Tigers Late Charge Secures Victory
Posted 30/06/06, By Kyra

The rather cheeky centre green advertising may have said 'Wasps Destroyed' but Newport were certainly not easy pickings for the Tigers, Glasgow's seemingly comfortable winning margin being down to their dominance in the final four heats.

Chris Neath was Newport's guest for the injured Craig Watson and much was expected of him. However he was to disappoint in the opening heat, finishing at the rear after David McAllan held off his challenge at the end of the third lap. the heat was comfortably won by Danny Bird who had got the better of Chris Schramm on the opening bends after the two gated side by side.

Heat two needed a re-run after Billy Legg flipped coming out of the start. the Glasgow reserves had gated first time and repeated the feat in the re-run to record the 5-1. However it was the Newport pairing who gated in the third heat. All four riders were in contention coming into the back straight but as Kauko came up the inside of Collins pushing him wide, Lee Dicken had to cut off to avoid the fence and dropped off the back. Kauko passed the veteran Collins but was unable to mount any more than a token challenge on Tony Atkin.

Shane Parker won a well spread out heat 4 from the gate, the only pass being when Wilkinson passed Cockle on the inside coming out of the second bend.

Once more Nieminen and Dicken were beaten out of the gate in heat 5 both in an initial unsatisfactory start and the re-run. Nieminen did briefly challenge Schramm for second place on the first lap but the Newport pair won comfortably. Lee Dicken had bike problems at the rear but managed to complete four laps.

Two heats from the gate followed, Danny Bird winning a well spread out heat 6 after making an electric start whilst Robert Ksiezak and Shane Parker recorded Glasgow's second 5-1 of the meeting in heat 7. Once again, Shane did team ride, slotting in behind Robert but in all honesty its probably the easiest piece of team riding he will have all season as the challenge was negligible.

James Cockle only barely made the two minutes after struggling with his bike in the pits prior to heat 8. Cockle and McAllan then gated but a superb piece of riding on the opening bends by Chris Schramm saw him swoop round the outside of both Glasgow riders and pull well clear. Cockle was clear in second with all eyes on the back for the battle between McAllan and Parsons for third. the two passed and re-passed each other for three laps before Parsons came out on top after a drive up the inside on the final bend of the third lap.

Carl Wilkinson came out and won heat 9 easily from the gate, Nieminen and Dicken claiming second and third in a heat that could not really be called a race, the riders were that spread out. Once again, Dicken's bike was definitely not right but it did not stop him getting the third place.

The strangest heat of the night award would have to go to heat 10. Danny Bird once again gated and was well clear - so much so that many missed what happened at the end of his race. David McAllan held second place for the first lap before Neil Collins swooped round the outside of him on the fourth bend. David returned the favour at the start of the second lap but the experienced Collins made an excellent cut back into bend two, passing David up the inside and pulling clear. David stayed in touch with Collins whilst Atkin pressured him for third place for the remainder of the race. Coming round the final bend, Danny Bird, who was well in front, just simply lost it going wide and had to bail off the back. Atkin took advantage of the confusion to slip past McAllan to finish second behind Collins and Newport recorded their second 5-1 of the night.

After the drama of heat 10, Shane Parker won heat 11 from the gate but unfortunately Robert Ksiezak made his only poor gate of the night and trailed in last. He did get the chance to make amends quickly however, coming in for Lee Dicken in heat 12 and winning the race comfortably. Both Glasgow riders had outgated their Newport counterparts and James Cockle battled for three laps to keep the Newport riders behind him. Once again though the experience of Neil Collins showed and he passed Cockle on the outside line at the end of lap three.

Heat 13 saw another easy 5-1 for Parker and Bird with Shane beating Danny out of the gate leaving Glasgow only needing a second place to secure all three points. Kauko Nieminen duly obliged with a comfortable win in heat 14 where once again all the racing was at the back. This time it was Robert Ksiezak who was able to come out on top of the battle with Joel Parsons to claim third spot.

With nothing other than pride to ride for, Glasgow came out and once again recorded a heat 15 5-1 from the gate with Shane again beating Danny out of the gate. The entertaining Carl Wilkinson did well to stay on his bike after a wall of death style ride on the third and fourth bends of the opening lap.

The result looks comfortable but as always at Ashfield, Newport gave Glasgow a good run for their money. there was a group of Berwick fans came up to cheer on the popular Carl Wilkinson and watching him ride it is understandable how he has built up such a following. Newport's middle order rode well but the difference at reserve was crucial although Joel Parsons was probably worth more than the two points he scored.

Once again Danny and Shane were immense for the Tigers even taking into account Danny's little lapse of concentration at the end of heat 10. Robert also continued his excellent form and, although he sounded disappointed when interviewed after the meeting, James Cockle definitely looked to be returning towards the form we know he is capable of. Glasgow were very weak in the middle, even Kauko having an off night but having said that he still scored 8 points. After the meeting, Lee Dicken was straight out on his troublesome bike to try and fix his problems.

Newport is always a tough meeting and the Wasps didn't disappoint but Glasgow will have to up the ante for this Sunday's meeting against Isle of Wight. The important thing is though that Glasgow did what was required and the three points are in the bag.

Tiger Performance Points:-
(based on expectations)

R003