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Sheffield Tigers v Somerset Rebels
KO Cup (SF), 28 September 2006
Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield

Sheffield 55
1Ricky Ashworth33332 ..140
2Ben Wilson12*32*. ..82
3Emiliano Sanchez2*F1*3. ..62
4Kyle Legault322R. ..70
5(g)Jason Lyons33311* ..111
6Paul Cooper3112. ..70
7(g)Mark Thompson002*F. ..21
Somerset 41
1Magnus Zetterstrom236^22 3.180
2Glen PhillipsM2110 ..40
3Stephan Katt10020! ..30
4Emil Kramer01216^ 0.100
6Simon Walker200T. ..20
7Ben Barker01*1*01* 1.43

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

Sheffield were missing Andre Compton, injured in the Premier League Riders Championship, and had Jason Lyons as a guest to replace him at number 5. They also had Mark Thompson at number 7 in place of Benji Compton. Somerset were without Glenn Cunningham who was suffering from a virus infection and used R/R at number 5 instead.

Somerset had a 15 point lead from their home leg as both teams made their bid for a place in the final where King’s Lynn waited to meet the winners. Sheffield had been dealt a blow with the injury to Andre Compton while Somerset had the boost of being led by Magnus Zetterstrom following his success at the Owlerton track last Sunday in winning the Premier League Riders Championship. The tie seemed to be finely balanced and it looked like the aggregate result would be in the balance until late in the proceedings.

It always seems incredible that a rider should be excluded under the two minute rule in the opening heat but that’s what happened to Glen Phillips so he was replaced by Ben Barker. Ricky Ashworth got the Tigers off to a good start by beating Magnus Zetterstrom with Ben Wilson third for a 4-2. Paul Cooper’s win in the reserves race kept them two points in front and they made a big move towards success with a 5-1 in heat 3 from Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez with Kramer and Katt racing each other for the third place point. Glenn Phillips took the R/R ride in heat 4 which was called back after Jason Lyons got a flyer. Lyons was not to be denied though and won the rerun from Phillips and Barker while Mark Thompson retired with an engine failure. The score after four races stood at 15-9 with Sheffield now nine points behind on aggregate.

Somerset pulled two points back in heat 5 when Magnus Zetterstrom beat Kyle Legault. Emiliano Sanchez fell at the back and the race was awarded as a 2-4 to the Rebels. Emil Kramer took the R/R ride in heat 6 but had no success faced with the Ashworth/Wilson pairing. The Sheffield 5-1 put them eight points ahead in the match and seven behind on aggregate. They added another two points to their lead in heat 7 when Jason Lyons won again this time from Emil Kramer and Paul Cooper took the vital third place point from Stephan Katt for a 4-2. With 10 points between the teams Somerset now had both tactical options available. In heat 8 though the Rebels were dealt a crushing blow when they lost a 5-1 to Ben Wilson and reserve Mark Thompson who scored his first and only points of the match by beating Glen Phillips and Ben Barker . The score now stood at 31-17 with Sheffield now only one point behind on aggregate and Somerset in trouble. It was clear that a great deal depended on Magnus Zetterstrom who still had four rides to take in all the odd numbered heats including a TR.

As expected Magnus Zetterstrom took the R/R ride in heat 9 and was also nominated as a TR. He won the race from Legault and Sanchez for a 3-6 which cut Sheffield’s lead to 11 points. Sheffield needed to make progress in heats 10, 12 and 14 or curb Zetterstrom’s winning streak to get back to equality on aggregate. They did just that in heat 10 with another 5-1 from the Ashworth/Wilson pairing ahead of Emil Kramer and Stephan Katt who had forgotten to switch on his fuel. With the Tigers 15 points ahead in the match the scores were now tied on aggregate and Magnus Zetterstrom badly needed some support if Somerset were to pull through. However Jason Lyons showed what a superb choice of guest he was by beating Zetterstrom in heat 11. Paul Cooper picked up another valuable third place point by beating Glenn Phillips and Sheffield took a two point aggregate lead with the 4-2. Simon Walker was excluded from heat 12 for a tapes offence and was replaced by Ben Barker. Emiliano Sanchez won the race but Stephan Katt and Ben Barker finished behind him as Mark Thompson fell so the points were shared and the score after twelve races had progressed to 46-29 – 86-84 on aggregate.

It looked a desperate move by Somerset when Stephan Katt taking the R/R ride was nominated as a Tactical Substitute starting from 15 metres back against the unbeaten Ricky Ashworth and Jason Lyons. No doubt this was hoping for a problem for one of the Sheffield pair and to preserve Emil Kramer’s appearance as a TR in heat 14. It didn’t work though as Ricky Ashworth beat Magnus Zetterstrom for the second time with Jason Lyons third. The result was a 4-2 to the Tigers who now led on aggregate by four points. As expected Somerset played the last roll of the dice by nominating Emil Kramer for a TR in heat 14 and what a result they got from it too! Kyle Legault had an engine failure and Kramer romped home ahead of Paul Cooper for the six points with Ben Barker third for a 2-7 which turned the match on its head. Instead of leading by four points on aggregate Sheffield were now one point behind leaving Somerset needing only three points for a sensational victory. So it came down to a last heat decider after all with Ashworth and Lyons looking for another 4-2 like the one they got in heat 13 against Zetterstrom with Emil Kramer partnering him this time. Just to make it more difficult for the Tigers, Somerset won the toss for gate positions and went off 1 and 3. Cometh the hour cometh the man – Magnus Zetterstrom off gate 1 scored the three points which took Somerset through to the final against King’s Lynn. Ashworth and Lyons shared the points behind him but it wasn’t enough and Sheffield were left to rue the engine failure Kyle Legault suffered in heat 14 and for not replacing Mark Thompson with Paul Cooper in heat 12. Phew!

Match Report by Merlin