RESULT : POOLE 48 KING'S LYNN 42

What an advert this was for good action speedway as the teams third and first in the league were equal matches for each other, and there was a touch of irony in that the Rider of the Night was a Poole reserve - ironic because it is in that department where the Stars have been head and shoulders above the rest of the league this season.

But Kyle Newman's performance was as good, if not better, than his paid maximum of a fortnight ago, despite him dropping two points this time around, when on the wrong end of a 5-1 in heat 9 which sparked a mini-revival for the Stars who had earlier converted a 2 point deficit into a 2 point advantage of their own, only for that to be wiped out by a ward and Janowski 5-1 in heat 5.

Newman had splendidly led home the strong combination of Lewis Kerr and Lewis Rose to be warmly applauded but that was nothing to the standing ovation he received as he finished behind race winner Josh Grajczonek in heat 7 having fought of the incessant challenges of Lewis Kerr and the highly regarded Robert Lambert. It was a tenacious ride and one that put the biggest margin of the meeting between the two sides - 24-18.

Hopes of extending that were dashed when heat 8, which was developing into a real intense affair after Vaclav Milik had dissected the field only to be re-taken by Schlein. But then Milik went down on the third turn and was disqualified from the re-start. Przemyslaw Pawlicki, who had not been at his absolute best, however ensured Poole retained their lead with a tapes to flag win.

The Stars, through that heat 9 5-1 followed by a Schlein victory over Darcy Ward in heat 10 were back on level terms by the interval and came out stronger after the break with Lambert and Iversen enjoying a comfortable 5-1 over Pawlicki - his fellow Pole, Maciej Janowski having suffered mechanical problems which prevented him from leaving the starting grid. An excellent race win from Newman, in for fellow reserve Brendan Johnson, with Grajczonek backing up in third was a real tonic for the Pirates but they were still behind after heat 13 when Kenneth Bjerre, earlier a victim of a flat tyre which forced him to miss his heat 6 outing, led home Ward and Janowski, the Pole using Milik's equipment.

A brilliant ride by Milik in heat 14 was somewhat upstaged by Newman's sensational efforts to again stave off Rose, and the resulting 5-1 once again forcing the appreciative crowd to their feet acknowledging what has been a worthy effort from the two youngsters.

But at this stage it was deja-vu, for Poole had similarly led by 2 after 14 heats last time King's Lynn were in town and on that occasion were left with nothing to show. The Stars' heroes then were Iversen and Schlein  and so it was little wonder that team manager Rob Lyon nominated the same pairing this time.
Poole were reliant on Darcy Ward and the tigerish Vaclav Milik to simply share the points to secure the league victory.

Ward managed to get clear from the first turn but Milik was helped into the airfence by Iversen and the Stars' number one was penalised for the move with the race being stopped.

It meant that the Pirates just needed a finisher to earn that much needed victory and whilst it was a forlorn task effectively for Schlein he still managed to force the race into a grandstand finish as he prodded and probed trying to split the Pirates whilst Darcy Ward was content to play nurse-maid to Milik.

Poole 48
D. Ward 3,3,2,2,2'=12+1
J. Grajczonek 1,3,0,1=5
P. Pawlicki 1,2,3,1=7
V. Milik 3,1',FDq,3,3=10+1
M. Janowski 0,2',R,1'=3+2
B. Johnson 0,0,0=0
K. Newman 3,2',1,3,2'=11+2
King's Lynn 42
N. Iversen 2,3,2',0,Dq=7+1
N. Porsing 0,2,1',2=5+1
R. Schlein 2',1,2,3,1=9+1
R. Lambert 0,0,3,0=2
K. Bjerre 3,1,3=7
L. Rose 1',0,2',1=4+2
L. Kerr 2,1',1,3,0=7+1

Ht 1 D. Ward N. Iversen J. Grajczonek N. Porsing 4-2 (4-2) (60.16)
Ht 2 K. Newman L. Kerr L. Rose B. Johnson 3-3 (7-5) (60.94)
Ht 3 K. Bjerre R. Schlein P. Pawlicki M. Janowski 1-5 (8-10) (60.47)
Ht 4 V. Milik N. Porsing L. Kerr B. Johnson 3-3 (11-13) (60.53)
Ht 5 D. Ward M. Janowski R. Schlein R. Lambert 5-1 (16-14) (60.06)
Ht 6 N. Iversen P. Pawlicki V. Milik L. Rose 3-3 (19-17) (60.75)
Ht 7 J. Grajczonek K. Newman L. Kerr R. Lambert 5-1 (24-18) (61.1)
Ht 8 P. Pawlicki R. Schlein N. Porsing V. Milik (Fell d/q) 3-3 (27-21) (61.12)
Ht 9 L. Kerr L. Rose K. Newman B. Johnson 1-5 (28-26) (61.4)
Ht 10 R. Schlein D. Ward K. Bjerre J. Grajczonek 2-4 (30-30) (60.12)
Ht 11 R. Lambert N. Iversen P. Pawlicki M. Janowski (Rtd) 1-5 (31-35) (59.97)
Ht 12 K. Newman N. Porsing J. Grajczonek L. Kerr 4-2 (35-37) (61.28)
Ht 13 K. Bjerre D. Ward M. Janowski N. Iversen 3-3 (38-40) (60.12)
Ht 14 V. Milik K. Newman L. Rose R Lambert 5-1 (43-41) (62.15)
Ht 15 V. Milik D. Ward R. Schlein N. Iversen(D/Q) 5-1 (48-42) (61.31)