by John Walsh

Last updated 14:04, Monday, 28 April 2008

Stoke Potter 42 Workington Comets 50: The Comets have one foot firmly planted in the second round of the Knockout Cup after an away win at Stoke.

Inspiration: Kauko Nieminen piled up 16 points

Saturday’s first leg at Derwent Park was washed-out but the Potters couldn’t take any home advantage last night as Workington produced a barn-storming finish.

With just six heats remaining the Comets were ten points in arrears yet finished the match eight points to the good – a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.

The home leg will now be run on Bank Holiday Monday, May 26 when Stoke should have been visiting Derwent Park in the Premier League. That will be fitted in later in the season.

At Loomer Road last night Workington seemed to be going nowhere when Stoke’s Ben Barker and Klaus Jakobsen engineered a 4-2 to push the Potters into a 32-22 lead.

But inspired by skipper Kauko Nieminen and impeccable number one Daniel Nermark, the Comets fashioned an unlikely impressive victory from that low point.

The fight-back started in heat ten when they had a slice of luck on their side. Lee Complin suffered an engine failure at the start which left Charles Wright to make the pace and Nieminen had bounced off the fence on the second turn, but stayed in the race.

Wright went on to beat veteran Mark Burrows and Nieminen, recovered well from his early set-back, almost catching the Stoke rider on the line.

But that 4-2 was the first of six consecutive heat advantages for the Comets which turned the match.

The most significant came in heat 11 when Nieminen was brought in by team manager Ian Thomas as a golden double tactical substitute in place of Scott Smith.

Nermark made the pace and Nieminen, off 15 metres, swept past Barrie Evans on the second turn of the first lap. In a desperate battle for four laps he just managed to overhaul Emiliano Sanchez on the line for a second place, which was worth four points.

The 7-1 for the Comets pulled them back to within two points and at 35-33 it was anybody’s match.

But Workington continued to show the same resolve in the heats that followed to hammer home their superiority.

Nieminen went back out in heat 12 and got away best to win from Barker but teenager Joe Haines made third place, for his only point of the night, but one which kept going Workington’s string of heat advantages.

There was another 4-2 in heat 13 when Complin could only split Nermark and Carl Stonehewer. The Stoke number one had briefly led Nermark from the third bend of the first lap to the second turn of the second lap – and then it was all over.

That put Workington ahead for the first time in the match and they built on that well over the last two races. Wright scored his second consecutive victory in the penultimate race with John Branney doing well to take third ahead of Jakobsen for the 4-2.

Then, in the final race of the night Workington scored a 5-1. Nermark raced to another five-ride maximum while Nieminen, after being passed by Complin on the last bend of the first lap fought his way back until he got up on the line to snatch second place.

Stoke Potters 42 - Lee Complin 8; Mark Burrows 7; Ben Barker 7; Klaus Jakobsen 4; Emiliano Sanchez 3; Barrie Evans 6; Jesper Kristiansen 7.

Workington Comets 50 - Daniel Nermark 15; Scott Smith 0; Kauko Nieminen 16; Charles Wright 7; Carl Stonehewer 8; Joe Haines 1;John Branney 3.