Islanders Too Good for Tigers
(Posted 26/07/07)

The Islanders have proved to be a formidable force at home this season and Glasgow were unable to challenge that reputation although the Tigers did put in a better performance than the scoreline suggests.

Things were kept level for the first three heats with the Tigers benefiting a little from some Islanders misfortune. Cory Gathercole seemed to have difficulty in coping with the wet surface, falling not once but twice in the opening heat, the referee awarding the race after his second fall on the final lap.

It looked as though the reserve race was going to go badly wrong for the tigers with Lee Dicken off 15m after missing the initial 2 minutes. Coles gated well but was quickly passed by Johnson and a 5-1 for the home side looked on the cards when Bargh went through into second place on the third lap. Mechanical gremlins then played their part however with Bargh’s engine blowing allowing both Glasgow riders through for a shared heat.

Bunyan hit the front from the gate in heat 3 and although Parker tracked him trying different lines he was unable to find a way through, Bunyan pulling clear towards the end of the race. Ksiezak held third ahead of Stojanowski to keep the scores level.

Things then started to go wrong for Glasgow as they conceded three 5-1’s in a row. Trent and Lee missed the gated in heat 4 and although Trent was never off the pace and worked hard he could not stop Phillips and Johnson. Surprisingly Watson and McAllan suffered the gating blues in heat 5, something Stojanowski and the impressive Bunyan took full advantage of.

It looked as if the rot would stop when Chris Holder was the one to miss the gate in heat 6 but he was quickly passed Michael Coles and gave chase to Trent Leverington. Trent’s efforts to block him were no match for Holder’s track knowledge and he powered round the outside of him on the third and fourth bends to secure the 5-1.

Parker was brought in as a TR in heat 7 to try and close the gap although it was Robert Ksiezak who hit the front from the gate. In a very entertaining race, Robert tried hard to make room for his partner to come through from third place whilst Glen Phillips showed good awareness by blocking and counter blocking every attempt from the Glasgow captain to pass. Ksiezak may have won the race but the victory was really Phillips for minimising the effect of the tactical ride.

Gathercole won heat 8 from the gate with McAllan in second, Dicken falling and remounting at the rear. The pairing of Stojanowski and Bunyan inflicted more damage on the Tigers with a 5-1 in heat 9. Stojanowski had gated but Bunyan seemed to have been sleeping at the tapes and was anchored at the rear. However, Bunyan’s class particularly round his home track cannot be underestimated and he cleverly worked his way passed first of all Coles and finally passed the hard working Leverington to claim the all important second place. Heat 11 was shared from the gate before Shane Parker finally managed to lower Jason Bunyan's colours in another excellent race in heat 12. It was always going to take something special to beat Bunyan and Parker produced it with a classy ride to get the well deserved heat win.

Any hopes of a mini comeback were quickly dismissed however when Holder and Phillips dispatched of Watson and Leverington in heat 13 and although Robert Ksiezak came out and won heat 14 from the gate, his partner was left well off the pace at the rear.

It was enough however to earn the young Aussie his place in heat 15 alongside Shane Parker, lining up against the very impressive Islanders pairing of Holder and Bunyan. The Tigers pairing hit the front from the tapes but in a superb race both Holder and Bunyan picked them off throughout the four laps to finish on a high for the home side.

In all it was an entertaining meeting with some of the best racing seen this season on the Island. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Islanders were in good form and after the misfortunates in the opening heats everything just clicked for them

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