SWINDON pulled off a sensational second successive away victory, winning 51-42 at Belle Vue, their scoring headed by skipper Leigh Adams with 10+1 points from four rides.
Monday 21 April 2008
ONE 51 BELLE VUE ACES 42 SWINDON ROBINS 51
Sky Sports Elite League ‘A’
BELLE VUE
Jason Crump 2 3 6 3 3 - - 17
Billy Forsberg 0 2* 3 2* - - - 7 (2)
Charlie Gjedde 1* 1 F 2 - - - 4 (1)
Lukasz Jankowski 2 0 1 1 - - - 4
Joe Screen (C) 0 1 2 1 1 - - 5
Michal Rajkowski 2 0 F 0 - - - 2
Robert Ksiezak 1* 2 0 0 - - - 3 (1)
Team manager: Chris Morton
ADAMS received great support from a back-to-form Travis McGowan and fellow Aussie Cory Gathercole, who each carded 9+1 points, the latter’s performance thoroughly underlining his undoubted potential. Meanwhile, James Wright tallied 9 points on his return to his former track.
Swindon took the lead in the opening heat and it was one that they wouldn’t relinquish all match long. Billy Forsberg initially gated ahead, only for Adams to quickly storm past on the back straight. The young Swede subsequently got into trouble on the second lap, with Wright taking advantage to join his captain out front. An eventful opener finally saw Jason Crump oust Wright for second spot, as the Robins moved 4-2 ahead.
Gathercole won a shared reserves’ race, with McGowan following suit in an evenly split heat three. The returning Mads Korneliussen passed Robert Ksiezak to win heat four, with Seb Alden collecting the odd-point after Joe Screen had taken a tumble and remounted on the second lap.
A remarkable heat five was won all-the-way by Wright, whilst the action went on behind. Former Robins’ favourite Charlie Gjedde remarkably rounded Adams at the end of lap one, but the Aussie drew level on home straight before both riders touched and wobbled. However, it was Adams who regained his composure the quickest to follow his team-mate home and stretch Swindon’s lead to 19-11.
Crump took the next race and he was joined for a 5-1 by an impressive Forsberg, who cleverly cut inside both Gathercole and Korneliussen on the initial lap.
The Aussie boys were on the gas for the Robins in heat seven, as Troy Batchelor and McGowan repelled the constant threat of Screen to post a 5-1.
Forsberg came from behind to win a drawn heat eight, before Gathercole and Korneliussen notched another Swindon 5-1, albeit fortuitously after Gjedde had inexplicably spun right round whilst holding the lead on the opening lap.
The Aces came right back into the picture in heat ten, as Crump gained a full 6 points from a tactical ride, with Forsberg following in the ex-World Champions’ tyre-tracks for an 8-1 advantage.
A super cool Adams zipped past Screen to win heat eleven and, with Wright holding third place, the Robins’ moved 38-31 to the good.
Batchelor cut back under the wide-riding Gjedde to triumph in heat twelve, while Gathercole’s third place took Swindon to within touching distance of another memorable away win.
Crump and Screen looked set to register a 5-1 over Adams in heat thirteen, but the former British Champion over-cooked the fourth bend on lap two and the brilliant Robins’ skipper didn’t need a second opportunity to surge through to second position.
McGowan and Gathercole cemented Swindon’s success in the penultimate race, easily defeating the Aces’ Polish duo of Lukasz Jankowski and Michal Rajkowski.
The final action saw Crump take his tally for the evening to 17 points by beating Wright, with Screen scooping the last point of an exciting encounter ahead of McGowan.
HEAT DETAILS COURTESY OF LEE POOLE
MATCH REPORT BY ROBERT BAMFORD
