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Kings Lynn Stars v Rye House Rockets
PL Playoff (SF), 18 October 2006
Norfolk Arena, Kings Lynn

Kings Lynn 60
1Daniel Nermark3331. ..100
2Trevor Harding1130. ..50
3Troy BachelorFx2*2.. ..41
4Kevin Doolan3332*2 ..131
5Tomas Topinka3333. ..120
6Chris Mills32*12*3 1*.123
7John Oliver2*110. ..41
Rye House 35
1Edward Kennett2110. ..40
2Stuart Robson0020. ..20
3Steve Boxall1*01*6^R ..82
4Tommy Allen2221. ..70
5Chris Neath24^123 ..120
6(g)Tai Woffinden10001 ..20
7(g)Josh AutyFF0.. ..00

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

King’s Lynn with Tomas Topinka back in the side were at full strength. Rye House must have tracked one of the youngest reserve pairs ever with Tai Woffinden again at number 6 and Josh Auty in the other reserve berth, both as guests.

With only a six point lead to overturn from the first leg last Saturday night King’s Lynn were strong favourites to qualify for the final where the winners of this tie would meet Sheffield. So it turned out but there was plenty of entertainment as the Stars were made to work for many of their points. With only two race winners to their credit Rye House were never going to keep it close but their cause wasn’t helped by being comprehensively outscored in the reserves’ department in which the Stars took a 16-2 advantage (albeit from more rides).

King’s Lynn got off to a winning start in heat 1. Edward Kennett led after a tight first bend but was passed by Daniel Nermark on the second lap. Behind this pair Trevor Harding took third place from Stuart Robson for a 4-2. The Stars then squared the tie on aggregate with a 5-1 from the reserves race as Chris Mills and John Oliver won from Tai Woffinden with Josh Auty well off the pace at the back before falling. Troy Batchelor made a terrible start to heat 3 but had moved through the field to second place before he fell heavily causing the race to be stopped and the result awarded with Kevin Doolan the winner from Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall. As a result the points were shared 3-3. This only delayed the inevitable and the Stars finally took the lead on aggregate in heat 4. It was quite a race though. Josh Auty looped at the tapes leaving Chris Neath to fight a lone battle. He moved past John Oliver then Tomas Topinka to lead the race after two laps but Topinka repassed him for the heat win and 4-2 which took the match score after four races to 16-8 and aggregate score to 58-56.

In heat 5 Chris Mills replaced Troy Batchelor who had fallen in heat 3. It didn’t seem to worry the Stars though as Mills finished second to his partner, Kevin Doolan, while Stuart Robson fell on the opening lap and Edward Kennett gave up the chase on the last lap. This gave King’s Lynn a 5-1 which stretched their lead to 21-9. In heat 6 Chris Neath took a TR hoping to get the Rockets back into the match. It didn’t work as Daniel Nermark won with some comfort Chris Neath took second ahead of Trevor Harding while Tai Woffinden was well off the pace at the back. The result was a 4-4 shared heat but things were now looking decidedly bleak for the visitors who were still looking for their first race winner. Tomas Topinka won heat 7 by a distance but it looked as though Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall would share the race until Chris Mills passed Boxall on the line for a 4-2 to the Stars putting them 14 points ahead in the match. In heat 8 Trevor Harding won from Stuart Robson while John Oliver picked up the third place point from Tai Woffinden who had replaced Josh Auty. This took the match score to 33-17 and the aggregate score to 75-65 with Rye House needing a miracle to get back into things.

Things just got worse for the Rockets. Troy Batchelor took his place in heat 9 and followed Kevin Doolan home for a 5-1 ahead of Chris Neath stretching the Stars’ lead on the night to 20 points. Daniel Nermark came from last to first to win heat 10 but Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall filled the minor places despite the attentions of Trevor Harding so the heat was shared 3-3. Chris Mills then followed Nermark’s lead with a virtuoso performance by passing Edward Kennett and Stuart Robson on the third lap in heat 11. Kennett gave up the ghost but got the third place point when Stuart Robson fell on the last lap in an effort to get past Mills again for second. The result was a 5-1 for the home side with the match now threatening to turn into a rout. But at last the Rye House supporters had something to cheer about in heat 12. Steve Boxall took a TR and led from tapes to flag for all six points as the visitors’ first race winner. Behind him Troy Batchelor had a fight on his hands preventing a big 1-8 for the Rockets by holding off Tai Woffinden with John Oliver stuck at the back. The result was a 2-7 for Rye House taking the match score after twelve races to 48-29 and the aggregate score to 90-77.

King’s Lynn finally clinched aggregate victory in heat 13 with a 4-2 from Topinka and Nermark. Topinka led from the start but Chris Neath and Edward Kennett fought their way past Daniel Nermark only for Nermark to partly recover the situation by taking Kennett on the last lap. The Stars had to work hard again in heat 14 but they finally scored a 5-1. Tommy Allen was the early race leader but Chris Mills passed him on the second lap. Kevin Doolan then got into the act and pressed Allen hard until he finally got past him on the last bend. Josh Auty finished last. In the last race Chris Neath became the second visitor to win a race when he outpaced Kevin Doolan to pass the King’s Lynn man on the second lap. Behind them Chris Mills passed Steve Boxall on the first lap so the race was shared.

Congratulations to King’s Lynn who now face Sheffield in the final. Fittingly the two teams who topped the league table are safely through to the final and King’s Lynn will be confident of repeating their Premier Trophy success against the Tigers. But will they?

Match Report by Merlin