REACTION: IT'S BACK - PIRATES ARE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS AGAIN

It's back! The SGB Cab Direct Championship league title has been returned to Wimborne Road after a night of thrills and, too many spills, with the Poole 'Wessex Marine' Pirates overturning a twelve point deficit to secure the title with a heat to spare, eventually defeating Oxford 95-85 on aggregate.

The passionate Pirates weighed in with a solid team performance with reserve Tobias Thomsen being universally recognised as the rider of the night by his peers.

The Dane, who specialises in pleasing the crowd with his doughnut celebrations admitted afterwards "the staff, the team, the promoters and everyone just keep us on fire and I don't think I have been shouted to as much ever before. You could really feel the tension in the crowd, as well as with us as riders but with the supporters cheering us on every time we went out we just had to do it."

Thomsen scored paid twelve from six rides and featured along with Zach Cook in heat fourteen, the race that secured the Pirates their 30th trophy under Matt Ford's ownership of the Pirates. Thomsen's third place was enough to end Oxford's dreams of a first Championship title since the club was re-formed but he never gave up in the quest of trying to pass Cameron Heeps, such was the passion that runs throughout the Poole side.

Skipper Ben Cook, with a beaming smile simply said "It is awesome being the captain of the league champions. I wasn't happy with the last place that I ran in one ride and perhaps we won't talk about that. We always knew we were still in it but had to really dig deep, make some starts and be hard on them in the first corners."

One rider who epitomised that was Tom Brennan, when up against one of the toughest riders in British Speedway, Scott Nicholls, Brennan stuck to his guns and forced the Oxford skipper out as wide as he possibly could in heat four and it paid off with Vinnie Foord collecting a third place as Poole struck off half of the deficit they had faced from Saturday's first leg. That, after Oxford had actually extended their lead further when Richard Lawson was disqualified in heat one having been adjudged to have been the cause of Sam Masters falling.
Candid Brennan said afterwards "Look, the reason why we had such a big margin to make up was because of my performance on Saturday. I am employed to be a heat leader and for sure I wasn't so I had to come here tonight and kind of prove it. It's great to win the title, it's an absolutely unbelievable feeling and I think it is the best trophy I have won."
A year agon Brennan was breaking Poole fan's hearts when with his, then, Glasgow side they denied Poole an unbroken run of Championship crowns.

Club owner Matt Ford admitted that "I was so impressed with just how much everyone really wanted this. I just could not believe the spirit that this team has but let me say, nothing can put the hurt of last year behind me. I woke up this morning in a sweat just thinking about that. But we've done it we have got the 30th trophy and lets hope the 31st is in the knockout cup, although I am sure Oxford will want to have a say about that. I must applaud them for for playing their part in such a thrilling meeting. They really put in a good performance up there in the first leg, pulling away in the latter stages and getting the good advantage. It really made our task that much harder and they were keeping us out at times here tonight."

POOLE 56 (95) Tom Brennan 13 (3,3,3,1,3) ,Tobias Thomsen 10+2 (3,2',2,0,2',1) ,Richard Lawson 10+1 (X0,3,2,3,2') ,Ben Cook 9 (3,0,3,3) ,Zach Cook 8+1 (1,2,2',3) ,Vinnie Foord 3+1 (2',1,FD,RS) ,Sam Hagon 3 (2,1,RS,0)
OXFORD 34 (85) Sam Masters 10 (3,3,2,2,0) ,Dan Gilkes 6+1 (1,1,3,1') ,Scott Nicholls 6 (2,2,1,0,1) ,Cameron Heeps 6 (2,1,1,2) ,Ashton Boughen 4 (0,0,3,1) ,Jody Scott 2 (1,0,1,0,0,0) ,Luke Killeen 0 (FD,FD,NS,NS)
 

Photo Credit Tony Hartmann