REACTION: BEN JUST MISSES OUT ON 'PERFECT NIGHT'

Poole Wessex Marine Pirates built up an 18 point lead to take into the second leg of their Knockout Cup Quarter Final contest at Plymouth on Tuesday, after coming back from a first heat deficit to beat the Gladiators 54-36.
 

Masterminding the Pirates recovery were the Cook brothers, Ben and Zach who, on the three occasions they rode together, weighed in with 5-1's, including one over Kyle Howarth and Dan Gilkes, the pairing that had given the Gladiators such a promising start to the meeting.

Ben completed his programmed rides unbeaten but was not quite able to celebrate his first maximum as a Poole heat-leader when the flying Ben Barker led home Richard Lawson and Cook, with the Gladiators' number one Howarth well beaten in the nominated heat fifteen.

Voted Rider of the Night, Ben Cook admitted "yes, it was a good night, not quite a perfect night but close to it. Everything was good, it was a different engine I rode tonight so good to know I've a couple that work. The track came good in the end. It was a little bit, you know, loose material in spots in the first round but once it all settled down the track was quite good. Everyone done their job again tonight and yeah, a good score, a good win."

Poole team manager Neil Middleditch was also well pleased with Pirates' team performance, claiming "at the end  of the day we got the result we wanted. I told the boys on the track walk to expect a different team from the one that came up here the other week and so it proved, but the boys got going. We had a chat halfway through the meeting and I said this is not good enough we need to get our arses into gear and that is just what they did. They stepped on the gas and we got a good healthy lead. Ten or twelve would have been good, but eighteen I am very happy with."

Apart from that opening heat advantage the Gladiators failed to outscore in any of the other fourteen heats and with Lawson adding paid twelve to the cause and Kyle Newman returning paid eleven, the Pirates gave the home support plenty to cheer about.

POOLE 54: Ben Cook 11+3 (3,2',2',3,1') ,Richard Lawson 11+1 (2,1',3,3,2) ,Kyle Newman 10+1 (3,2,3,R,1,1') ,Zach Cook 10+1 (2',3,3,2) ,Anders Rowe 5+1 (1,2,2',RS) ,Steve Worrall 4+1 (R,1',3,0) ,Adam Roynon 3+1 (1,1',RS,1) 
PLYMOUTH 36: Ben Barker 10+1 (0,3,1',3,3) ,Richie Worrall 8+1 (3,3,1,1') ,Kyle Howarth 7 (3,0,2,2,0) ,Paul Starke 5 (1,0,2,2) ,Dan Gilkes 4+1 (2',1,1,0) ,Jake Turner 2 (2,R,RS,0,RS,0) ,Ben Trigger 0 (0,RS,0,RS,0,0)
 

Full Match Report and Heat Details

Photo: Anthony Burchall