CAPTAIN Marvel, Leigh Adams, was again the hero as the Robins came back from 38-34 down after heat twelve to snatch a 46-44 victory in an incident-packed meeting at the Abbey Stadium.
Thursday 27 March 2008
SWINDON ROBINS 46 POOLE CASTLE COVER PIRATES 44
Craven Shield
Programme changes:
Ht 8: Pijper replaced Wright in the re-run; Ht 12: Eriksson replaced Suchecki; Ht 14: Alden replaced Pijper.
The amazing Aussie brilliantly team-rode compatriot Travis McGowan to a 5-1 in heat thirteen, before collecting a match-winning 4-2 with the same partner in the nominated race.
That gave Adams 13+1 points on the night, while McGowan tallied 9+1 in a typically gritty display. Elsewhere, Mads Korneliussen (7+2) and Troy Batchelor (7+1) weighed in with useful totals, while Seb Alden netted 6+2 points.
However, the match was marred by a frightening heat eleven accident that saw the chasing Adam Skornicki inadvertently clip Theo Pijper’s rear wheel, sending the two riders clattering into the first bend air safety barrier as they entered the final lap. The closely following McGowan reacted brilliantly to lay his machine down, thus avoiding further carnage.
Pijper was knocked unconscious by the impact and was taken to hospital, having also been reported to be suffering breathing difficulties. Meanwhile, Skornicki also went separately to hospital because of severe swelling to a wrist.
Earlier, Skornicki had become the first rider to inflict defeat on Adams at the Abbey this year, when he blitzed around the 363-metre circuit to win heat one. Meanwhile, visiting captain Bjarne Pedersen’s third place finish gave Poole an early 4-2 advantage.
The next two races were evenly split, before the Robins hit a 5-1 through McGowan and Alden in a re-run heat four, after Chris Holder had been excluded for a first turn fall.
Another ‘fiver’ immediately followed via the wheels of Korneliussen and Batchelor, with the latter doing particularly well to twice oust Pedersen during the race.
Swindon increased their lead to 22-14 in heat six as Adams won from Holder, with James Wright putting in a terrific spurt off the last bend to overtake Zibi Suchecki in the race to the line.
Poole came right back with successive 5-1s of their own in heats seven and eight to level the score at 24 points apiece. The second of these races was something of a calamity for the Robins, as Wright was excluded for touching the tapes and then his replacement, Pijper, crashed out on the first bend in the re-run.
The points were evenly split in races nine and ten, before the horrific events of heat eleven unfolded, with referee Dave Robinson awarding another 3-3 as the scores remained locked together at 33-33.
The deadlock was broken by a Poole 5-1 courtesy of Davey Watt and the impressive Freddie Eriksson in heat twelve, and the Robins appeared to be on the ropes.
The masterful efforts of Adams and McGowan brought Swindon right back into the match in heat thirteen, though, and with heat fourteen shared, it made for a tense decider.
Adams got the jump to lead, while McGowan surged around Pedersen and Watt to join his skipper out front. Adams again did all he could to shield his partner, but the omni-present Pedersen kept probing and finally found a way through to second place. That left Adams to take the win, while McGowan gallantly held on to the vital odd-point in third spot.
