REPORT: Oxford Cheetahs v Poole Pirates - BSN Series Semi Final 2nd Leg

17/09/25

Poole needed none of their 26 point lead from their home leg as they defeated Oxford by 52-38 to secure their place in the BSN Series Final

Poole may well have had a large deposit in the coffers after the August first leg but they had no intention to draw on those reserves and that was apparent as early as the first heat when Richard Lawson blitzed by Masters and was able to steer his smoking stead home for an opening win. William Cairns showed no respect for age as he blasted clear from the more experienced Cameron Heeps and his own team-mate Paul Starke. Heeps was able to battle back into second but the heat gain went Poole's way. Mitch McDiarmid, such a troublesome rider for Poole in previous meetings found himself in some difficulty around the first turn in heat three, leaving Lewis Kerr and Zach Cook quite content to sit in behind Luke Killeen to further frustrate Oxford's pressing need to start chipping away at Poole's lead. There was no chance of that happening up against a rampant Anders Rowe in heat four as yet another shared heat was chalked up. Masters, taking the rider replacement outing, was fortunate not to wipe out Lawson as he ran into trouble round the first bend. Causing the race to be stopped, Masters was disqualified, so another opportunity to begin clawing points went begging. Not that it would have been easy with Lawson in the form that he is enjoying and the re-run was in truth just a training ride for him, leading Poole to a 4-2. (13-17 agg 45-75).

Rowe cleverly got in between Masters and Killeen in heat six and then Starke passed the erring Killeen to successfully defend another heat and then Francis Gusts was 'blown away' by the pace of Cook and Kerr in heat seven as Poole extended their lead on the night to 10 points. Tobias Thomsen, who had missed the pre-match parade as he was trying to sort out his mechanical issues, enjoyed his best ride of the night to comfortably prevail in heat eight and a heat later it was Starke catching the eye as he passed Heeps for a third place that produced a 4-2 for the Pirates, led by Rowe. At long last, with the interval beckoning, the Oxford fans had something to cheer about as Masters and Killeen put Kerr and Cook on the wrong end of a 5-1, but nothing now - not even the weather - could prevent Poole from going to the final, and you had to admire the Cheetahs spirit as they claimed they "had the momentum as they headed into the interval"!!! (27-33 agg 59-91).

It was Poole though that came out the stronger after the break, stringing together four straight 4-2 advantages, including a battling ride from Cairns in heat fourteen to counter Oxford's move to try and strengthen up by replacing Darryl Ritchings with Heeps. If Masters was going to spoil Lawson's maximum then it wasn't going to be made easy for him and although he got the early advantage in heat 15, Lawson came back strong and took up the running, but Masters managed to find a way by again. Cook however was firmly ensconced in third so it was yet another occasion when the Cheetahs couldn't totally get the better of the Pirates.

OXFORD 38
Sam Masters 2,FD,3,3,2,3=13 (6)
Luke Killeen 1',3,0,2,2',0=8+2 (6)
Rider Replacement
Mitch McDiarmid 0,2,2,2,2=8 (5)
Francis Gusts 2,0,2,0=4 (4)
Darryl Ritchings 0,1,0,RS=1 (3)
Cameron Heeps 2,1',1',0,0,0=4+2 (6)
.
POOLE 52
Richard Lawson 3,3,3,3,2=14 (5)
Tobias Thomsen 0,1,3,1=5 (4)
Lewis Kerr 2,2',0,3=7+1 (4)
Zach Cook 1',3,1,3,1'=9+2 (5)
Anders Rowe 3,2,3,1=9 (4)
Paul Starke 1,1',1,1=4+1 (4)
William Cairns 3,0,0,1=4 (4)
.
Ht 1: R.Lawson, S.Masters, L.Killeen, T.Thomsen 3-3 3-3 [60.6]
Ht 2: W.Cairns, C.Heeps, P.Starke, D.Ritchings 2-4 5-7 [60.63]
Ht 3: L.Killeen, L.Kerr, Z.Cook, M.McDiarmid 3-3 8-10 [60.31]
Ht 4: A.Rowe, F.Gusts, C.Heeps, W.Cairns 3-3 11-13 [60.24]
Ht 5: R.Lawson, M.McDiarmid, T.Thomsen, S.Masters [fell exc] 2-4 13-17 [59.83]
Ht 6: S.Masters, A.Rowe, P.Starke, L.Killeen 3-3 16-20 [60.78]
Ht 7: Z.Cook, L.Kerr, D.Ritchings, F.Gusts 1-5 17-25 [61.05]
Ht 8: T.Thomsen, L.Killeen, C.Heeps, W.Cairns 3-3 20-28 [61.6]
Ht 9: A.Rowe, M.McDiarmid, P.Starke, C.Heeps 2-4 22-32 [61.42]
Ht 10: S.Masters, L.Killeen, Z.Cook, L.Kerr 5-1 27-33 [61.68]
Ht 11: R.Lawson, F.Gusts, T.Thomsen, D.Ritchings 2-4 29-37 [61.47]
Ht 12: L.Kerr, M.McDiarmid, P.Starke, C.Heeps 2-4 31-41 [62.4]
Ht 13: R.Lawson, S.Masters, A.Rowe, F.Gusts 2-4 33-45 [61.1]
Ht 14: Z.Cook, M.McDiarmid, W.Cairns, C.Heeps 2-4 35-49 [62.19]
Ht 15: S.Masters, R.Lawson, Z.Cook, L.Killeen 3-3 38-52 [61.71]
SGB Referee Mr Mick Bates