maintained the form he showed when replacing tape touching victim Steve Worrall, for the Dane powered away off gate four to win heat one by a convincing margin.  

'If only' Danyon Hume had been able to hold on to the third place he had ridden well to seemingly make his own but didn't have the resistance to retain it after the second lap. 

'If only'  Basso hadn't overcooked the entrance to the fourth turn on the first lap of heat eight when alongside Danyon Hume, could Poole have turned the tide with the 5-1, positions they were in at the time of Basso's fall. 

'If only' Hume hadn't have locked-up in heat ten when out in front with Worrall. 

'If only' Craig Cook had been punished for his movement at the start of heat thirteen would he have been able to make the telling pass he did on Worrall to convert the heat into an advantage for the Tigers rather than the shared heat the Pirates were driving for? 

In truth, though, the home side proved to be the better passers on an evening where if you were starting off gates two or three it generally wasn't too favourable, not that Tom Brennan had too many problems with three splendid wins that really gave the Tigers a solid foundation, and if the Poole camp were left wondering with the 'what might have beens' then there was room to for the Glasgow side to have similar considerations of their own. 

What would have happened to the meeting had Sam Jensen not fallen in heat nine when on an early 5-1 with the impressive Brennan. How many more positions might Cook have gained had he not been moving in that heat thirteen incident? and, critically, how unlucky was Brennan in heat fourteen when attempting one of the great moves of the meeting? Trailing Basso, who himself had sights on Marcin Nowak, Brennan had plenty of speed wound on but not enough track space to actually execute the move without hitting the fence and coming to grief.  

There were calls from the red and whites that Basso had shut him out but referee Hunter made the decision that Brennan had sent himself into trouble. Had the move come off and the GB International supported Nowak to a 5-1 then the tie might well have stretched away from Poole, but the awarded shared heat followed by a defiant Rory Schlein, who had been out ahead but without answers to a typically well-orchestrated move by Craig Cook, although strong enough to hold out Brennan , left this title race delicately poised for the 4th November. 

Craig Cook 1',3,3,1,3 =11+1
Broc Nicol 2,1,2,1 =6
Sam Jensen 0,1,0,2 =3
Tom Brennan 3,3,3,XD,1 =10
Ricky Wells 2,2',2,3 =9+1
Marcin Nowak 0,3,1',3 =7+1
Connor Bailey 2,1',1',0 =4+2
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POOLE 40
Steven Worrall XE,2,3,0 =5
Danyon Hume 0,0,3,0 =3
Rory Schlein 1',1,2,3,2 =9+1
Ben Cook 2,0,0 =2
Danny King 3,2,2,2,0 =9
Zach Cook 3,0,1',1,1' =6+2
Benjamin Basso 3,1,0,0,2 =6
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Ht.1 B.Basso,B.Nicol,C.Cook,D.Hume,S.Worrall (exc.tapes),3-3 3-3 (58.63)
Ht.2 Z.Cook,C.Bailey,B.Basso,M.Nowak,2-4 5-7 (58.86)
Ht.3 T.Brennan,B.Cook,R.Schlein,S.Jensen,3-3 8-10 (58.17)
Ht.4 D.King,R.Wells,C.Bailey,B.Basso,3-3 11-13 (59.15)
Ht.5 T.Brennan,S.Worrall,S.Jensen,D.Hume,4-2 15-15 (58.25)
Ht.6 C.Cook,D.King,B.Nicol,Z.Cook,4-2 19-17 (58.48)
Ht.7 M.Nowak,R.Wells,R.Schlein,B.Cook,5-1 24-18 (60.05)
Ht.8 D.Hume,B.Nicol,C.Bailey,B.Basso,3-3 27-21 (59.71)
Ht.9 T.Brennan,D.King,Z.Cook,S.Jensen,3-3 30-24 (59.32)
Ht.10 C.Cook,R.Schlein,B.Nicol,B.Cook,4-2 34-26 (59.97)
Ht.11 S.Worrall,R.Wells,M.Nowak,D.Hume,3-3 37-29 (60.44)
Ht.12 R.Schlein,S.Jensen,Z.Cook,C.Bailey,2-4 39-33 (60.04)
Ht.13 R.Wells,D.King,C.Cook,S.Worrall,4-2 43-35 (59.71)
Ht.14 M.Nowak,B.Basso,Z.Cook,T.Brennan (Disqualified),3-3 46-38 (awd)
Ht.15 C.Cook,R.Schlein,T.Brennan,D.King,4-2 50-40 (59.62)
SCB Referee: Graham Hunter 
POOLE win toss and take gates 2&4 GLASGOW  take gates 2&4 in heat 15
Rider of the Night: Danny King