REPORT: Birmingham Brummies v Poole Pirates

27/07/22

Poole cruised to their second away win in the SGB Championship Jubilee Trophy with a resounding 56-34 at Perry Barr, Birmingham, as the already depleted home side suffered further rider losses.

Poole dominated this Jubilee Southern Group fixture from the very outset, opening with a nerve-settling maximum heat advantage  as Steve Worrall rode a good line around the first turn to ensure he was nestled in behind the quick-away Drew Kemp.

Birmingham started well in heat two but had no answers to Ben Cook's outside power ride as he went from third to first to take command on the second lap before the Pirates further extended the lead with a tapes to flag triumph for Danny King and Zach Cook just having to settle for third place after a last lap move on Ashley Morris couldn't quite be fully executed. Richard Lawson was well in control as the heat four pack attached the back straight, Lawson holding firm under pressure from Justin Sedgmen around the opening bend. 

Heat five was marred by a tough first turn that saw both Steve Worrall and Ashley Morris heading into the air-fence, where Morris became stuck. Worrall was quickly to his feet and in attendance to try and help the stricken Brummies skipper, who was complaining of a shoulder injury, which was to rule him out of the remainder of the meeting, Jason Edwards replacing him in the re-run, which Worrall made his own, although for Kemp it was a bitter pill as he had made a great start first time around but finished the heat with a no-score. A superb first bend cut-back from Ben Cook allowed him to join the fast-trapping Lawson in heat six but the race was curtailed when Stefan Nielsen lost control and hit the fence, in a similar place to where Morris had come to grief in the previous heat. It proved a costly error as it also ruled Nielsen out of the remainder of the meeting, reducing the six-man Brummies (who were already reliant on three guests) to just five fit riders, of which only Sedgmen and James Pearson featured in their team declaration.

With nothing going right for the home side, the delight of seeing Sedgmen jet out of the traps in heat seven was a welcome sight as it brought a suggestion that maybe this contest could still have something left in it. So, Poole introduced a switch of reserves, looking to get the very best out of Ben Cook, and the Aussie showed a clean pair of heels from the off, leaving Kemp to eventually  make third place his own and move Poole into a 30-18 advantage.

Immediately out again, Ben supported Lawson's third win as the combination chalked up their second maximum heat score together. Danny King incurred the wrath of referee Mick Bates due to early start line movement, the Poole skipper being warned. It affected him little though, as in the re-start he positioned himself perfectly on arrival at the first turn and stormed on to victory. Behind, Zach Cook was pushing hard but unable to create an opening for himself. Heat eleven had Brummies guest Edwards leading from a pressurising Worrall when Kemp fell. The re-run, without Kemp, favoured Worrall as he won the race to the first turn and ensured Birmingham would be left wanting for their first heat advantage. King and Ben Cook paired up perfectly to put twenty points between the two sides after twelve heats and the Pirates were only denied another maximum heat score when Worrall packed up whilst nestled in nicely with Lawson in heat thirteen. Zach Cook eventually found the big points as he produced a tapes to flag victory, whilst partner Nathan Ablitt never stopped trying to promote himself from fourth. 

Both sides had a reserve as an eligible heat fifteen contender and Ben Cook tried everything he could to try and secure his full house, but Edwards stubbornly split him from Lawson, who was easing his way to win number five from five and the resulting 4-2 gave the Pirates a victory that even bettered that of their earlier league visit.

BIRMINGHAM 34
L.Kerr 1,1,1',1'=4+2 (4)
S.Nielsen 0,FD,RS,NS=0 (2)
K.Thomson 0,1',0,1=2+1 (4)
A.Morris 2,FN,NS,NS=2 (1)
J.Sedgmen 2,3,1,2,2,0=10 (6)
J.Edwards 1 ',2,RS,2,2,1',2,2=12+2 (6)
J.Pearson 2,1',0,0,0,1'=4+2 (6)
.
POOLE 56
S.Worrall 2',3,3,R=8+1 (4)
D.Kemp 3,0,1,FD=4 (4)
D.King 3,2,3,3=11 (4)
Z.Cook 1,1',0,3=5+1 (4)
R.Lawson 3,3,3,3,3=15 (5)
B.Cook 3,2',3,2',2',1=13+3 (6)
N.Ablitt 0,0,RS,0=0 (3)
.
Ht 1:  D.Kemp, S.Worrall, L.Kerr, S.Nielsen 1-5 1-5 [60.41]
Ht 2:  B.Cook, J.Pearson, N.Ablitt 3-3 4-8 [60.79]
Ht 3:  D.King, A.Morris, Z.Cook, K.Thomson 2-4 6-12 [59.75]
Ht 4:  R.Lawson, J.Sedgmen, J.Pearson, N.Ablitt 3-3 9-15 [59.71]
Ht 5:  S.Worrall, J.Edwards, K.Thomson, D.Kemp 3-3 12-18 [61.15]
Ht 6:  R.Lawson, B.Cook, L.Kerr, S.Nielsen [fell exc] 1-5 13-23 [AWD]
Ht 7:  J.Sedgmen, D.King, Z.Cook, J.Pearson 3-3 16-26 [60.6]
Ht 8:  B.Cook, J.Edwards, D.Kemp, J.Pearson 2-4 18-30 [61.16]
Ht 9:  R.Lawson, B.Cook, J.Sedgmen, K.Thomson, A.Morris [NS] 1-5 19-35 [60.5]
Ht 10:  D.King, J.Edwards, L.Kerr, Z.Cook, S.Nielsen [NS] 3-3 22-38 [60.66]
Ht 11:  S.Worrall, J.Sedgmen, J.Edwards, D.Kemp [fell exc] 3-3 25-41 [60.94]
Ht 12:  D.King, B.Cook, K.Thomson, J.Pearson 1-5 26-46 [60.5]
Ht 13:  R.Lawson, J.Sedgmen, L.Kerr, S.Worrall [rtd] 3-3 29-49 [61.28]
Ht 14:  Z.Cook, J.Edwards, J.Pearson, N.Ablitt, A.Morris [NS] 3-3 32-52 [60.81]
Ht 15:  R.Lawson, J.Edwards, B.Cook, J.Sedgmen 2-4 34-56 [61.1]
REFEREE: Mick Bates
BIRMINGHAM won toss and chose gates 1&3 | POOLE choose gates 2&4 in heat 15  
League Points: BIRMINGHAM 0 POOLE 4