REACTION: WRIST-INJURED CAIRNS JUST WANTED TO KEEP RIDING!

Poole recorded the first away win in the MAXiCab Knockout Cup this season as they boosted their chances of an appearance in the competition's semi-finals.

Producing a very strong start to an incident-packed meeting at Oxford, the Pirates secured a 10-point first-leg lead in this quarter final tie, which they won 49-39.

Brave William Cairns overcame a wrist injury, sustained in a heat nine crash in which he was the innocent victim, to produce a three-ride unbeaten spell in the space of four heats as the Pirates countered a spirited comeback from the home side. 

Holding ice-packs on his heavily swollen wrist, the teenage sensation admitted:

"I was a bit unlucky out there when Zach (Cook) was pushed over into me by Anders (Rowe) and I had nowhere to go, Anders did come over and apologise to Zach afterwards. You know, I just wanted to keep riding and not sit around where I could start thinking about my wrist. I want to be on my bike. It's a busy time for me right now as I have got Ipswich on Thursday, Redcar on Friday and GB training at Glasgow on Saturday, so as well as it being a busy night for me here, I have a lot to be thankful to Gary and my Dad for all their hard work on the bikes."

Cairns' strong finish to the meeting saw him top-score for the Pirates with 14+1 on a night that began in thick dust clouds, had heavy rain, a hail shower and a number of crashes, none as bad as the closure to heat eight when leader Luke Killeen reared just yards from the line, fell right in front of the pursuing Cooper Rushen, who attempted to take avoiding action but got clipped whilst both Darryl Ritchings and Cairns became embroiled in the carnage. All four riders were eventually able to walk away from the incident, Killeen coming off the worst and took no further part in the meeting.

Poole team manager Neil Middleditch was happy with the Pirates' performance, claiming: 

"We had a bit of everything out there tonight. The track was changing with the weather conditions and we began well, but they came back at us equally as well, and the meeting could have gone either way at the mid-point. But we kept plugging away and there were some talking points for sure, but the referee quite sensibly and fairly took his time to review the footage each time before making his call and you really can't argue with that. We are not there yet but I am much happier stood here with a ten point lead than a ten point defeat. We will have to finish the job at Wimborne Road next Wednesday and take nothing for granted."

Before then, the Pirates face a trip to Redcar on Friday night where league points will be on offer and an aggregate bonus point is on offer as they hold a 54-36 advantage from the corresponding fixture. They will again be without Fraser Bowes at number two as he is still recovering from a freak accident in which a spring hit him in the eye whilst working on his bikes in his workshop on Tuesday. He will also miss the second leg of the cup under the seven-day rule for a non-speedway injury.

Wednesday scorers:

OXFORD 39 -Sam Masters 14 (2,3,3,3,3) ,Nick Morris 7+1 (1,3,R,1,2') ,Darryl Ritchings 7 (1,RS,2,1,3) ,Mitch McDiarmid 4+1 (1',3,X0,XD) ,Anders Rowe 4+1 (2,2',XD,R) ,Dayle Wood 2 (0,0,1,RS,0,1) ,Luke Killeen 1 (0,1,FD,RS)

POOLE 49 -William Cairns 14+1 (3,2,1,2',3,3) ,Lewis Kerr 10+1 (3,2,N2,2,2',1) ,Cooper Rushen 8+1 (2',3,0,3,F) ,Zach Cook 7+1 (2',0,3,2,0) ,Richard Lawson 6+1 (3,1,2',XD) ,Kyle Newman 4+1 (1,R,0,1',2)

REACTION

Friday Teams

REDCAR (TM Gavin Parr) 1. Nicolai Klindt 2. Jake Mulford 3. Jordan Jenkins 4. Jason Edwards (Capt) 5. Jake Allen 6. Ace Pijper 7. Jody Scott

POOLE (TM Gary Havelock) 1. Richard Lawson 2. Rider Replacement for Fraser Bowes 3. Lewis Kerr 4. Kyle Newman 5. Zach Cook (Capt) 6. William Cairns 7. Cooper Rushen

Photo Credit: Liam Cockwell