REPORT: Scunthorpe Scorpions v Poole Pirates

10/04/26

Unlike the first leg, the scores for most of this return fixture were breathtakingly close, and it wasn't until the final five heats where the gap really opened — by which time Poole were already snuggled into the quarter-finals.

The opening heat needed re-running, offering Richard Lawson a fortuitous second chance after missing the gate badly. Partner Kyle Newman was working hard to try and split the home pairing, and when Nathan Ablitt offered up a glimpse of daylight, Kyle enthusiastically went for it. But before he could execute the move, the opening had been closed out and all he could do was run into Ablitt. Lawson again struggled off the start and had to work harder than expected to pass Ablitt, by which time any hope of chasing down Josh Pickering had largely evaporated. Cooper Rushen invested a lot into hunting down Simon Lambert and Ryan Ingram in heat two, but his efforts were rewarded with a dying motor.

Heat three was unusual, to say the least, as the Pirates, through Fraser Bowes and Lewi Kerr, thought that they had redressed the previous heat deficit, only for the referee to review that Bowes had been illegally warming his tyre at the start. This led to a re-run without the Aussie. Will Cairns was eligible to replace him as it was deemed a starting offence, and for a while he was holding a 5-1 until near the end of the second lap when Mountain found room to pass.

Rushen was sensational in heat four and had skipper Zach Cook behind him for almost all four laps before Zach took the flag. Neither Ingram nor Michael Palm-Toft was able to get a sniff of them. Lawson had to pull something out of the bag as he was again not too sharp off the grid, but an inside move heading down the straight on the second lap gave him the Poole position, whilst Newman deserved something from his intense scrap with Mountain. (15-15)

Matters became quite tight down on the entrance to turn two on the opening lap and Ablitt tasted the dirt again. All four riders were called back this time, and Pickering left Cook a lot to do. Although with Cairns in third, Poole lost no ground on their hosts. The inter-heat track grading served Palm-Toft well, and he looked a different rider to the one that had been out in heat four, but Bowes and Kerr had the beating of Lambert for another shared heat.

Matters were looking bleak for the Pirates in heat eight until Rushen made a sublime move on lap three to go from last to second and set about the chase on Ablitt. That meant Scunthorpe, on an aggregate of 53 points, could only now achieve eighty-eight points, and Poole were already on eighty-five with seven heats remaining. In heat nine, Cook was happy to track Cairns home for a 5-1 to put Poole mathematically into the quarter-finals. Kerr produced arguably his best ride since becoming a Pirate as he fended off Pickering, never really giving the Aussie an opportunity of maintaining any personal maximum aspirations he might have had. (28-32)

Again, the break between heats and some track work seemed to inspire Palm-Toft twice in heat eleven. Lawson lifted badly leaving turn two and took a very heavy smash into the fence, causing moments of concern before he was able to rise to his feet and struggle back to the pits under his own steam. Newman put himself about in the re-run but couldn't prevent the meeting-levelling 5-1 going Scunthorpe's way.

The home fans had plenty to cheer as their two youngsters both shone in heat twelve. Ingram, getting out of the gate sharply, managed to stave off Kerr, whilst Luke Harrison sent Cairns back to the pits pointless from the heat after the pair exchanged positions like football cards, giving the Scorpions the advantage on the night. Hitting the same patch as Lawson had in heat eleven, Pickering lifted badly on the second lap and just managed to avoid collecting the fence as he brought his wheel down just prior to the entrance to turn three. He then made a good move round the car park turn and came out of four in third place at Lawson's expense, all the while the revived Palm-Toft led home Cook.

Another 5-1 looked to be heading the Scorpions' way until Rushen nipped by Mountain on the second lap, but with Bowes not able to offer up a score, the second leg itself had been lost. The home side finished the night off with a 5-1 that left the night's score somewhat flattering in their favour.

SCUNTHORPE 50 (79)
Josh Pickering 3,3,2,1,3=12 (5)
Nathan Ablitt 1,0,3,1'=5+1 (4)
Luke Harrison 0,2,0,1=3 (4)
Connor Mountain 2,1',1,1=5+1 (4)
Michael Palm-Toft 0,3,3,3,2'=11+1 (5)
Simon Lambert 3,0,2',3=8+1 (4)
Ryan Ingram 2',1,0,3=6+1 (4)

POOLE 40 (101
Richard Lawson 2,3,FD,0=5 (4)
Kyle Newman XD,0,1',1=2+1 (4)
Lewis Kerr 3,1',3,2,0=9+1 (5)
Fraser Bowes XD,2,0,0=2 (4)
Zach Cook 3,2,2',2,1=10+1 (5)
William Cairns 1,1,1',3,0=6+1 (5)
Cooper Rushen R,2',2,2=6+1 (4)
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Ht 1: J.Pickering, R.Lawson, N.Ablitt, K.Newman[exc] 4-2 4-2 [59.51]
Ht 2: S.Lambert, R.Ingram, W.Cairns, C.Rushen [rtd] 5-1 9-3 [59.44]
Ht 3: L.Kerr, C.Mountain, W.Cairns, L.Harrison, F.Bowes[exc] 2-4 11-7 [58.64]
Ht 4: Z.Cook, C.Rushen, R.Ingram, M.Palm-Toft 1-5 12-12 [57.81]
Ht 5: R.Lawson, L.Harrison, C.Mountain, K.Newman 3-3 15-15 [58.83]
Ht 6: J.Pickering, Z.Cook, W.Cairns, N.Ablitt 3-3 18-18 [58.02]
Ht 7: M.Palm-Toft, F.Bowes, L.Kerr, S.Lambert 3-3 21-21 [58.75]
Ht 8: N.Ablitt, C.Rushen, K.Newman, R.Ingram 3-3 24-24 [59.51]
Ht 9: W.Cairns, Z.Cook, C.Mountain, L.Harrison 1-5 25-29 [58.6]
Ht 10: L.Kerr, J.Pickering, N.Ablitt, F.Bowes 3-3 28-32 [58.8]
Ht 11: M.Palm-Toft, S.Lambert, K.Newman, R.Lawson [fell exc] 5-1 33-33 [59.22]
Ht 12: R.Ingram, L.Kerr, L.Harrison, W.Cairns 4-2 37-35 [58.12]
Ht 13: M.Palm-Toft, Z.Cook, J.Pickering, R.Lawson 4-2 41-37 [59.26]
Ht 14: S.Lambert, C.Rushen, C.Mountain, F.Bowes 4-2 45-39 [60.17]
Ht 15: J.Pickering, M.Palm-Toft, Z.Cook, L.Kerr 5-1 50-40 [58.95]