GRAND FINAL 1st leg: PIRATES 53 KING'S LYNN 37

The 'Volvo Cars' Poole Pirates will head to Norfolk on Wednesday night ready to defend a 16 point lead as they seek to win their 8th play-off league title.

It was that level of advantage that the Pirates had romped to in the space of the opening four heats of the first leg before King's Lynn with 5-1 maximums in each, but after extending it to 18 with a heat 5 4-2 score, the Stars then began to peg the Pirates back, reducing the deficit by heat 9 to just eight points, and looking to be the stronger of the two sides.

A brace of shared heats kept the Pirates lead to 8 before heat 12 turned the meeting in Poole's favour when Michael Palm-Toft was felled by Frederik Jakobsen as the Poole reserve attempted to go under him. The fall saw Palm-Toft sustain a wrist injury but the Stars were further incensed when the referee disqualified him as the primary cause of the stoppage, which allowed Jakobsen and Woryna to cruise to a 5-1 - the Pirates first heat advantage since heat 5.

Guest Adam Ellis, already having suffered a first ride retirement followed up by a warning for a starting offence before winning heat 6 to inspire the Stars comeback, offended again at the tapes and was sent of a handicap in the crucial heat 13. Whilst Robert Lambert picked up his second win of the night the shared heat maintained Poole's double figure lead, leading 45-33 at that stage. The Pirates increased that to sixteen with a much needed 5-1 from the two heros of their night, Klindt and Worrall to ensure they would have a double digit defence on Wednesday night.

Controversially Ellis was again caught out at the start in heat 15 and was replaced by Simon Lambert who ran an expected last place whilst his namesake Robert saved any further slippage in the margin completing a hat-trick of winning rides.

So, subject to the fitness of Michael Palm-Toft the same two sides will go again on Wednesday night at the Adrian Flux Arena

POOLE 53
C.Harris 2',1,1',2,2=8+2
J.Grajczonek 3,0,1,2=6
K.Woryna 3,1,0,3=7
N.Klindt 2',3,2,3,1'=11+2
N.Morris 3,F,1',1'=5+2
R.Worrall 3,3,2,2'=10+1
F.Jakobsen 2',2',0,2'=6+3

KING'S LYNN 37
R.Lambert 1,2,3,3,3=12
E.Riss 0,3,0=3
T.Proctor 0,2,0=2
T.Jorgensen 1,1',3,1=6+1
A.Ellis R,3,3=6
M.Palm-Toft 0,1,2',2',1,FD=6+2
S.Lambert 0,1,1,0,0=2

Ht 1:  J.Grajczonek,  C.Harris,  R.Lambert,  M.Palm-Toft 5-1  5-1 |59.31]
Ht 2:  R.Worrall,  F.Jakobsen,  M.Palm-Toft,  S.Lambert 5-1  10-2 [59.81]
Ht 3:  K.Woryna,  N.Klindt,  T.Jorgensen,  T.Proctor 5-1  15-3 [59.82]
Ht 4:  N.Morris,  F.Jakobsen,  S.Lambert,  A.Ellis  (Rtd) 5-1  20-4 [60.88]
Ht 5:  N.Klindt,  R.Lambert,  K.Woryna,  E.Riss 4-2  24-6 [60.07]
Ht 6:  A.Ellis,  M.Palm-Toft,  C.Harris,  J.Grajczonek 1-5  25-11 [60.69]
Ht 7:  R.Worrall,  T.Proctor,  T.Jorgensen,  N.Morris  (Fell) 3-3  28-14 [60.87]
Ht 8:  E.Riss,  M.Palm-Toft (RS),  J.Grajczonek,  F.Jakobsen 1-5 29-19 [61.28]
Ht 9:  A.Ellis,  N.Klindt,  M.Palm-Toft,  K.Woryna 2-4  31-23 [61.09]
Ht 10:  T.Jorgensen,  J.Grajczonek,  C.Harris,  T.Proctor 3-3  34-26 [61.82]
Ht 11:  R.Lambert,  R.Worrall,  N.Morris,  E.Riss 3-3  37-29 [61]
Ht 12:  K.Woryna,  F.Jakobsen,  S.Lambert,  M.Palm-Toft  (Fell d/q) 5-1  42-30 [61.78]
Ht 13:  R.Lambert,  C.Harris,  N.Morris,  A.Ellis (hcap) 3-3  45-33 [61.41]
Ht 14:  N.Klindt,  R.Worrall,  T.Jorgensen,  S.Lambert 5-1  50-34 [62.16]
Ht 15:  R.Lambert,  C.Harris,  N.Klindt,  S.Lambert 3-3  53-37 [61.63]61.63
Gates: POOLE won toss and chose gates 1&3 | 8 took gates 0 in heat 15
Referee Craig Ackroyd
Rider of the Night: Richie Worrall

Picture: TAYLOR LANNING