PIRATES DRAW BUT MISS OPPORTUNITY FOR VICTORY

Poole somehow managed to retain their unbeaten league record with a draw against Oxford but there was disappointment in the camp as this one certainly felt more like a point dropped than a point gained.

Oxford were reduced to just a team of five when Edward Kennett was forced to withdraw from the meeting after just one outing with a wrist injury, and that left the home side having to manage their reserves carefully, as they were the only options available to them. Like Poole, they were already using rider replacement for a SGP2 competitor - both Mitch McDiarmid and William Cairns away in Poland, finishing 11th and 6th respectively.

Speaking after seeing his side come back from a six point deficit to be level going into heat fifteen, team manager Neil Middleditch said:

"That was a tough one. At least we are still unbeaten. I felt we had the chances tonight to win this but we made hard work of it although to be fair to Oxford they did a good job especially after losing Eddie. If I am honest then Rich (Richard Lawson) and Lewi (Lewis Kerr) weren't really on it early on and that made it harder for us. But they both finished strongly as Lewi won his last ride crucially and Rich and Zach made sure they both scored in that last one. We knew, with the scores level that we just had to avoid the last place and up against Sam (Masters) and Anders (Rowe). That in itself was not an easy task, especially from gates 2 and 4. So, we avoided defeat and we'll take it."

Poole's fightback came when Zach Cook, as a tactical substitute, partnered Lawson to a 5-1 in heat eleven to close the deficit to just two points. Guest Luke Harrison was given an extra ride in heat fourteen and rewarded Poole with a solid victory, beating Rowe in the process. For three laps there were hopes that Cooper Rushen might back up in second but Rowe's pursuit was too strong on the final lap and the Pirates had to settle for a match levelling draw, which Lawson and Cook defended.

Poole now travel to Plymouth on Saturday and with Kennett ruled out, his guest booking will now be fulfilled by Oxford's Dayle Wood, whilst Harrison will again appear for the Pirates but this time for Cook with the Pirates restricted to a 'reduced facility' which requires his replacement needs to have an average 25% lower than the 7.70 that the Poole skipper will ride off in August.

Scorers from Oxford:
OXFORD 45 -Sam Masters 13+2 (2',3,2',3,3) ,Luke Killeen 11+1 (3,0,2',3,3) ,Anders Rowe 10 (3,3,2,2) ,Dayle Wood 6+2 (1',1,3,X0,0,1',0,RS) ,Darryl Ritchings 5 (2,FD,0,X0,1,2,0) ,Edward Kennett 0 (0,NS,NS,NS)
POOLE 45 -Zach Cook 14+1 (3,2,3,3,2,1') ,Luke Harrison 10+1 (3,2,1',1,0,3) ,Richard Lawson 7+3 (1,1',2',1',2) ,Lewis Kerr 6+1 (1',1,1,3) ,Cooper Rushen 5 (2,0,2,0,1) ,Kyle Newman 3+2 (0,0,2',1',RS)

Teams for Saturday at Plymouth
PLYMOUTH (TM Garry May)  1. Scott Nicholls, 2. Joe Thompson, 3. Daniel Klima, 4. Ben Barker, 5. Danny King (Capt), 6. Anze Grmek, 7. Ben Whalley, 
POOLE (TM Neil Middleditch)  1. Richard Lawson, 2. William Cairns , 3. Lewis Kerr, 4. Cooper Rushen, 5. Luke Harrison (Guest) , 6. Dayle Woods (Guest), 7. K.Newman (Capt)
SCB Referee Mr Paul Carrington

Full Heat Details