Tigers
Lose by 15
By Casper, Posted 14/05/05
Glasgow probably did a lot better than many
expected this evening at Hoddesdon but still went down by 15 points
despite leading at one stage.
There was little passing in the early
stages of the meeting but the latter stages made up for that with
some entertaining stuff mostly involving George Stancl.
The first two heats were shared and
won from the gate, Stancl gating best in heat one and leading from
start to finish, King doing the same in heat 2. Glasgow got a bit
of luck in heat 3 when the fast gating Allen fell on the second bend.
Neath won the heat by a considerable distance but with the Tigers
pairing getting second and third the heat was shared.
Shane Parker swooped round the outside
of the Rye House pair at the start of heat four and went on to claim
victory in yet another shared heat with Leverington surprisingly at
the back. With Stancl in excellent form it was no surprise that he
gated and won heat 5 with ease and with Matthew claiming third place
it meant that the Tigers took the lead.
It did not last long however as in
the next heat Kennett went rather wide and hard on Parker causing
him to shut off a little and it was then plain sailing for the Rye
pairing to claim the first 5-1 of the night. Heat 7 was shared from
the gate whilst the Rye pairing outgated Wethers and Cockle to record
another 5-1 in heat 8 with passing at this stage non existent.
Although Neath outgated Parker in heat
9, Shane picked him off and past him at the end of the second lap
to ensure a share of the spoils. With Rye recording another 5-1 in
heat 10 it was no surprise that Glasgow brought George out as a TR
in heat 11. Although he was outgated for the first time in the meeting,
he swept round the outside of Werner to lead coming out of the second
bend and went on to claim victory. Sadly this was followed by another
5-1 in heat 12 after Birkinshaw, lying second, slowed allowing King
and Cockle through. Birkinshaw did get going again although was by
then well off the pace and we were left speculating as to whether
he perhaps had bike problems.
Heat 13 was to provide entertainment,
good racing and concluded with a shocking call from the referee. Parker
was on a TR but had gated poorly. George tried to slow the race down
on the third bend to allow Shane into the mix but Robson took full
advantage to come through from third to first and pulled clear. The
remaining three riders and in particular George Stancl were riding
a very tactical race which saw all three approach the finish line
in a blanket finish. The impressive Stancl managed to slow things
down enough for his partner to claim second place, George crossing
the line third half a wheel ahead of Werner. However to the disbelief
of everyone including the Rye House fans, the referee adjudged Werner
third and Stancl fourth.
After the excitement of heat 13, heat
14 was a bit of an anticlimax with Rye getting another 5-1, helped
by Cockle falling and remounting on the first lap.
The same four riders who entertained
in heat 13 were out again in heat 15 and yet again put on a display
of good speedway. Out front Werner and Stancl were doing battle with
Parker and Robson having their own battle behind. In both cases the
riders continually passed and re-passed each other, allowing each
other the room to race. Definitely the race of the night but unfortunately
for the Tigers they came second best in each mini-battle.
After last night most Tigers fans would
have quite happily settled for this result. The score line was kept
a lot closer than many expected and Glasgow even still have the chance
of claiming the bonus point, albeit a slim one. The majority of the
meeting did not provide much passing, partly down to the track and
partly down to the riders. Glasgow once again relied far too heavily
however on their top two and can only be grateful that yet again they
delivered. Still, many teams will struggle at Rye House this year
and a few will go down by a greater margin than that inflicted on
Glasgow.
Tigers Performance Points;
| George Stancl |
***** |
Outstanding tactically and in racing |
| Matthew Wethers |
** |
Another disappointing performance |
| Jamie Birkinshaw |
** |
Gritty but was always going to struggle on gaters |
| Claus Kristensen |
** |
quietly scored points |
| Shane Parker |
*** |
Decent performance on a track he dislikes |
| James Cockle |
** |
Will be disappointed on a track he knows well |
| Trent Leverington |
** |
A definite off night for Trent |
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