Another Last Heat Defeat
(Posted 13/10/08)

The last Premier League meeting of the season ended disappointingly for the Tigers, losing out to the Monarchs in heat 15 for the second week running despite being 12 points up after 6 races.

The Tigers certainly got off to a flying start in the opening heat although it was perhaps aided by a poor refereeing decision that saw Lawson excluded after coming off in first bend bunching when all four back looked the correct decision. Lone Edinburgh rider Sneddon shot from the tapes in the re run but Lee Dicken cut neatly inside him to take over the lead coming out of bend two. Shane Parker replicated the move passing inside Sneddon on the third bend and from then on in the Tigers 5-1 was never in any doubt.

Anders Andersen's chain went as he came out of the pits to go to tapes for heat 2, captain Trent quickly stepping in and loaning him his bike for the race. It certainly didn't hamper Anders who made the gate and went on to win the race. Much of the credit should however go to Mitchell Davey for the way he rode in second place. Mitchell showed just how much he has come on in recent weeks by team riding and protecting his partner from Derek Sneddon who tried hard to find a way through but was out thought by Mitchell at every turn and Tigers had their second 5-1 of the day.

The Glasgow pairing gated in heat 3 but both Edinburgh riders were ahead of Peter Juul going into the back straight. Ryan Fisher lost control coming out of the third bend and slid off but although Tully gave chase on Lee Dicken out front the heat was relatively spread and Tigers claimed the advantage.

Heat 4 saw two separate races, Wethers passing inside Leverington on bend two of the opening lap and going on to claim the win despite Trent's close attentions in the early stages whilst Anders Andersen worked hard at the back to hold off Aaron Summers for third.

Edinburgh brought Ryan Fisher in as rider replacement on a TR in heat 5 but it was Glasgow's rider replacement, Trent Leverington, who made the gate and won in style with Fisher claiming a poor second.

After a good hard opening couple of bends between all four riders, Shane Parker and Lee Dicken led the way down the backstraight in heat 6 and quickly opened up a comfortable gap ahead of Derek Sneddon. Wethers was the quicker of the visitors and once he got past his team mate he gave chase, getting close at the finish as both Shane and Lee seemed to slow down to give each other the win but there was never really any danger of the Tigers loosing the points.

Another rolling start by Ryan Fisher in heat 7 was soon overhauled by Trent Leverington with Andrew Tully following him through out of bend 2. Tully made a sterling effort to press Leverington although Trent was able to hold him off comfortably, Tully's chain snapping shortly after he had crossed the line in second place.

A superb gate from Wethers in heat 8 saw him win the heat easily. Anders and Lee got in each others way a little on the opening bends but Lee showed his experience by sitting in behind the youngster in third place to ensure a share of the spoils.

Glasgow were given a lesson in gating in heat 9 from Wethers and Sneddon who as a result recorded a very comfortable 1-5 s a result.

A tough opening bend saw Fisher cut Parker up in heat 10 but the race was allowed to continue and Parker was left to give chase. He looked to be reeling the Edinburgh man in, pulling alongside him coming out of the second bend of lap three when his bike popped and Fisher was left out front on his own to go on and claim the win. A good battle developed at the back between Lee Dicken and Andrew Tully which went all the way to the line, Lee once again coming out on top.

Glasgow got the benefit of another dubious refereeing decision in heat 11. Trent tried to anticipate the start and misjudged it resulting in an uneven start when the tapes went up but only Trent was penalised by it. However the referee called all four back. Trent took full advantage in the re-run after passing both Edinburgh riders on bend 2 and going on to win the heat easily although Anders was tailed off at the back after being passed on the inside by Tully at the end of the opening lap.

The Edinburgh pairing gated in heat 12 but Anders made an excellent inside pass on Sneddon coming out of bend 2. Peter Juul replicated the move on the third bend and although they were unable to make any inroads on Fishers lead, the Danish duo rode well to comfortably hold the minor placing's.

It was to take three attempts to run heat 13. There was no quarter given on the opening bends of the first running, Lawson hit the deck and the referee correctly called it as all 4 four back. Shane Parker made the start in the re run and with Wethers drifting wide a gap was left for Trent to slip through the inside into second place. Wethers came through on the inside of bend four to reclaim second spot and in his haste to hit back straight away, Trent overcooked it on the opening bend of the second lap and spun, Lawson doing well to quickly lay his bike down and avoid him. Although both riders remounted, the referee had already put on the red lights and Trent was excluded.

The first two running's had seen Glasgow riders gate but as Glasgow's luck dictates, the final re run saw Wethers gate. Wethers and Parker came out of bend two side by side with Shane getting the advantage coming down the back straight. Wethers however cut cleverly inside on bend four and regained the lead, a position he was able to hold to the chequered flag.

It was all change in heat 14 as Peter Juul took the rider replacement ride, Anders came in for Mitchell and Sneddon replaced the rather off the pace Summers. It was to prove crucial as Sneddon shot from the gate and although Juul chased hard he was unable to get close enough to mount a realistic challenge. Anders held off Andrew Tully for three laps before Tully passed inside him on bend three. He tried the same move on Peter Juul on the final lap but Peter firmly shut the door and held on to second place.

It was all down to a last heat decider again. Glasgow won the toss and strangely chose gates 1 and 3. When it came down to it though, it was all over by the first bend, Wethers and Fisher completely outgating Shane and Trent and although Shane gave chase on Wethers the visitors had the 1-5 and the meeting.

It was a disappointing end to what has been for the Tigers a season to be consigned to the history books as soon as possible. Roll on 2009.

 

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