REACTION: PIRATES MAKE BSN STATEMENT OVER RIVALS OXFORD

Poole promoter Dan Ford asked his team to reduce the number of last places in a meeting and they responded emphatically with a 58-32 BSN Series semi final first leg victory over arch rivals Oxford.

In front of a good sized holiday crowd every Poole rider posted a score in each of their rides for the first eight heats of the meeting, the first nil score coming in heat nine when Lewis Kerr's machine packed up off the start. There were to be just two more fourth places registered as the dominant Pirates racked up a twenty six point advantage. Conversely, the Cheetahs only had one actual heat advantage - Mitch McDiarmid and guest Sam Hagon combining for a penultimate heat 5-1.

Unbeaten Richard Lawson registered his forty ninth unbeaten home ride from sixty starts by completing his night with a third defeat of the evening on Sam Masters, and, when congratulated on his third full home maximum of the season, admitted "Yes, that's what you go for every time but it's tough, especially when you meet Sam Masters. I've said it before, I believe he is one of the best number ones in the league and to come up against him three times  is tough. Maybe I got a bit lucky in heat fifteen as in the first attempt he seemed to have me, but then it was called back and we got it done when it counted. I was initially surprised when I was told we had gates one and three for heat fifteen, and I thought 'oh happy days'. But when I got to gate one, the ruts were just ruined and I realised why he had picked gate two. In the first start of it I tried to get every inch of gate one but made a bit of a mistake and so then I moved a bit closer in the re-run and I don't think he liked that too much and it probably unsettled him a bit."

Lawson's regular racing partner Tobias Thomsen went into the heat as Poole's second unbeaten rider, but he couldn't quite keep out the assault from Masters and Killeen Nevertheless, the Dane had, arguably, already earned the Rider of the Night nomination with his brilliance in heat ten when he saw off a double threat from Mitch McDiarmid and Jordan Jenkins on the second lap and than endured a cat and mouse tussle on the final lap with McDiarmid.

All in all it was a very positive showing from the Pirates and the twenty six point lead will now go into the locker awaiting a date for the second leg, although the two sides will meet again next Wednesday (20th) when the Pirates complete their regular league campaign with a trip up the A34.

Elsewhere, Glasgow confirmed they will be the Pirates semi-final opponents in the KO Cup, with a 99-81 aggregate victory over Edinburgh,  and so will be the next visiting side to Wimborne Road (August 27th) in what will be a repeat of the 2023 Grand Final.

Scorers
POOLE 58 - Richard Lawson 15 (3,3,3,3,3) ,Tobias Thomsen 9+3 (2',2',3,2',0) ,Anders Rowe 9 (3,3,2,1) ,Zach Cook 8+1 (2',2,3,1) ,Lewis Kerr 7+1 (3,1',R,3) ,William Cairns 6+1 (2,2',1,1) ,Paul Starke 4+3 (1',2',1',0)
OXFORD 32 - Sam Masters 11 (1,3,3,2,2) ,Luke Killeen 9+1 (3,1,RS,2,RS,FD,2,0,1') ,Sam Hagon 5+1 (0,RS,1,RS,2,2') ,Mitch McDiarmid 5 (0,1,1,3) ,Cameron Heeps 1+1 (F,0,1',RS) ,Jordan Jenkins 1 (1,FD,R,FD) ,Jye Etheridge 0 (0,0,0,RS) 

Heat Details

Photo credit: Liam Cockwell