Progression to the semi-final of the play-off’s is very much in the balance after the Tigers went down to the Isle of Wight by 16 points in the first leg of the quarter final on the Island.

Glasgow had chosen to face the Islanders rather than Somerset. After a good performance in the league earlier in the season saw a narrow four point away defeat but when they went 23 points down with two heats left it was looking very bleak.

The Islanders made it clear right from the start that they were hungry for victory. Despite Danny Bird gating out front, Jason Bunyan swept round the outside of him at the end of the opening lap and with David McAllan trailing at the back, Islanders got the heat advantage.

Both Glasgow riders gated in heat 2 but their spell at the front was short lived with Chris Johnson passing both on the opening bends and Simmons following suit shortly after to give the home side the first 5-1 of the evening.

Kauko Nieminen came out in heat three and won from the gate to halt the run of heat wins for the home side but unfortunately we still also filled last place and the heat was shared.

The next two heats were from the gate with hot prospect Jason Doyle beating Shane Parker into second in heat four, James Cockle trailing in off the pace at the back followed by Danny Bird getting the better of Stojanowski and Morton in heat 5.

Robert Ksiezak hit the front in heat 6 with partner Shane Parker surprisingly stuck at the back. Robert held on as best as he could but was unable to hold off Smallbrook specialist Jason Bunyan who swept round the outside to go on and claim the win.

Not surprisingly, Glasgow brought Kauko out as a TR in heat 7 and he put in another excellent performance to claim six points although once again partner Dicken was rooted at the back of the field. It was followed however with another heat advantage in heat 8 for the home side with Ksiezak following Bunyan home, Cockle bringing up the rear.

The racing had been a little lack lustre up to this point but heat 9 provided a good battle. The home pairing gated but Shane Parker came up the inside of Stojanowski and eased him wide and off the racing line to come through into second. Ray Morton was at the front however and Shane threw everything e could at the veteran but Morton combated every attack and held on for the win.

Kauko Nieminen looked set to continue his excellent form on the night in heat 10 when he gated but Holder tracked him for two laps before managing to sweep past him and claim the victory.

Glasgow now elected to put Danny Bird out as a TR in heat 11 but misfortune was to hit the ex-Islander when he suffered a puncture whilst in second place towards the end of the second lap and Glasgow lost a 5-1.

Lee Dicken failed to make the two minutes for heat 12 and was replaced by James Cockle. However Ray Morton won the heat comfortably from Ksiezak with Cockle bringing up the rear and the home side went into the interval a massive 16 points up.

In the league meeting Glasgow had staged a late come back to get within 4 points but any hope of the same happening again was soon dashed as Danny and Shane were surprisingly soundly beaten in heat 13 by the home pairing of Holder and Doyle and the Islanders looked to have one foot already in the semi’s.

As a last throw of the dice, Shane came in as a TS off 15m in heat 14 in place of James Cockle and it paid off to a certain extent. Kauko won the heat from Stojanowski but Shane managed to get past Johnson to claim third place and double points. Unbelievably it was the first race of the night that had not seen a Glasgow rider in last place.

The mini revival continued in heat 15 when Nieminen and Bird shocked the home fans when they beat Doyle and Holder for Tigers only 5-1 of the meeting.

It was a disappointing night to say the least for the Tigers with the tendency of Glasgow riders to fill last place very costly. Kauko was outstanding, Danny was unlucky with his puncture and Robert did come to grips with the track as the meeting went on. However with Shane very much off form and McAllan,Dicken and Cockle only scoring one point between them, Glasgow have left themselves a very tough task in the second leg at Ashfield this Sunday.

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