LEIGH ADAMS hit 16 points to once again lead the Swindon scoring at Poole on Wednesday evening, as his side went down to a 54-39 defeat in the Craven Shield.
Wednesday 26 March 2008
POOLE CASTLE COVER PIRATES 54 SWINDON ROBINS 39
Craven Shield
DESPITE establishing an early lead, the Robins were eventually defeated by a 15-point margin on a bitterly cold night at Poole’s Wimborne Road circuit.
After the conclusion of heat five, Swindon held a slender 2-point advantage but were only able to conjure 7 points from the next five races. That allowed Poole to gain an impressive 14-point lead and a strong foothold on the meeting.
Adams and James Wright combined emphatically for a text-book 8-1 in heat eleven to cut the Pirates’ lead to 7 points, but the Dorset side yet again turned the screw in the remaining four races by limiting Swindon to just 8 points.
In a roller-coaster encounter, Swindon were yet again led impeccably by Adams, whose 16-point haul was excellently acquired. Delving a little deeper, Seb Alden continued his encouraging start to the 2008 campaign, whilst Wright showcased plenty of speed on route to a paid 6-point score.
Elsewhere, both Travis McGowan and Theo Pijper will have been disappointed not to have stamped their authority further on the scorecard, whilst Mads Korneliussen and Troy Batchelor were paid for 5 points apiece.
The Pirates were led by their Danish captain Bjarne Pedersen, who eased to a deserved paid 13-point score and received sturdy support from Australian international Davey Watt.
The meeting began well for Swindon, as Adams collected a tapes-to-flag victory in the quickest Wimborne Road time of the season. Meanwhile, Wright rode very well to collect third spot.
The ensuing heat saw Poole overturn the Robins’ early advantage with a comfortable 5-1, before a fantastic one-two from Korneliussen and Batchelor re-established the Swindon lead.
A 4-2 from Alden and McGowan in race four doubled the Robins’ advantage to 4 points. Heats five through ten saw Swindon fail to build upon their early momentum, as Poole collected six successive race advantages.
Adams and Wright steadied the ship in heat eleven courtesy of a brilliantly-worked maximum 8-1, but Poole quickly dispelled any hint of a Swindon comeback with a 4-2 from Watt and Eriksson in race twelve.
Adams romped to victory in heat thirteen, but McGowan’s fourth place finish meant that the Robins were unable to narrow the 9-point deficit.
The youthful Polish pairing of Karol Zabik and Zibi Suchecki inflicted defeat on the Swindon duo of Alden and Korneliussen in heat fourteen to increase Poole’s lead to 13 points.
Adams was able to split the Pirates’ pairing in heat fifteen, with the resultant 4-2 concluding proceedings and extending the home side’s winning margin to 15 points.
HEAT DETAILS COURTESY OF LEE POOLE
MATCH REPORT BY CHRIS SEAWARD
