Another Home Defeat for Tigers
(Posted 05/05/08)

With Newcastle missing the injured George Stancl and being dealt a further blow with the non appearance of Ben Powell this was a meeting that Glasgow should have been capable of winning comfortably but that was not to be the case.

A shared opening heat came courtesy of a win from the gate for Pepe Franc after the Glasgow pairing both missed the gate.  Lee Dicken passed inside Sean Stoddart going into the third bend of the opening lap and Trent Leverington followed him through.  Franc was already well gone however, comfortably winning a rather uncompetitive opening race.

Stoddart was first away in heat 2, closely followed by Ross Brady who challenged him hard all the way but to no avail.  At the back, Mitchell almost nipped through on the inside of Robertson at the end of the third lap but the Diamonds reserve held off the challenge.

Tigers guest James Grieves and Josh Grajczonek gated, Grieves pulling clear while Josh fought to hold off the attentions of Henry and King.  An error by the youngster at the end of the opening lap saw the Newcastle pairing pull level either side of him but Josh managed to pull ahead again as they crossed the line for the first time. They were not so forgiving the second time round however when again Josh had a problem on the final bend of the lap and both Diamonds passed.  Josh fought hard for the remainder of the race but was unable to make any impression – Grieves won by the proverbial country mile.

The first of the three rider races came in heat 4 and it looked like the Tigers were on an easy 5-1 from the gate when Brady’s bike started making strange noises on the third lap and he dramatically lost power. Stoddart almost caught him on the final bend but with the help of some nifty footwork almost running on the bike Ross managed to hold on.

Another confidence boosting 5-1 for the home side followed in heat 5 thanks to some excellent early bend riding.  Newcastle’s Franc gated, quickly followed by Grieves.  James brilliantly took Franc wide on the second bend and edged ahead of him.  At the same time Josh took full advantage of the gap James had created for him on the inside and came through into second. Grieves quickly pulled well clear whilst Josh opened up a comfortable gap ahead of Franc for the remainder of the race.

A strange decision from referee Christina Turnbull was the main talking point in heat 6.  Leverington and Stoddart had a slight coming together out of the gate both coming down.  It looked like a classic all four back decision but the referee decided Trent was to blame and excluded him – Stoddart looked as surprised at the decision as Trent was angry! Stoddart gated in the re run but Lee was quickly passed him on the opening bends and went on to win another well spread out heat.

The initial running of heat 7 saw Robert Ksiezak make an excellent gate.  Unfortunately Mitchell Davey came a cropper on the third bend.  His bike seemed to stop suddenly, suggesting perhaps a chain problem, but whatever the cause the result was Mitchell was flung highside over the handlebars, landing heavily. He was knocked out in the accident and the medics arranged for him to be taken to hospital as a precaution. After a delay waiting on a second ambulance to arrive, Robert won the re-run after a tough opening bend with Henry.

The delay seemed to give the Diamonds riders a chance to get dialled in and they dealt the home side an unexpected blow by claiming their first 5-1 of the meeting in heat 8.  Stoddart went inside Dicken on bend two whilst Franc went round the outside.  Lee was left to chase, which, as always, he did, but although never far off Stoddert’s back wheel he just could not find a way through.

The second 3 rider race came in heat 9 but it was certainly not made easy for the Tigers.  Sean Stoddart gated and although James Grieves managed to sneak round him on the outside of bend two, he rode an excellent race in the early stages.  At the end of lap two Grieves began to open up a gap and from that point on the heat was relatively well spread.

Diamonds dealt another sucker punch in heat 10 with Henry and King both making excellent starts.  Leverington tried to give chase but in reality it was relatively easy for the Newcastle pair.

A late bike problem saw Ross Brady fail to make the two minutes in heat 11 and with Mitchell Davey already out of the meeting the choice was to go with one rider only or with Ross off 15m.  Stewart Dickson chose the latter although in doing so it meant that Franc was gifted his favoured inside gate.  He took full advantage to win easily from the gate after winding the crowd up with some delaying tactics on the start line. With partner King finishing directly behind him, Tigers suddenly found themselves 4 points down in a meeting they had looked as if they were going to win comfortably just 3 heats earlier.
 
A heat advantage in heat 12 gave the Tigers some hope.  In what was the best race of the day, Christian Henry finally showed his old Ashfield form.  He gated, followed by Grieves.  James tracked him for three laps before finally making his move at the end of lap three, pulling level up the inside of bend 4.  A drive down the home straight gave James a slight advantage as they rode side by side into the opening bend of the final lap, James then taking advantage of his better track position by pushing Henry wide then pulling clear out of the second bend.  It was a well controlled and executed pass and James deservedly took the chequered flag. Brady comfortably took third to give the Tigers a heat advantage.

Glasgow desperately needed at least a heat advantage in heat 13, the final race with a non starter in place of Powell, but it was not to be.  Josef Franc popped out of the gate and despite Trent’s pressure he could not find a way through.

When the Tigers pairing of Grajczonek and Brady gated ahead of their counterparts in heat 14 there were once again brief hopes that Glasgow could rescue the meeting but unfortunately Brady inadvertently baulked his team mate coming out of the second bend, sending Josh to the back.  Brady led the race but King was all over him and the two were locked in a good battle for the entire race.  King managed to edge ahead of Brady at the end of the third lap but Ross showed great determination to hit back and regain pole position. They were virtually side by side for the entire last lap but King just managed to get the drive off the final bend to take the win by the narrowest of margins on the line.  With Josh unable to get the better of Stoddart at the back it meant that Tigers at best could only get a draw assuming they could claim a 5-1 in the final heat.

The final heat definitely did not go to form.  Newcastle won the toss to give Franc his favoured inside gate but it was his partner Christian Henry who was to gate with Franc rooted at the rear.  Henry did not hold the lead for long, Robert Ksiezak cutting inside him on bend two and pulling clear.  It was left to James Grieves, who had proved an excellent guest for the Tigers, to try and get passed Christian Henry but Henry rode his best race of the day to thwart every attempt and get the 2 points Diamonds needed to claim victory.

Glasgow started well enough in what was, in all honesty, a poor meeting.  However they seemed to lose focus after heat 7, Newcastle dialled into the track and their four man team worked hard for their victory.

From a Glasgow point of view, things have to change.  Whether that means team changes or not, only the promotion can say.

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Glasgow Tigers speedway - posted on glasgow speedway dot com, an unofficial glasgow tigers speedway website.