Sheffield Speedway Match Reports 2007

 Chris Mills nudged the tapes and was replaced by John Oliver in heat 1. Joel seemed to have clutch problems but with just one minute to go he had little option but to go with it and the result was a cloud of smoke wafting across the second turn. John made a blistering start and Ricky couldn't get near enough to make a challenge. John Oliver was back out in heat 2 and made it two wins on the trot as he powered under Birko on the second lap. Paul did just enough to take third place ahead of Simon Lambert. Trevor Harding went very wide on the first turn in heat 3 and lost a lot of ground. Daniel Nermark rounded James Cockle on the second bend and an underpowered André seemed content to shepherd James home for a share of the points. Paul trapped ahead in heat 4 and John Oliver never looked like getting on terms, while Ben Wilson looked even less like catching Paul Lee. Chris Mills was warned for moving at the start in heat 5 and André looked back on-song as he sped away to win. Stars maintain their slender two point lead.

Ricky trapped and won heat 6 from Paul Lee while a sluggish looking Joel took third ahead of the Stars guest reserve. Daniel Nermark dominated heat 7 ahead of Ben Wilson and Trevor Harding with Birko at the back of the field. As Birko started the final lap he gave up trying and elected to coast around. If he'd kept on the pace he would have been rewarded with a point as Trevor Harding made a hideous mess of the final bend and was barely able to avoid falling. Paul made another good start and led heat 8 with Joel making up a place and slotting in behind him. Paul's bike failed as he entered turn three and Joel had to take evasive action allowing Chris Mills through into the lead. Joel thankfully has a much better ethos than Birko and his blast around the outside on the last two turns was rewarded with the win by a mere tyre's width as they crossed the finish line. André took another comfortable win from Paul Lee in heat 9 but another point slipped through the Tigers' claws as James Cockle was forced out with a puncture on the third lap. Joel must have his clutch sorted as he led heat 10 from Daniel and Ricky. Daniel showed his metal with an outside swoop on the pits turn to preserve his unbeaten status. The Stars continue to maintain a two point advantage.

Tomas Topinka claimed his first win in heat 11 by passing Ben Wilson on the second turn and when Ben inexplicably fell on the second lap (I don't know how Birko managed to miss running into him) the Stars extend their lead to four points. The Tigers clawed the lost points back in heat 12 with André lowering Daniel's colours for the first time and Paul Cooper holding off a spirited challenge from John Oliver. Ricky powered past Tomas Topinka on the third turn to lead heat 13 and it looked as if the scores would be levelled until Ben let Paul Lee go around him on the third lap without even a hint of a counter attack. Heat 14 was restarted after John Oliver fell on the second turn earning himself an exclusion. The previously disappointing Trevor Harding rose to the occasion and sped away from the tapes and into the lead but Birko despite scraping the fence looking for grip failed to find his way past. André and Ricky face Tomas and Daniel in the nominated finale with the Tigers requiring a 5-1 to steal the points. Several people are surprised when André is announced riding in red off gate one leaving Ricky more to do off gate three. It's André who is first to show but Ricky powers around Tomas on the third turn and it's looking good. To his credit Tomas got stuck in and battled his was back past Ricky and pulled clear so the match ended in a draw at 45 points all with the home side never having been in the lead.

This all but ends the Tigers participation in the Premier Trophy. Just about every member of the Tigers was responsible for haemorrhaging vital points. André had a poor first ride although he never put a foot wrong after that. Ricky can hardly be faulted for being passed by Tomas Topinka in heat 15, but he should never have been beaten by their reserve in the first heat. Paul Cooper was our third highest scorer but even he lost us points when he stopped while leading heat 8. Joel Parsons took two rides to sort out his clutch problems, but was rewarded for his tenacity with a great win in his third ride. James Cockle didn't ride badly and the point he dropped was down to a puncture, but Ben Wilson was simply shocking, off the pace and throwing points away by falling when not even under pressure. Birko cannot be blamed for dropping points to Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark, but he should be beating visiting reserves and second strings, and in my opinion the match was lost by him in heat 7 when he elected to retire at the start of the last lap which meant he was unable to capitalize on Trevor Harding's big mistake on the last corner. And last but not least, why didn't the team manager insist that Ricky started from gate one, and André from gate three in heat 15. Surely André would have been more able to clinch the 5-1 by following Ricky home instead of leading the way and allowing Tomas to pick him off.

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