Plymouth Gladiators 53 v Poole Pirates 37

3/05/22

Pirates failed to gain any league points from their visit to the Coliseum as a make-shift Plymouth side stung them with no fewer than four maximum heat advantages in the final eight heats, as the meeting finished 53-37 in favour of the home side.

A perfect start was snatched from Poole's hands when Zach Cook shed a chain on the third lap of heat one whilst nesting in with Danny King on a 5-1. Cook's abrupt end to his opening ride denied the Pirates a chance of a four point lead and within two more heats they were facing a gulf of the same magnitude.

Drew Kemp chased leader Ben Morley hard in heat two after the Pirate had shrugged off the efforts of Jason Edwards and then Ben Barker found a route by Steve Worrall in heat three, the new Poole number three having to keep a close eye on Michael Palm-Toft who looked determined to promote himself from third place. Hans Andersen selected the perfect line in heat four to breeze by injury-carrying Richard Lawson. A mistake around the fourth turn late on almost allowed Lawson back in but the Dane recovered swiftly to give the Gladiators a third successive 4-2 advantage and a lead of six.

Drama ensued in heat five when Barker picked up some unwanted drive around the top turn and couldn't avoid the air barrier. His bike fired across the track and bounced on the back of King , fortunately not sustaining any serious injury, although the skipper didn't look too comfortable in the re-run which was dominated by Zach Cook who made a very quick get-away off the start line. Alfie Bowtell also found the top turn problematical in heat six and also picked up a disqualification as the cause of a race stoppage. There was a close battle down the back straight in the rerun as Harris sought a pass on Lawson but the current Pirate stood firm to set up a back-to-back 4-2 gain for Poole. That was converted into a three-in-row as Worrall made the 'perfect' start that denied Andersen a second successive win and Cook's third place levelled the scores at 21-a-piece.

Having worked their way back into the affair the last thing the Pirates needed was to concede a 5-1  but that is exactly what happened after Drew Kemp got into all sorts of bother around the second turn after making a swift exit from the gate, Morley and Bowtell prevailing for the home side. Lawson showed his true determination as he went up against Barker in heat nine and shrugged the Cornishman off defiantly but then heat ten was one of all change. Ben Cook made the better start and had the advantage heading down the straight. Behind him Worrall and Harris were squabbling over position whilst Bowtell went for an opening that gave him the win, Harris converting that into another 5-1 for the home outfit. King left a little too much room on his right down the straight in heat eleven  and Andersen didn't need any second invitation, moved into first place and maintained Plymouth's eight point lead

A tactical substitute response, Lawson coming in for Kemp, didn't bring the outcome the Poole camp had been hoping for as Barker barged his way to the front, Lawson having to work hard to stave off Morley just to share the heat. Vintage Chris Harris was the highlight of heat thirteen as he sweetly went under Lawson to join Andersen on a match winning 5-1. Hopes of an away consolation were soon dashed when Bowtell and Morley fired in Plymouth's fourth maximum in seven heats, the meeting concluding with personal glory for Steve Worrall, but again Harris caught the eye with an excellent ride to get by King.

PLYMOUTH 53
Chris Harris 2,2,2',2',2=10+2 (5)
Alfie Bowtell 1',XD,2',3=6+2 (4)
Ben Barker 3,XD,2,3,1'=9+1 (5)
Michael Palm-Toft 1,2,1',3=7+1 (4)
Hans Andersen 3,2,3,3=11 (4)
Jason Edwards 1,0,0,RS=1 (3)
Ben Morley 3,1,3,0,2'=9+1 (5)
.
POOLE 37
Danny King 3,1,2,0,0=6 (5)
Zach Cook R,3,1,1'=5+1 (4)
Steven Worrall 2,3,1,2,3=11 (5)
Ben Cook 0,1,0,1=2 (4)
Richard Lawson 2,3,3,1',1=10+1 (5)
Drew Kemp 2,1,0,0,NS=3 (4)
Nathan Ablitt 0,0,RS,0=0 (3)
.
Ht 1:  D.King, C.Harris, A.Bowtell, Z.Cook [rtd] 3-3 3-3 [50.91]
Ht 2:  B.Morley, D.Kemp, J.Edwards, N.Ablitt 4-2 7-5 [52.5]
Ht 3:  B.Barker, S.Worrall, M.Palm-Toft, B.Cook 4-2 11-7 [51.41]
Ht 4:  H.Andersen, R.Lawson, B.Morley, N.Ablitt 4-2 15-9 [52.91]
Ht 5:  Z.Cook, M.Palm-Toft, D.King, B.Barker[exc] 2-4 17-13 [51.12]
Ht 6:  R.Lawson, C.Harris, D.Kemp, A.Bowtell[exc] 2-4 19-17 [51.19]
Ht 7:  S.Worrall, H.Andersen, B.Cook, J.Edwards 2-4 21-21 [52.25]
Ht 8:  B.Morley, A.Bowtell, Z.Cook, D.Kemp 5-1 26-22 [52.03]
Ht 9:  R.Lawson, B.Barker, M.Palm-Toft, D.Kemp 3-3 29-25 [51.43]
Ht 10:  A.Bowtell, C.Harris, S.Worrall, B.Cook 5-1 34-26 [52.03]
Ht 11:  H.Andersen, D.King, Z.Cook, J.Edwards 3-3 37-29 [51.69]
Ht 12:  B.Barker, S.Worrall, R.Lawson, B.Morley, D.Kemp [NS] 3-3 40-32 [52]
Ht 13:  H.Andersen, C.Harris, R.Lawson, D.King 5-1 45-33 [52.03]
Ht 14:  M.Palm-Toft, B.Morley, B.Cook, N.Ablitt 5-1 50-34 [51.5]
Ht 15:  S.Worrall, C.Harris, B.Barker, D.King 3-3 53-37 [52.25]
REFEREE:   Michael Breckon 
PLYMOUTH won toss and chose gates 2&4 | POOLE choose gates 1&3 in heat 15  
League Points: PLYMOUTH 3 POOLE 0
 

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