Team Websites for News and More Detailed Match Reports:
Glasgow Tigers Website (Official)
Glasgow Tigers Website (Unofficial)

Live Updates for a Current or Recent match: Live Speedway Updates
Discussion on Matches and Other Speedway Issues: Speedway Forum

Glasgow Tigers v Reading Racers
Premier League, 15 May 2005
Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow

Glasgow 52
1George Stancl3231. ..90
2Matthew Wethers11*31. ..61
3Trent Leverington2*11*0. ..42
4Claus Kristensen33230 ..110
5Shane Parker22*332 ..121
6James Cockle2302*. ..71
7Jamie Birkinshaw1*011. ..31
Reading 42
1Andrew Appleton204^01 ..70
2Steve MastersR2R1*. ..31
3Zdenek Simota002*.. ..21
4Richard Wolff1121. ..50
5(g)Simon Stead334!32 3.180
6(g)Luke Priest000.. ..00
7Mathieu Tresarrieu31030 ..70

* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).

Glasgow returned home for their third match in three days, having ridden at Somerset and Rye House on Friday and Saturday. This match marked Claus Kristensen’s home debut for the Tigers and, with the new averages coming into force, Trent Leverington moved from the reserve berth to number 3 with James Birkinshaw going the other way from 3 to 6. For Reading this was their second match in consecutive nights having lost at Workington last night. With Matej Zagar again absent they had Simon Stead and Luke Priest as guests at numbers 5 and 6 with Wolff and Simota switching places at 3 and 4.

Glasgow were quickly into the lead with a 4-2 in the opening heat from Stancl and Wethers. Mathieu Tressarieu won heat 2 for a share of the points before Glasgow’s supposed weak pairing scored a 5-1 as Claus Kristensen marked his debut with a race win supported by Trent Leverington. Reading hit back with a Simon Stead win in heat 4 from Shane Parker with Tressarieu picking up the third place point for a 2-4 to make the score 14-10 after four heats.

Kristensen won again in heat 5 from Masters with Leverington finishing third for a 4-2 then, after another Stead win in heat 6, Glasgow took a 5-1 in heat 7. Shane Parker gated but allowed his partner, James Cockle, to pass him on the back straight then shepherded him home with Wolff and Simota unable to do anything about it. This put Reading 10 points in arrears and in heat 8 they substituted Mathieu Tressarieu with Simon Stead as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. The Glasgow pair of Matthew Wethers and James Birkinshaw were quickly away and Stead found it a difficult task to find a way past. However a mistake by Birkinshaw provided the opportunity but Stead couldn’t catch Wethers so the result was a 4-4 and the Racers were still 10 points down at 30-20.

Stead was out again in heat 9 and ended Kristensen’s winning run but the heat was shared. Stancl won heat 10 with Wethers third and Glasgow had stretched the lead to 12 points with the 4-2. Andrew Appleton took a TR in heat 11 and, although Shane Parker won the heat, the two Racers took the minor positions for a 3-5 to cut Glasgow’s lead to 10 points at 40-30. Then Reading got right back into the match with a 1-5 in heat 12 when the previously pointless Simota followed Mathieu Tressarieu home ahead of Birkinshaw and Leverington to take the score to 41-35.

Glasgow hit back and killed off the Racers chances with a 4-2 in heat 13, when Stead could only split the Parker/Stancl pairing, and then a 5-1 in heat 14 from Kristensen and Cockle to stretch their lead to 12 points. Reading pulled two points back in the final heat when Simon Stead beat Shane parker for the second time with Andrew Appleton taking the third place point from Kristensen.

Match Report by Merlin