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Hull Vikings v Newcastle Diamonds
Premier League, 03 August 2005
Craven Park, Hull

Hull 51
1Emiliano Sanchez2031. ..60
2Paul Thorp1*232*2 ..102
3Craig Branney2*1*11. ..52
4Emil Kramer32331* ..121
5Garry Stead2*33Fx. ..81
6Simone Terenzani20R2*. ..41
7(g)Daniel Giffard1*32*0. ..62
Newcastle 43
1Josef Franc3324^3 0.150
2Lubos TomicekRR01*. ..11
3Richard Juul11*02*1 ..52
5(g)Sean Wilson114^2*3 ..111
6Christian Henry30311 T.80
7Jamie Robertson00030 ..30

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

Garry Stead made a welcome return to the Hull side in this match after being sidelined by injury and Daniel Giffard continued at number 7. Newcastle weren’t as fortunate with both Phil Morris and James Grieves still missing after the injuries they sustained last Saturday. The Diamonds had Sean Wilson as a guest for James Grieves and used R/R for Phil Morris at number 4. Newcastle were defending a 6 point lead for the bonus point.

Josef Franc won the opening heat for the visitors in a shared heat then Christian Henry did likewise in heat 2. Henry took the R/R ride in heat 3 but this time it was the Vikings who struck with a 5-1 from Emil Kramer and Craig Branney to put the home side four points in front. This was doubled to eight when Daniel Giffard and Garry Stead scored another 5-1 ahead of Sean Wilson to take the heat 4 score to 16-8.

Josef Franc produced his second win of the night in heat 5 but again it was only for a shared heat when Lubos Tomicek fell. Newcastle got two points back in heat 6 when Christian Henry won again from Paul Thorp with Sean Wilson beating Emiliano Sanchez for third place. Garry Stead ended Josef Franc’s winning run by taking heat 7 from the Newcastle number 1 but Richard Juul finished third resulting in a shared heat. Hull then hit Newcastle with a hammer blow scoring a 5-1 from Paul Thorp and Daniel Gifford from Christian Henry to launch the Vikings into a 10 point lead in the match and four point lead on aggregate for the bonus point.

Sean Wilson took a TR for Newcastle in heat 9 but the Vikings saw this off when Emil Kramer won the heat from Wilson with Craig Branney third for a 4-4 to keep their lead intact. In heat 10 things got worse for the Diamonds as they lost another 5-1 to Sanchez and Thorp after Christian Henry had led briefly which stretched Hull’s lead to 14 points. In heat 11 Josef Franc took a TR but finished second to Garry Stead who remained unbeaten after three races. With Lubos Tomicek taking the third place point Newcastle took a 3-5 advantage from the heat but still trailed by 12 points. They cut it to eight points, however, with a 1-5 from Jaimie Robertson, who replaced Christian Henry - excluded for breaking the tapes, and Richard Juul in heat 12 which made the score 42-34 with Hull holding a two point aggregate lead and their fans wondering whether they were about to watch another late collapse which has been their trademark in some recent matches.

Their fears looked well justified as the Diamonds rattled in another 1-5 in heat 13 from Josef Franc and Sean Wilson after Garry Stead had fallen and been excluded. Now the Vikings lead was down to four points and it was Newcastle in the driving seat for the bonus by two points. It was all change again in heat 14 as Hull took a 5-1 from Kramer and Terenzani which sealed the match for the Vikings and left Newcastle trailing by two points in their quest for the bonus point. Although Sean Wilson won the last heat for Newcastle, Thorp and Kramer took the minor places for Hull giving them an eight point win on the night and securing the bonus point by two points.

Match Report by Merlin