REPORT: Edinburgh v Poole

18/09/26

Pirates made it a semi-final double over the Edinburgh Monarchs in a curtailed second leg at Edinburgh. Track conditions, under heavy rain caused the meeting to be abandoned after heat 13 was stopped due to a first bend incident. Poole were leading 39-33 at the time.

With a healthy first leg advantage the Pirates had to be intent on game management and Richard Lawson did just that with a solid start in heat one off gate four to take control and whilst Edinburgh shared the heat it was one race fewer for them to mount their comeback. Early movement on the inside by Slater Lightcap in heat two meant a yellow mark against his name for the remainder of the meeting but he refused to be disturbed by it as, with drizzle falling, both he and Kyle Newman stealthily moved to the front, giving Poole the first 5-1 of the night. Before walking away, the start marshal insisted on Lewis Kerr inching nearer the tapes and once they were raised unfortunately Lewis couldn't get away from them too sharply, and then his bike ground to a powerless as he entered turn four on the opening lap. Cooper Rushen persistently had bursts of speed, but just as happened at Poole in the first leg, Justin Sedgmen and Michele Castagna opened their evenings with a 5-1. Surprisingly Jordy Loftus was first away in heat four but Zach Cook and Newman were both sharp enough to see off Dan Thompson early on. Then Cook had first dibs at trying to get by Loftus but couldn't make the move stick and Newman saw an opportunity and decided he would take up the chase. He had several sniffs at his opposing reserve and then timed his move to perfection as he exited the final turn and went by on the run-in to the line. In heat five it was Lawson's turn to be patient, waiting until the start of the final lap before making his charge on race leader Sedgmen and converting Will Cairns' third place into another Poole advantage. (13-17 on the night, 46-74 aggregate).

Lightcap was away well in heat six and was pressing Kye Thomson hard, but skewed on the slippery circuit round the third and fourth turn and hit the track hard, grazing his hand in the process. Jonatan Grahn reacted sharply to lay his bike down but it meant a re-run without Slater. Skipper Cook did sufficient for the Poole cause by splitting the Monarchs - the home side needed bigger heat advantages than just 4-2's at this stage. They could ill afford having non-finishers and when Mitchell Cluff slid off at turn three at the back it was not what they needed. Neither was his fall two laps later, this one forcing the race to be stopped and duly awarded as a win in favour of Dan Thompson, but Poole's equal share left them needing just 12 more points with 8 heats remaining, to secure the aggregate victory. Newman was superb in heat eight, as he prepared to be busy for rest of the evening, quickly hitting the front and not allowing Grahn any chance of denying him another unbeaten outing. Not much time for Kyle to turn things around as he was deputising for Slater in the ninth and had little time to settle in at the tapes, but both he and Cook did the sensible thing in just concentrtating in securing the immediate places behind Sedgmen, who was riding exceptionally well, as that allowed them to inch ever closer to the final. It was Lewis Kerr who brought the expectation to reality as he made an excellent first lap, fourth turn move on Grahn to ensure the Monarchs would not claim the 5-1 they so desperately needed at this stage. Rushen continued to press very hard from fourth place but, other than his own pride and pocket it made no difference, the Pirates mission had been accomplished, as there were only a maximum 25 points available to them, making their highest achievable total 87 on aggregate. Poole already on 88 (29-31, 62-88).

That meant Thompson's second win of the night in heat 11 totally academic, other than preventing Lawson from a second full-house against them. Newman was again writing the headlines when he made progress through the field to join Kerr, both Pirates having eased by Sedgmen, but that was to prove to be the last of the full race action for the rain became much harder and when Thomson fell at the first turn of heat thirteen and Thompson rode into him, the verdict was evident - keep everyone safe, and call it a day.

EDINBURGH 33
Kye Thomson 2,3,3=8 (3)
Jonatan Grahn 1',1,2,1=5+1 (4)
Justin Sedgmen 3,2,3,1=9 (4)
Michele Castagna 2',0,0=2+1 (3)
Dan Thompson 0,3,3=6 (3)
Mitchell Cluff 1,FD,0=1 (3)
Jordy Loftus 0,2,0,R=2 (4)

POOLE 39
Richard Lawson 3,3,2=8 (3)
William Cairns 0,1,1,1'=3+1 (4)
Lewis Kerr R,2,2,3=7 (4)
Cooper Rushen 1,1',0=2+1 (3)
Zach Cook 1,2,2=5 (3)
Slater Lightcap 3,FD,RS,RS=3 (2)
Kyle Newman 2',3,3,1',2'=11+3 (5)
.
Ht 1: R.Lawson, K.Thomson, J.Grahn, W.Cairns 3-3 3-3 [56.83]
Ht 2: S.Lightcap, K.Newman, M.Cluff, J.Loftus 1-5 4-8 [58.62]
Ht 3: J.Sedgmen, M.Castagna, C.Rushen, L.Kerr [rtd] 5-1 9-9 [59.88]
Ht 4: K.Newman, J.Loftus, Z.Cook, D.Thompson 2-4 11-13 [60.68]
Ht 5: R.Lawson, J.Sedgmen, W.Cairns, M.Castagna 2-4 13-17 [60.37]
Ht 6: K.Thomson, Z.Cook, J.Grahn, S.Lightcap [fell exc] 4-2 17-19 [60.29]
Ht 7: D.Thompson, L.Kerr, C.Rushen, M.Cluff [fell exc] 3-3 20-22 [awd]
Ht 8: K.Newman, J.Grahn, W.Cairns, J.Loftus 2-4 22-26 [60.84]
Ht 9: J.Sedgmen, Z.Cook, K.Newman, M.Castagna 3-3 25-29 [61.09]
Ht 10: K.Thomson, L.Kerr, J.Grahn, C.Rushen 4-2 29-31 [60.31]
Ht 11: D.Thompson, R.Lawson, W.Cairns, M.Cluff 3-3 32-34 [60.4]
Ht 12: L.Kerr, K.Newman, J.Sedgmen, J.Loftus [rtd] 1-5 33-39 [61.65]
Meeting Abandoned - Result Stands
SGB Referee Mr Mick Bates