REPORT:POOLE v REDCAR KO CUP FINAL 1st LEG

8/10/25

Poole have put themselves in a strong position to retain the Knockout Cup after building a first leg advantage of 14 points over the Redcar Bears, with the tie due to be settled this coming Friday (10th October). Another unbeaten Wimborne Road performance from 'Rocketman' Richard Lawson and a single point dropped by skipper Zach Cook paved the way for the double figure lead.

After the race points were equally shared in the opening two heats of this cup final it took a couple of splendid moves from Lewis Kerr and Zach Cook to break the deadlock, both rounding early leader Jason Edwards in heat three before the 'Billericay Blaster' drifted to the rear and Poole claimed the 5-1. The Bears though continued to keep the Pirates in check, Danny King benefitting from a bit of movement at the tapes to get a rolling start to win heat four and then Charles Wright navigating a wide route around the first bend that neither Cook nor Kerr could counter. Richard Lawson took himself into the all-time top twenty scores by drilling his way by King at the first turn and Tobias Thomsen had no opposition as guest Freddy Hodder packed up, which extended Poole's lead to the six points, a total they had previously taken with the to Redcar and seen themselves home and dry with. (21-15).

The message from the management though was more was needed this time around and sensationally Anders Rowe and Paul Starke made a significant contribution in heat seven. Losing out at the start and sitting on the wrong end of a 5-1, it didn't look to encouraging but Rowe chose the widest possible lines around the fourth turn and on successive laps passed, first Edwards then Allen. Watching on from the rear, Starke was keen to do something similar and he battled on to get by Allen and give the Pirates a 4-2 advantage, but equally as important, a psychological blow as far as the Bears were concerned. Thomsen made his best start of the night to win heat eight, a race in which William Cairns tried hard to sneak up the inside but was just unable to execute. King, moving again, couldn't do much about runaway Cook but was able to fend off Kerr to limit the damage, but still Poole had moved into a double figure lead. Thomsen was just able to hold on in heat ten to convert Lawson's win into another Poole 5-1 (37-23).

A dreadful gate from Rowe and Starke on a sick motor there were no heroics this time as Wright and Jake Mulford countered the previous heat loss and then those shared heats appeared again on the score-card. Kerr winning heat twelve, Lawson thirteen and Cook fourteen. With ten points between the sides, Poole ideally wanted a few more and when King's bike packed up at the start line with precious seconds left on the clock, there was a feeling that a late opening might have presented itself. In came reserve Pijper, and to his credit he made a decent gate, but Cook's was better and Lawson was in close attention to defray any crisis, although Wright still tried put himself in the mix. But to the delight of the crowd, the Pirates secured the 5-1 and will go back to Teesside with a 14 point lead to defend.

POOLE 52
Richard Lawson 3,3,3,3,2'=14+1 (5)
Tobias Thomsen 0,1,3,2'=6+1 (4)
Lewis Kerr 2',2,1,3=8+1 (4)
Zach Cook 3,1',3,3,3=13+1 (5)
Anders Rowe 2,3,1,0=6 (4)
Paul Starke 2,1,0,0=3 (4)
William Cairns 1',1',0,0=2+2 (4)
.
REDCAR 38
Charles Wright 1',3,3,2,1=10+1 (5)
Jake Mulford 2,0,2,2'=6+1 (4)
Jason Edwards 0,2,0,2=4 (4)
Jake Allen 1,0,1,2=4 (4)
Danny King 3,2,2,1',N2=8+1 (4)
Freddy Hodder 0,R,0,RS=0 (3)
Ace Pijper 3,0,1',1',1',0=6+3 (6)
.
Ht 1: R.Lawson, J.Mulford, C.Wright, T.Thomsen 3-3 3-3 [59.75]
Ht 2: A.Pijper, P.Starke, W.Cairns, F.Hodder 3-3 6-6 [61.11]
Ht 3: Z.Cook, L.Kerr, J.Allen, J.Edwards 5-1 11-7 [59.65]
Ht 4: D.King, A.Rowe, W.Cairns, A.Pijper 3-3 14-10 [59.97]
Ht 5: C.Wright, L.Kerr, Z.Cook, J.Mulford 3-3 17-13 [59.32]
Ht 6: R.Lawson, D.King, T.Thomsen, F.Hodder [rtd] 4-2 21-15 [59.93]
Ht 7: A.Rowe, J.Edwards, P.Starke, J.Allen 4-2 25-17 [61.13]
Ht 8: T.Thomsen, J.Mulford, A.Pijper, W.Cairns 3-3 28-20 [61.33]
Ht 9: Z.Cook, D.King, L.Kerr, F.Hodder 4-2 32-22 [60.29]
Ht 10: R.Lawson, T.Thomsen, J.Allen, J.Edwards 5-1 37-23 [61.68]
Ht 11: C.Wright, J.Mulford, A.Rowe, P.Starke 1-5 38-28 [60.69]
Ht 12: L.Kerr, J.Edwards, A.Pijper, W.Cairns 3-3 41-31 [61.59]
Ht 13: R.Lawson, C.Wright, D.King, A.Rowe 3-3 44-34 [60.47]
Ht 14: Z.Cook, J.Allen, A.Pijper, P.Starke 3-3 47-37 [61.8]
Ht 15: Z.Cook, R.Lawson, C.Wright, A.Pijper, D.King[exc 2 mins] 5-1 52-38 [61.27]

SGB Referee Mr Simon Humphrey-Kennett