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Rye House Rockets v Isle of Wight Islanders
Young Shield (QF), 23 September 2005
Hoddesdon Stadium, Rye House

Rye House 62
1Stuart Robson3Fx... ..30
2Edward Kennett13331 ..110
3Brent Werner1333. ..100
4Daniel King32*11*. ..72
5Chris Neath33333 ..150
6Steve Boxall2*012*2 ..72
7Tommy Allen32*2*11 ..92
Isle of Wight 30
1Craig Boyce2122^0 ..70
3Krister Marsh00202 0!.40
4Ulrich Ostergaard21*14^3 2.131
5Krzysztof Stojanowski1220. ..50
6Jason Doyle00Fx00 ..00
7Glen Phillips1000. ..10

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

Yet another very comfortable home win for the new Premier League Champions. There was plenty of good racing but the result was overshadowed by a terrible crash involving Rye House rider Stuart Robson in heat 6. Rye House sent out a full strength team. The Isle of Wight used rider replacement for Steen Jensen with most of their resistance expected to come from Craig Boyce and Ulrich Ostergaard.

Stuart Robson took the lead in heat 1, followed by Boyce with Kennett third. Robson was never troubled and it looked like a 5-1 when Kennet finally got past Boyce on the last lap. However, Boyce came back to take second place on the line. Heat 2 saw Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall take a 5-1 against Jason Doyle and Glen Phillips after Boxall passed Phillips for second place. Daniel King led from the gun in heat 3 from Krister Marsh and Ostergaard after a poor start by Brent Werner. King stayed in front to the line while Werner worked his way into third for a 4-2. Chris Neath, now recovered after his back injury, returned to the track in heat 4. It was business as usual as Neath sailed off in front to win easily. Allen finished second and Rye House were now 23-7 in front.

The fact that Stuart Robson left the track alive after his sickening crash in heat 6 is due entirely to the effectiveness of the track safety fence, the generous run-off area and his headgear. Krzysztof Stojanowski and Jason Doyle started well and led Robson and Kennett going into the third bend. It seemed that the two Isle of Wight riders did not attack the bend as Kennett was expecting. As he moved slightly wide, he clipped Robson's back wheel to send Robson, his throttle full open, hurtling towards the fence. He hit it full on and fell, man and bike continuing at speed towards the seated area. His bike hit the back of his head with some force and those nearby could hear Robson's shouts for assistance as he lay on the ground. As the ambulance staff raced to the scene, it could be seen that the entire length of fence between the third and fourth bends was down, a clear sign of the force it had been hit with and, thankfully for Robson, mostly absorbed.

After a delay of over half an hour, racing resumed and Chris Neath made it look easy again in heat 7, winning from Marsh and Ostergaard. Kennett and Allen had a good scrap in heat 8 with Ostergaard. With Kennet leading, the Dane forced his way passed Allen but Allen returned the favour and Rye had another 5-1. Stojanowski rode well to split Werner and King in heat 9. He led from the gate but Werner got past on the second bend. Ostergaard was out again in heat 10, this time as a tactical rider. Kennett won it but Ostergaard took second for a shared heat, 4-4. Heat 11 was restarted with all four riders after Boyce fell at the first bend. Boyce led the restart but Neath powered past him to take his third win. Boxall also had a good race to take third place after getting past Phillips on the last lap. Werner was warned for moving at the line in heat 12 and it too was restarted. It didn't affect Werner as he won easily from Marsh. Allen moved into third place ahead of Doyle. Boyce was given a tactical ride in heat 13 against Neath and Boxall (as rider replacement for Robson). Neath was soon in control and Boxall stayed ahead of Boyce for an excellent second place. Ostergaard won heat 14, the Isle's only heat win, but appeared to take King very wide. Boxall took second place with King third, ahead of Marsh, on a tactical substitute ride.

The last heat was not without incident. Neath made it five straight wins on the night and it looked as if Kennet would hold Ostergaard at bay for second place. Ostergaard didn't agree with this and appeared to move out on Kennett as the two raced down the home straight. If so, and the fans nearby certainly felt it was the case, it was a stupid thing to do after the horror of heat 6. Kennett, and the home fans, told Ostergaard exactly what they thought of him.

Match Report by Candyman