IT HAPPENED THIS WEEK……..JUST ONE YEAR AGO - 2018

Monday May 14th saw the Pirates fall victim to a six point defeat by the Rockets, the sixth consecutive defeat in all the competitions that Poole had endured and gave the home side their third successive 48-42 Premiership victory.
Poole found themselves half a dozen clear after nine Hoddesdon heats, Mateusz Szczepaniak and Richie Worrall partnering up for a maximum 5-1 over Kennett and Kasprzak but the home side banged in successive 5-1's of their own to overturn the deficit. 
A heat 14 incident involving Josh Grajczonek bringing Nikolak Busk-Jakobsen down swung the meeting in Rye's favour as lone Pirate Stefan Nielsen couldn’t prevent Kennett and reserve replacement Max Clegg banking the 5-1 that left Poole six adrift going into the final heat which Kasprzak won, although Woryna and Worrall leading in Kennett ensured a consolation point.
 
48 hours later the two sides met on Wimborne Road shale and at last the Pirates ended that run of defeats, but not without some difficulty on the way.
Struggling against heavy track conditions early on, the effects of afternoon rain that hit the Poole area, the Pirates found themselves all too often in the minor placings as Krzysztof Kasprzak, Chris Harris and Scott Nicholls each won their opening two rides.
That said, the partisan home fans had plenty to cheer, not least when Kacper Woryna rode the wall of death round the pit-turn in heat 9 as he tried to relegate birthday boy Nicholls in to third place whilst Josh Grajczonek was ahead. Unable to see the move through Woryna looked setttled in third place until an engine failure beset him on the final turn allowing Doolan to sneak home for a heat share.
The crowd erupted again in heat 10 when Kurtz and Sundstrom had the beating of Kasprzak to allow Poole to edge into a six point lead. Grajczonek had to be on full alert to deal with Summers in heat 11 whilst Harris made it three from three, the Rockets consequently trimming a couple of points off the deficit to establish a 38-34 after a shared heat 12.
Kurtz made the early running in heat 13 but 40 year old Nicholls used all his experience to outwit the Pirate number one and a lap later Kurtz dropped further back as Harris picked him off. With Rye looking set to level the meeting Harris fell on the final lap giving the Pirates a major let-off.
Nielsen and Grajczonek clinched the victory with a 5-1 in heat 14 but Harris and Nicholls salvaged the consolation point with a similar score in the final race.
 
But here we are one year one and the main question remains, will there ever be a Poole v Rye House contest again?
 
Hoddesdon Scorers
Rockets 48: K.Kasprzak 11, S.Nicholls 10+1, A.Summers 7+1, E.Kennett 6+1, N.Busk Jakobsen 6+1, C.Harris 6,  M.Clegg 2
Pirates 42: S.Nielsen 8+2, K.Woryna 8, R.Worrall 7+3, L.Sundstrom 6+2, B.Kurtz 6, M.Szczepaniak 6, J.Grajczonek 1
 
Wimborne Road scorers
Pirates 47: S.Nielsen 11+2, L.Sundstrom 9+2, J.Grajczonek 9+1, B.Kurtz 7, M.Szczepaniak 6+3, K.Woryna 5+2 (R/R for R.Worrall)
Rockets 43: S.Nicholls 13+1, C.Harris 12, K.Kasprzak 10; A.Summers 5+1, K.Doolan (guest) 1+1, E.Kennett 1, M.Clegg 1