Revenge for Rye House
Last updated 11:52, Tuesday, 06 May 2008
Rye House 52 Workington Comets 40: Reigning champions Rye House forged clear in the second-half of Monday’s meeting to gain a revenge win over Workington Comets.
After seven heats the sides were all-square at 21-21 but disasters for the Comets in the eighth and 11th races counted badly against them.
New boy Barry Burchatt was leading and in a big battle with Robert Mears on the third lap when he came-off and was excluded.
The referee awarded the race as a 4-2 to the Rockets and with their noses in front they never looked back.
The second disaster for the Comets came in heat eleven when number one Daniel Nermark took a bad fall through the safety fence, ending up ten yards beyond it.
He had taken down Daniel Halsey so was excluded from the re-run, although problems with his hand soon afterwards meant he actually withdrew from the meeting and missed his fourth and possible fifth ride.
Burchatt was leading at the time and had to go it alone in the re-run.
Although Stefan Ekberg got well away Burchatt and Halsey were involved in the best race of the day.
There was one pass after another between the two of them before the Rockets rider just edged in front at the line.
Burchatt waited by the pit gate to congratulate his rival on a terrific speedway scrap.
That 5-1 made it 39-27 to the Rockets and virtually wrapped-up the meeting because there was no way back for the Workington side, reduced to six men and with Charles Wright struggling on the tight Hoddesdon track.
Team manager Ian Thomas responded by sending out skipper Kauko Nieminen on a tactical ride in the 12th heat.
He had to settle for four points from second place, however, as Tai Woffinden produced a spectacular pass on the back straight second time round to grab the lead.
Young Joe Haines couldn’t get in the points at the back, however, and the heat points were shared 4-4.
A 4-2 to the Rockets in heat thirteen clinched the win, and it was merely a statistical appendage that the Comets shared the points in the penultimate heat and took a 4-2 in the last race.
Woffinden tried everything to get round Carl Stonehewer but couldn’t budge the seasoned Workington campaigner.
Nieminen, with 13 and Stonehewer on ten won two races each but the only other heat winner was Nermark in the first of the afternoon.
After three heats, in fact, Workington had forged an 11-7 advantage – courtesy of Nermark and Burchatt’s 5-1 in the opener.
The next two races were shared and then a big 5-1 from Ekberg and Mear put the Rockets level. Reserve Mear proved to be the Rockets’ ace in the hole.
He took seven rides – won three of them and finished his best-ever Premier League meeting with 16 points and three bonus.
Comets team manager Ian Thomas said: “We’ll never know what would have happened if Daniel hadn’t been forced to withdraw. We were unlucky with that and on Barry Burchatt’s fall so I do feel we could have got a lot closer.
“There aren’t a lot of teams who get close to the Rockets at Hoddesdon. The best score so far this season is 36 points against them.”
Match stats
Rye House 52: Chris Neath 4; Luke Bowen 4; Tai Woffinden 13; rider replacement for Tommy Allen; Stefan Ekberg 10, Daniel Halsey 3; Robert Mear 16.
Workington 40: Daniel Nermark 3; Barry Burchatt 4;Kauko Nieminen 13; Charles Wright 0; Carl Stonehewer 10; Joe Haines 8; John Branney 2.
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