Sheffield Speedway Match Reports 2007

Derek Sneddon lifted going into turn one collecting Birko and wiping Ricky Ashworth out leaving George Stancl with nowhere to go. Ricky and George were able to walk away but Birko took an ambulance ride back to the medical room while the track staff dismantled the fence to get Derek out safely. Both went to hospital, Birko with his arm in a sling and Derek with a nasty cut to his neck. While we waited for the ambulance to return the track staff busied themselves rebuilding the fence. It was 9 o' clock by the time the rerun got under way with Ricky winning from George who rounded Paul Cooper on the second turn. James Cockle trapped to win heat 2 with Paul nearly losing it as he blasted wide around the final turn. Ricky and André were untroubled in heat 3 with Kalle falling at the back on the second lap but quickly jumping back on. James gated ahead in heat 4 but both Matthew Wethers and Joel passed him on the second turn. James then got out of shape in the third turn and took a real purler causing another delay. Although battered and bruised James soldiers on. Joel won the rerun, and then was straight back out as rider replacement in heat 5 which was won by André from George Stancl. Tigers lead by 12 points but are down to five riders, three of whom are carrying injuries from recent falls.

Ricky wins heat 6 but has to resist pressure from Matthew Wethers while Jack Roberts just fails to catch James Cockle on the run to the finishing line. I was stood on the centre green and can assure everyone it was the right call. Paul and Joel lead heat 7 ahead of Kaj Laukkanen who is on a tactical ride but gets no double points. Paul is out again in heat 8 and he takes the lead from his team mate down the back straight. Andrew Tully's persistence is rewarded as he rounds James on the very last turn to snatch second place. James has two on the trot and he and André lead heat 9, but Matthew passes him on the third turn, and Jack Roberts picks him off on the second lap. Paul replaces Birko in heat 10 but Ricky blasts to the front. Kaj passes Paul at the end of lap 3 but Paul battles back into second place to claim another 5-1 and extend the Tigers lead to 24 points.

Heat 11 saw a reversal in fortunes with George Stancl gating and team mate Andrew Tully joining him down the back straight. Joel tried everything he could but there was no way past and he fell trying too hard on the last bend. Coops pottered around on a very sick sounding engine for the odd point. André won heat 12 but Kaj and Andrew were more than a match for James. Ricky took the lead in heat 13 and George passed Joel on the third turn. Joel move back into second on the first tun of lap 2 and just held on to the place in a good race. Coops trapped well to lead heat 14 from James and Andrew Tully. Kalle Katajisto rounds Andrew and James on the first lap and in a terrific outside swoop passes Paul on the second turn for his first ever win in Britain. Ricky and André make light work of the Monarchs in heat 15 and the Tigers rattle up a 28 lead from this first leg.

Given that we were down to five men, including James who had taken a bad knock, Paul who has crashed in all of his previous three meetings, and Ricky returning from injury and who had escaped that terrible first bend crash, I think they did very well to rattle up such a big win.

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