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Exeter Falcons v Workington Comets
Premier League, 13 June 2005
County Ground, Exeter
| 1 | Mark Lemon | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | . | . | . | 10 | 0 |
| 2 | Pavel Ondrasik | R | 2* | 0 | 1 | . | . | . | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Ray Morton | 2* | 1* | 3 | 2* | . | . | . | 8 | 3 |
| 4 | Antonin Svab | 3 | 2 | 2* | 3 | . | . | . | 10 | 1 |
| 5 | Seemond Stephens | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | . | . | 15 | 0 |
| 6 | Ben Barker | 1 | 0 | 2* | 0 | . | . | . | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | Lee Smethills | 3 | 2* | 3 | 3 | 1 | . | . | 12 | 1 |
| 1 | Carl Stonehewer | 1* | 1 | 3 | 2^ | 2 | 2 | . | 11 | 1 |
| 2 | Kevin Little | 2 | 0 | 1* | R | 0 | . | . | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Scott Robson | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | . | . | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | Shaun Tacey | R | R | 1* | 0 | 1* | 0 | . | 2 | 2 |
| 6(g) | Tom Brown | 0 | 1 | 0 | . | . | . | . | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | James Wright | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4^ | . | . | 9 | 0 |
* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).
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With Exeter qualifying for the semi-finals of the Premier Trophy by winning the bonus point at Reading on Friday night, this match against Workington was a dress rehearsal for that semi-final because the two teams will meet again when it is staged. Exeter were at full strength while Workington used Rider Replacement for the injured Kauko Nieminen and this time had Tom Brown in their ‘revolving’ reserve position. Workington were looking for a good result to consolidate their position as the early leaders of the Premier League particularly since Shaun Tacey scored an 18 point maximum at the County Ground last year riding for King’s Lynn. Exeter on the other hand, one of the fancied sides to challenge, could ill-afford to drop points having failed to take a point away from home so far in the league. Mark Lemon won the opening heat but was followed home by Kevin Little and Carl Stonehewer as Pavel Ondrasik’s bike packed up resulting in a shared heat before Exeter took a two point lead in heat two with a 4-2 with Lee Smethills leading home James Wright and Ben Barker. A 5-1 in heat 3 from Toni Svab and Ray Morton ahead of Workington’s Robson/Tacey partnership suggested it would be a long, hard night for the Comets as they slipped 6 points in arrears. It got worse for them as Seemond Stephens and Lee Smethills added another 5-1 in heat 4 ahead of Workington’s two form riders – Carl Stonehewer and James Wright. This made the heat 4 score 17-7. After two disappointing rides Carl Stonehewer, out for the third time in five heats, finally provided Workington with a race winner but Svab and Morton kept Kevin Little at the back and the heat was shared. However, Exeter recorded another 5-1 in heat 6 from Mark Lemon and Pavel Ondrasik as Shaun Tacey taking the R/R ride suffered an engine failure to put the Falcons 14 points ahead. In heat 7 another win for Seemond Stephens resulted in a shared heat as Robson and Tacey kept Ben Barker at the back. Similarly in heat 8 Lee Smethills continued his unbeaten run with Wright and Little heading home Ondrasik for another 3-3 to take the score after heat 8 to 31-17. Morton and Svab took a heat 9 5-1 from Robson to increase Exeter’s lead to 18 points and it was 20 after heat 10 won by Mark Lemon as Stuart Robson took second place from Pavel Ondrasik for a 4-2. Things got even worse for Workington in heat 11. Carl Stonehewer took a TR but was beaten into third place by Seemond Stephens and young Exeter reserve Ben Barker for an Exeter 5-2 increasing their lead to 23 points at 45-22. Heat 12 resulted in Exeter’s 7th maximum heat win as Lee Smethills and Ray Morton led James Wright from the gate then in heat 13 Seemond Stephens completed his fourth winning ride but Carl Stonehewer finished second to end Mark Lemon’s winning run for an Exeter 4-2 stretching the home side’s lead to 29 points at 54-25. Workington finally played their second TR card with James Wright taking the ride in heat 14. Although he finished second to Tony Svab, his partner, Sean Tacey, finished third ahead of Ben Barker so Workington had at last secured a heat advantage with a 3-5 and hit the 30 point mark in the process. In the final heat Seemond Stephens completed his full five ride maximum with Stonehewer finishing second for an Exeter 4-2 and a 29 point win. If Workington can’t improve on this score in the Premier Trophy semi-final their chances of making the final will be slim. Match Report by Merlin |