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Sheffield Tigers v Kings Lynn Stars
Premier League, 01 June 2006
Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield

Sheffield 45
1Ricky Ashworth331*2*R ..92
2Ben Wilson02*22. ..61
3Emiliano Sanchez2120. ..50
4Kyle Legault001*2. ..31
5Andre Compton33332 ..140
6Paul Cooper1*111*. ..42
7Benji Compton201*1. ..41
Kings Lynn 45
1Daniel Nermark1*320. ..61
2Trevor Harding22*00. ..41
3Troy Bachelor1002*. ..31
4Kevin Doolan32331 ..120
5Tomas Topinka21313 ..100
6Chris Mills3Fx0.. ..30
7John Oliver01*330 ..71

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

Both Sheffield and King’s Lynn were at full strength for this match.

Sheffield came into this match on the back of their comparative struggle to beat Somerset at Owlerton last week while King’s Lynn had the confidence booster of running up 70 points against Berwick last night. It made for a closely contested match and that’s how it turned out.

There was no usual 5-1 to Sheffield in the opening heat in this match. Ricky Ashworth did win it but Ben Wilson hit the fence coming off the second bend and could only follow Trevor Harding and Daniel Nermark home for a shared race. The reserves race was shared too when Chris Mills won comfortably from Benji Compton and Paul Cooper. Then King’s Lynn broke the deadlock by taking the lead in heat 3. The race was called back after the Stars made the gate and looked set for a 1-5 but in the rerun Kevin Doolan was again well away. This time Emiliano Sanchez took second place from Troy Batchelor as Kyle Legault had an engine problem at the back. The 2-4 put the Stars two points ahead but Sheffield looked as though they might pull the points back in heat 4 when the two Comptons, Andre and Benji, made fast starts. Tomas Topinka then passed Benji on the first lap and John Oliver did likewise on the last bend for a shared race which took the score to 11-13.

Things got worse for Sheffield as their middle pairing conceded a 1-5. Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding did the damage with Harding holding off a late challenge from Emiliano Sanchez to increase the visitors lead to six points. The Tigers hit back strongly with a 5-1 in heat 6 when Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson beat Tomas Topinka into third place to cut the lead to two points again. Then in heat 7 it was all square when Andre Compton won from Kevin Doolan while Paul Cooper and Troy Batchelor had a good race at the back with Cooper holding on to his third place for a 4-2. Benji Compton was the early race leader in heat 8 with Ben Wilson stuck at the back but John Oliver passed Compton at the start of lap two while Wilson likewise passed Trevor Harding eventually getting up to second place. The result was a shared race though and the score after eight heats was 24-24.

Tomas Topinka won heat 9 comfortably but Emiliano Sanchez and Kyle Legault filled the minor places after Chris Mills fell and remounted for another shared race. The scores were still level after heat 10 when Kevin Doolan won from Wilson and Ashworth who passed Troy Batchelor on the first lap to share the points. Sheffield broke the deadlock in heat 11. Although Trevor Harding led for most of the opening lap he was passed by Andre Compton who won for the third time with Daniel Nermark also coming through for second place. Then Paul Cooper also passed Harding at the end of the third lap and set off after Nermark but the race finished a 4-2 and the Tigers were two points to the good. The unthinkable happened in heat 12 when Sheffield conceded a 1-5 to find themselves trailing by two points again. John Oliver and Troy Batchelor did the damage by heading home Benji Compton although their task was made easier by Emiliano Sanchez forgetting to switch his fuel on. The score after twelve heats was 35-37 and it was all to race for over the last three heats.

There was much relief in the home camp when Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth scored a heat 13 5-1 to reverse the damage of heat 12 and put the home side two points in front again. They kept it that way in heat 14. Kevin Doolan won the race but Kyle Legault and Paul Cooper slotted in behind him ahead of John Oliver for a shared race which meant that heat 15 would be a last heat decider with King’s Lynn needing a heat advantage to avoid returning home empty handed. And a heat advantage they got! There was a touch of luck about it though as Ricky Ashworth leading the race had an engine failure on the third lap. Behind him Andre Compton had passed Kevin Doolan but Tomas Topinka was promoted to first place as a result of Ashworth’s misfortune and the Stars took a 2-4 to tie the match up at 45-45.

Match Report by Merlin