This site has RSS newsfeeds. Add the bookmark to your favourite RSS news reader to keep up to date with all of the latest news from Glasgow Tigers Speedway.
RSS FEED
10 Aug 2008: Glasgow (44) Sheffield (46) |
| Match Report Sunday 10th August 2008 Premier League 'Buildbase' Glasgow Tigers - (44)
Sheffield 'Window Centre' Tigers - (46)
Saturday's rain meant that additional showers on Sunday could make conditions difficult. Showers were forecast and, right on cue, a heavy one arrived just before 4 pm and the start of the meeting had to be delayed until all of the showers had passed over. With Shane Parker not yet given the all clear to resume racing, Carl Stonehewer put in another overtime shift to guest in his place and Team Manager Stewart Dickson switched Trent Leverington and Anders Andersen to give the Tigers' captain the tricky third heatleader slot after some good performances. For Sheffield former Glasgow Tiger Lee Smethills was still out injured and the deal to take former Ashfield favourite James Birkinshaw as a replacement seems to have fallen through, so Scott Smith guested. Always exciting to watch Andre Compton led the visitors, but all home eyes would be on young Josh Grajczonek after his superlative display against title chasing Somerset last week. Gate pattern B in operation. Heat 1 After the rain delayed start, it was Ricky Ashworth and Lee Dicken who hit the front, as Joel Parsons held Carl Stonehewer at the back. The slippery surface prevented Glasgow's guest making any impression on Parsons, but it did not seem to deter Ashworth who attacked the track with relish in what appeared a fast time, to give the visitors a good start. Ashworth, Dicken, Parsons, Stonehewer (2-4) (2-4) - 59.3 Heat 2 Josh Grajczonek and Mitchell Davey made the start, with Josh cleverly moving out to snuff out the outside challenge of Scott Smith. The much travelled Sheffield guest was caught out by conditions and did a 180 degree turn and flipped over. He appeared unable to get back up and the referee had to stop the race and exclude him. The rerun followed the same pattern with the 'Townsville Terrors' starting well and Kyle Hughes being unable to keep on terms. Mitchell looked assured in this one, belying the conditions for a well taken win to put the home Tigers ahead. (Rerun) Davey, Grajczonek, Hughes, Smith(F.Exc) (5-1) (7-5) - 61.0 Heat 3 As the four riders hit the turn, Robert Ksiezak, on the outside, got a nudge and came down. The referee ruled an unsatisfactory start with all four included in the rerun. This time Andre Compton and Paul Cooper got the drop at the start and left Robert and Anders Andersen trailing, to take the visitors back in front. Compton, Cooper, Ksiezak, Andersen (1-5) (8-10) - 59.9 Heat 4 Josh made a clean getaway but Ben Wilson bumped Trent Leverington outside and this left a gap for Smith to nip through. Trent tried to pull the points back but was hampered by the conditions, and was less than impressed that the referee appeared to miss the incident. Grajczonek, Smith, Wilson, Leverington (3-3) (11-13) - 60.5 Heat 5 A tight first turn saw Parsons come down and all four were called back for the restart. Robert gated well this time but Ashworth swept round him on turn 2, looking as though he was carrying on from his recent guest appearance for Mildenhall. Ashworth, Ksiezak, Parsons, Andersen (2-4) (13-17) - 62.0 Heat 6 Lee and Carl shot out of the start to leave the Sheffield pair trailing and Carl let the big Yorkshireman through off turn 2, to mount any necessary defensive action, although it was not needed, and the scores were tied. Dicken, Stonehewer, Wilson, Hughes (5-1) (18-18) - 60.9 Heat 7 Compton hemmed Trent in on the inside, so the Aussie moved out with Mitchell, leaving a hole for Cooper to take advantage of and the Sheffield man nipped through on the inside to join his team-mate at the front. Trent got past Mitchell at the end of lap 2 but was unable to make up any ground on the visitors' pairing, who clinched their second successive maximum and restored Sheffield's lead. Compton, Cooper, Leverington, Davey (1-5) (19-23) - 60.2 Heat 8 The start of this race was delayed whilst a stramash in the pits, surrounding the eligibility of Parsons' bike, was sorted out. Josh turned well into turn 1, but Parsons kept to his wide line for the lead. Josh was using the inside line to good effect until Lee came down on turn 3 lap 2, dislodging one of the kickboards. The referee had no option but to stop the race and exclude Lee, and the big man needed attention for some time on a hand injury. The rerun saw Josh slowest away, but he turned tight and Smith's wild, wide line only succeeded in blocking Parsons as they both almost stopped. Parsons eventually got into second on lap 3 as Smith seemed to have problems with his cut-out, but it was a fruitless chase. (Rerun) Grajczonek, Parsons, Smith, Dicken(F.Exc) (3-3) (22-26) - 61.5 Heat 9 With Anders appearing out of sorts, Team manager Dickson brought Josh in as a reserve replacement for the Dane and it paid off handsomely. The Aussie teenager gated and Robert roared round Wilson as the Sheffield number 5 snaked and dropped to the back and the Glasgow 'Top Scrabble Score Twins' brought the homesters back on level terms. Ksiezak, Grajczonek, Hughes, Wilson (5-1) (27-27) - 60.7 Heat 10 With Lee out, Mitchell was drafted in as a replacement, with an eye to future changes in the latter part of the meeting. It was to no avail as the Sheffield top pairing scored their third successive maximum after Carl lifted at the start to give these guys an advantage that they didn't need. With that, this se-saw meeting had Sheffield back in front again. Compton, Cooper, Stonehewer, Davey (1-5) (28-32) - 60.2 Heat 11 Ashworth made another super start, but that didn't deter Mitchell who rode an excellent wide line to sweep ahead of the visitors' number one on turn 2 and Trent spotted the same line to edge ahead of Ashworth on the back straight. Unfortunately, the two bikes got locked together and, unable to turn, slammed through the fence, with Trent and the bikes landing in the 'safety zone' and Ricky lying on the track. It was an horrific looking accident and both riders needed lengthy attention before Ricky could get to his feet, apparently with a wrist injury, and Trent was stretchered into the ambulance with neck pain. A lengthy delay ensued as the track staff tried to reassemble the demolished fence before the 7 pm curfew beat them and the possibility of an abandonment, but they worked like Trojans and the 40 minute job was completed in time. Ashworth was excluded as the cause of the stoppage and, with Trent now out of action, Josh came in to take his place and Stewart Dickson had to change his strategy accordingly. The two youngsters were fired up and away quickly from the tapes with Mitchell holding the inside and Josh protecting his back to take a tremendous win over their more experienced compatriot, and level the scores again. (Rerun) Davey, Grajczonek, Parsons, Leverington(NS), Ashworth(Exc) (5-1) (33-33) - 61.8 Heat 12 With an eye to the later heats, Glasgow's reserves were switched again, with Mitchell coming in for Josh. Compton was easily away at the start and Robert could only try and keep in contention. Meanwhile, Mitchell did his job by getting the better of Hughes and keep the scores level. Compton, Ksiezak, Davey, Hughes (3-3) (36-36) - 60.2 Heat 13 Josh came in for the injured Trent whilst Smith came in for Ashworth. Josh's lightning reflexes saw him trap clear and head towards a possible maximum, but Smith cut across Stoney and relegated him to the back in a heat that should have given the home men a breakthrough lead. Grajczonek, Smith, Wilson, Stonehewer (3-3) (39-39) - 61.9 Heat 14 Josh again switched with Mitchell, with both he and Cooper unbeaten by an opponent. It was the Buildbase Tigers that looked to have the advantage they were looking for as Josh headed into the turn and Anders rounded his team-mate to take the lead. More importantly, Cooper was at the back, but he was quickly past Smith and chasing down Josh, catching and rounding him on turn 4 lap 2. He pursued Anders and finally got past with a terrific run off turn 2 on the last lap to take a magnificent win in the race of the day. Cooper, Andersen, Grajczonek, Smith (3-3) (42-42) - 62.3 Heat 15 With two riders already out injured and Josh having taken his maximum quota of rides, the strangely out of touch Stoney had to be pressed into service to partner Robert. The result was on a knife edge, but both of Sheffield's pair were on maximums, so it looked ominous for speedway's longest established Tigers. With Compton in untouchable form, it was no surprise to see him hit the front, and with Carl tucking in behind Robert, a draw looked on the cards. Cooper, though, got a good run off turn 2 and that was enough to take him through and edge the result in the visitors' favour. Compton, Ksiezak, Cooper, Stonehewer (2-4) (44-46) - 60.2 In a long drawn out meeting which took three and a half hours to complete, the injuries maybe hit the Buildbase Tigers a little harder in reducing their options and, whilst a draw would not have been an unfair result, it's only actual points which count. The visiting Tigers were well served by maximum man Andre Compton and Paul Cooper, whose 'race of the day' win on a day when passing was at a premium was superb. The awkward style of Scott Smith earned him some unexpected points and injury victim Ricky Ashworth had two good wins before his crash. Reserves Josh Grajczonek, just missing out on a 21 point paid maximum, and Mitchell Davey with two good wins under his belt, pulled out the stops, but the rest of the team were unable to cope with Sheffield's top end strength. Stoney can never have had a poorer meeting at Ashfield, but he has certainly given us plenty of points and excitement when deputising for Shane Parker, whose guaranteed scoring has been sorely missed. On the injury front it seems that Lee has a broken knuckle, Trent is just battered and bruised, but Ricky appears to have a broken wrist. Our best wishes go out to all of them. Report by : John Sloss |
 |
