REPORT: Plymouth Gladiators v Poole Pirates

Poole's unbeaten record was cracked by Plymouth who came from behind to gain a slender 47-43 victory at the Coliseum.

PLYMOUTH  47
Scott Nicholls 2,2',3,1,2=10+1 (5)
Joe Thompson 0,3,3,0=6 (4)
Daniel Klima 2,1',2',0=5+2 (4)
Ben Barker 1',2,3,3=9+1 (4)
Danny King 2,3,3,3,1'=12+1 (5)
Anze Grmek 3,0,RS,0,RS,1,1=5 (5)
Ben Whalley 0,RS,0,RS,0,RS=0 (3)

POOLE 43
Richard Lawson 1,3,2,2,3=11 (5)
William Cairns  3,0,2,1'=6+1 (4)
Lewis Kerr 3,2,2,3,0=10 (5)
Cooper Rushen 0,1',1',2=4+2 (4)
Luke Harrison 3,FD,R,0=3 (4)
Dayle Woods 1',1,1,RS,0=3+1 (4)
Kyle Newman 2,1,1',2',XE=6+2 (5)

Ht 1:  W.Cairns , S.Nicholls, R.Lawson, J.Thompson 2-4 2-4 [52.38]
Ht 2:  A.Grmek, K.Newman, D.Woods, B.Whalley 3-3 5-7 [52.7]
Ht 3:  L.Kerr, D.Klima, B.Barker, C.Rushen 3-3 8-10 [52.5]
Ht 4:  L.Harrison, D.King, K.Newman, A.Grmek 2-4 10-14 [53.85]
Ht 5:  R.Lawson, B.Barker, D.Klima, W.Cairns  3-3 13-17 [53.05]
Ht 6:  J.Thompson, S.Nicholls, D.Woods, L.Harrison [fell exc] 5-1 18-18 [54.12]
Ht 7:  D.King, L.Kerr, C.Rushen, B.Whalley 3-3 21-21 [53.42]
Ht 8:  J.Thompson, W.Cairns , K.Newman, A.Grmek 3-3 24-24 [54.36]
Ht 9:  B.Barker, D.Klima, D.Woods, L.Harrison [rtd] 5-1 29-25 [55.23]
Ht 10:  S.Nicholls, L.Kerr, C.Rushen, J.Thompson 3-3 32-28 [52.85]
Ht 11:  D.King, R.Lawson, W.Cairns , B.Whalley 3-3 35-31 [53.71]
Ht 12:  L.Kerr, K.Newman, A.Grmek, D.Klima 1-5 36-36 [54.4]
Ht 13:  D.King, R.Lawson, S.Nicholls, L.Harrison 4-2 40-38 [53.8]
Ht 14:  B.Barker, C.Rushen, A.Grmek, D.Woods, K.Newman [tapes exc] 4-2 44-40 [54.81]
Ht 15:  R.Lawson, S.Nicholls, D.King, L.Kerr 3-3 47-43 [53.56]
SGB Referee Mr Paul Carrington

Back in the side after his SGP2 exploits in Poland, Will Cairns had to push his bike back to the pits on the post‑parade warm‑up lap, but when he appeared for heat one he wasted no time at all in hitting the front and leading Coliseum big‑hitter Scott Nicholls a merry dance. Richard Lawson had been slow off the tapes but was able to find a way by Joe Thompson to give the Pirates an early lead. Dayle Wood followed home team-mate Kyle Newman in the reserves heat, which was won by the quick‑away Anže Grmek. Chaos was averted in heat three as, legs akimbo, Daniel Klíma fortuitously avoided making contact with Lewis Kerr as they came out of turn two first time around, before Kerr just powered away to a convincing win, but partner Cooper Rushen, despite plenty of effort, was unable to impress on heat‑sharing Ben Barker in third place. Luke Harrison, covering for Zach Cook, made a superb start in heat four and Newman made a sound early move on Grmek, brought in as an early reserve switch with Garry May feeling the pressure, as Poole doubled their advantage. Heat five provided plenty of entertainment as Barker was left to play catch‑up on Lawson. The Plymouth danger man had to pull strong on his shoulders to avoid running into the fence on the entry to turn four on the third lap, and that fractionally gave Lawson the extra breathing space to secure the win, whilst Cairns was held out of the points allocation by Klíma. (14‑10).

All four riders were scrapping closely as they prepared to exit turn two in heat six and, on the inside, Harrison lifted awkwardly and had only one channel to head for. Remarkably, he was able to miss the three others and needed a check‑over from the medical crew before being able to walk back to the pits, seemingly none the worse for the spectacular incident. Without him, Nicholls was happy enough to shadow home Thompson in the re‑run, with Wood unable to keep tight enough on the pace, which levelled the meeting. King made a good start in heat seven and for a very brief moment Ben Whalley was in a scoring position, but both Kerr and Rushen were able to swiftly pick off the reserve, though neither could catch the former Poole captain. The reserves were switched yet again – largely as expected – by Plymouth, but the introduction of Grmek was fruitless, for Cairns and Newman were untroubled by him, with the race won by Thompson. Plymouth eventually went ahead in the meeting courtesy of a heat nine 5‑1 from Barker and Klíma, their route to victory made so much easier when luckless Harrison suffered machine failure as he tried to leave the tapes. Heat ten produced an invigorating scrap at the back between Rushen and Thompson, with the 16‑year‑old prevailing to share the race as he followed in race winner Nicholls and Kerr. (32‑28).

The reserve switches for Plymouth continued, but the habit was extending to the centre‑green announcers, with the microphone being handed around like a game of pass‑the‑parcel at a children's birthday party. The repetitive calls for “let’s hear it for” rang around the Coliseum ahead of King pulling clear out of turn two, but from there on in Lawson seemed content to keep a watchful eye on Cairns to protect the heat share. The ones that were going were the Pirates in heat twelve when Kerr and Newman made a scissor pass on Klíma to peg back the overall scores to level pegging. Klíma struggled once having been passed, and that allowed the introduced Grmek to score his first point after his opening‑ride victory. King stood firm under four laps of intense pressure from Lawson in heat thirteen, whilst Nicholls eventually passed Harrison on the opening lap to give Plymouth the advantage again. Rushen kept the meeting alive with a good move to split Barker and Grmek in the penultimate heat, but the Pirates needed a 5‑1 from heat fifteen to protect their unbeaten record. Lawson made the gate in it, but Kerr got knocked by King on the run to the first turn, which cost the Poole man valuable ground, and the Gladiators were more than content to occupy second and third to seal the match.

Meeting Reaction

Photo credit: Plymouth Gladiators