REACTION: NOT A MOUNTAIN BUT A VERY STEEP HILL CLAIMS TEAM MANAGER MIDDLO AS PIRATES GO DOWN IN FIRST LEG

For the second successive season the Poole 'Wessex Marine' Pirates will go into the concluding heats of the title-deciding Grand Final facing a double figure deficit after they fell to a 51-39 defeat imposed on them by near neighbours Oxford on Saturday night.
 

In 2023 Poole were confronted by a fourteen point deficit, on Wednesday it will be twelve. Which, after the Pirates worked hard to keep things as close as possible in the first half of Saturday's meeting, has left the destiny of the 2024 title precariously balanced.

Team manager Neil Middleditch described the Pirates task as "it is not exactly a mountain, I would say it is more of a very steep hill. Twelve points is a little bit disappointing especially as we worked so very hard in the early stages to stop them from getting away from us. We knew we had to do that because they are always going to be strong in heats thirteen and fifteen with Sam (Masters) and Scotty (Scott Nicholls). But it was just one of those nights. Tom (Brennan) had an off night and was sort of left scratching his head as to what happened and well, you don't see Richard (Lawson) drop so many points."
"But it is what it is and and you know, we have just got to hit them hard early doors and try and make up as much of the deficit as early as we possibly can. I think Vinnie was very unlucky tonight. He started out so well and then had that nasty crash, hurting his thumb in the process. After I took Sam out of his last ride and Tobias came in and earned a paid win, I thought, you know, Toby deserves another chance so I pulled Vinnie out of a ride he would otherwise have taken had he been fully fit. Ok, we lost tonight but we had the two best teams in the league going head to head on a good track so let's hope that the weather doesn't intervene on Wednesday and we can go again. There is all to ride for and one thing is for sure with matches like this, speedway is alive and kicking."

The first five heats of this rare Saturday night meeting in Cowley were shared with Vinnie Foord (heat two) and Richard Lawson (heat 5) the two Poole race winners, and although the hosts broke the deadlock in heat six, Poole went some way in hitting back with a 4-2 response. It was a similar story after the Cheetahs claimed their second maximum heat score in the eighth, with Luke Killeen combining with Cameron Heeps. When the Cook brothers ensured a shared heat ten there remained just four points between the sides but that man Killeen, who had been highly instrumental in steering Oxford to their league victory at Wimborne Road in August, struck again as he paired with Nicholls to send the hosts into the interval with an eight point advantage. Whilst Ben Cook and Thomsen responded immediately after the break those two threatening heats of Nicholls and Masters (thirteen and fifteen) saw the Cheetahs take maximum points to give them the advantage and setting up what promises to be a real thriller at Wimborne Road on Wednesday.

OXFORD 51: Dan Gilkes 8+1 (3,2,2,1') Cameron Heeps 6+0 (0,3,3,0) Jody Scott 2+1 (1',RS,0,RS,1) Sam Masters 12+3 (3,2',3,2',2') Luke Killeen 12+1 (2,3,RS,2',3,2) Scott Nicholls 10+1 (0,2,2',3,3) Ashton Boughen 1+1 (F,1',0,0)
POOLE 39: Zach Cook 9+1 (2,3,1',3,0) Richard Lawson 8+0 (2,3,1,1,1) Ben Cook 7+1 (1',1,2,3) Richard Lawson 8+0 (2,3,1,1,1) Vinnie Foord 5+0 (3,2,FD,RS) Tom Brennan 4+1 (1',0,3,0) Tobias Thomsen 4+1 (0,1,1,0,2',0) Sam Hagon 2+1 (1',0,1,RS)