Post by Genghis on May 16, 2008 7:15:26 GMT
Saturday, May 14, 2005
ARMADALE 41 OXFORD 53 (Conference League)
The Oxford Academy made it six matches unbeaten in 2005 and extended their lead at the top of the Conference League to four points, with an excellent victory at third-placed Armadale.
Oxford were due to be missing Chris Mills for this fixture, with Reading in action at Workington, but Reading dropped Mills out of their side three days in advance of this fixture, making him available to take on the Dale Devils for the match in West Lothian.
Mills was first from the tapes in Heat 1, but Blair Scott (celebrating his 25th birthday) dropped inside him on the second bend to take the lead. Ben Barker took third from Gary Beaton at the same moment in a shared opening race (3-3).
The Armadale reserve pairing of Adam McKinna (son of Scottish legend, Kenny McKinna) and Cal McDade were quick away in Heat 2, but McDade looked a little unsure and he was picked off by Sam Martin on the second bend and then Kyle Hughes went racing away McDade at the end of the lap to take third. Meanwhile, McKinna was an impressive winner, although he did nearly run into the fourth bend fence at one point (6-6).
Heat 3 saw a tightly contested first bend, and Jamie Courtney fell after receiving a slight nudge from Andrew Tully, with Tully also losing control due to the contact and eventually came down on the second bend. Jim McGregor and his female trainee referee correctly called a restart with all four. The Oxford pair led most of the way in the re-run, while fourth-placed Tully came to grief twice, remounting the first time and pulling onto the centre green after coming to grief again. However, Sean Stoddart grabbed second from John Branney with an inside move on the back straight of the final lap, after Branney left a slight gap out of the second bend (8-10).
Heat 4 saw Craig Branney led all the way, although his bike didn't sound 100% right. Meanwhile, Derek Sneddon & Adam McKinna rode somewhat uncomfortably with each other in second and third, allowing Kyle Hughes to keep them on their toes (11-13).
Heat 5 saw a slice of luck for Oxford. Mills gated, but Barker almost looped at the start, and then fell while trying to make an inside move on Stoddart & Tully on the second turn. Barker remounted and the race looked all set to finish as a 3-3 when Tully came crashing down on the first bend of lap 3. With Barker approaching at a rate of knots, the referee took the correct course of action and slapped on the red lights. Neither rider immediately saw the red lights, and in the event, Tully remounted in front of Barker - but the race had already been stopped with Tully's exclusion. In the re-run, the Oxford pair outmuscled Stoddart on the opening bend to take a 5-1 (12-18).
Heat 6 saw the tapes go up crooked, stranding Scott & Martin at the tapes. In the re-start, Craig Branney led all the way in a 3-3 between the two sides (15-21).
In Heat 7, there was an excellent battle for the lead. Courtney got past team-mate John Branney on lap 1 to take second and then took up pursuit of Sneddon. He sliced under Sneddon on the back straight of lap 3, but Sneddon leapt back around him almost immediately on the fourth bend. Courtney wasn't finished and tried an inside challenge on the back straight of the final lap before switching to the outside on the final bend, but Sneddon held off him after what had been a titanic battle (18-24).
Barker & Hughes gated for Oxford in Heat 8, but Beaton raced around Hughes on the back straight, and Hughes then did an excellent job in keeping McKinna behind him. Barker ran out of fuel coming off the final bend, but had enough momentum to carry him to the finish in first place (20-28).
Heat 9 saw poor Andrew Tully again in the wars. He fell entering the first bend, also causing Martin to fall, and Tully was excluded from the re-run - having yet to complete 4 laps. In the re-run, Craig Branney gated, but slowed at the end of the opening lap, and Stoddart and Martin moved through. Branney clearly had something wrong with his bike (it transpired that a bolt had worked itself loose forcing Branney to nurse his bike around the bends) but he managed to keep going to finish third place as Oxford maintained their eight-point lead (23-31).
Heat 10 saw Armadale make their first tactical move of the afternoon, introducing Sneddon off 15m in the place of Beaton. Scott gated, and Sneddon soon made up the ground off his handicap, zooming around John Branney after a lap. However, Sneddon's momentum took him wide on the first bend of lap 2, and Branney sneaked back inside to regain third, with Branney then making Sneddon work hard to get back around him again at the conculsion of the second lap. But, by this time, Courtney had got into a safe second place, and Armadale were restricted to a 5-2 heat advantage (28-33).
Derek Sneddon gated in Heat 11, but moved wide on the second bend to stop Mills's outside charge and Barker took advantage to move up the inside from third to first. But Sneddon inadvertently ended up taking Mills's front wheel away, and Mills came crashing down, with the race stopped and Sneddon excluded for unfair riding. In the re-run, Barker and Mills took a 5-1, as McDade had to remount to take the point after falling at the back on the second lap (29-38).
Heat 12 saw Stoddart win a tactical ride in front of Courtney, while there was a dramatic finish to the battle for third place. McKinna came from a long way back to launch an inside attack on Martin on the final bend, and although McKinna got through, Martin came crashing down, and with McKinna excluded for unfair riding, Martin was awarded the third-placed point (35-41).
Heat 13 saw the tapes fail to go up on the outside for the second time of the afternoon, leaving Craig Branney & Sneddon at the tapes. In the re-run, Mills gated from the inside, then Craig Branney moved inside Scott on the second bend to join Mills at the front, with the pair then team-riding to a 5-1 that almost ensured victory for the away team (36-46).
As a last throw of the dice, Armadale team boss Alan Robertson introduced McKinna into Heat 14 as a reserve and nominated Tully as a tactical ride (he was unable to nominate McKinna, who wasn't a programmed rider in this heat). John Branney gated, but McKinna dived inside of him on the second bend, sending Branney wide into the path of Tully, and Tully came to a temporary halt after glancing the safety fence, allowing Hughes into third. The Armadale fans called for a stoppage, but the refereeing duo (who had been excellent all afternoon) decided that McKinna had messed up his own man, so that the race should be allowed to continue. Tully was unable to overhaul Hughes and the race ended as a match-winning 3-3 to Oxford (39-49).
Oxford team manager Bryn Williams gave young guns Barker & Courtney an extra outing in the nominated Heat 15, and they rewarded him with an excellent race. Stoddart gated, and as Scott moved around Courtney on the second bend, the Armadale pair concentrated solely on dealing with Courtney. Barker read the situation very quickly and switched to the inside, roaring past all three other riders on the back straight. Courtney, now relegated to the back, continued to chase and battled inside Scott on the back straight of the final lap to snatch third and maintain his record of scoring double-figures in every meeting for the Academy in 2005 (41-53).
So ended perhaps the Academy's finest performance so far in 2005. Armadale are a tough team to beat on their own patch and went into this match on the back of three home wins. And yet against the Academy, Armadale's only two heat advantages came in races where they were using tacticals.
The Armadale fans were unhappy that all the refereeing decisions went against them, but to be fair, Jim McGregor and his lady trainee had an excellent afternoon and called everything correctly as the young Armadale riders grew more desperate as the afternoon progressed.
A measure of the Oxford's superiority is that the team only had three last places in fifteen heats of action. And while it was a team performance from the Academy, well done to Ben Barker on top-scoring for Oxford after a sensational afternoon, culminating in that surge from last to first in the final race.
However, Oxford did have one injury concern, after team manager Bryn Williams jolted his back while mounting the trailer that allows viewing to those in the pits! Meanwhile, Pat Bint travelled up to the meeting with 10-year-old son Chris (a regular in the second half at Oxford), and found himself promoted to waving the red flag on the first bend! (and a very good job you did as well Pat!).
DALE DEVILS 41: Blair Scott 9 (5), Gary Beaton 3+1 (3), Sean Stoddart 14 (5) (incl. 6-point tactical ride), Andrew Tully 0 (4) (incl. 0-point tactical ride), Derek Sneddon 7 (5) (incl. 2-point T/S ride off 15m), Cal McDade 1 (3), Adam McKinna 7+1 (5).
ACADEMY 53: Chris Mills 9+2 (4), Ben Barker 13+1 (5), Jamie Courtney 10 (5), John Branney 4+1 (4), Craig Branney 9+2 (4), Sam Martin 5+1 (4), Kyle Hughes 3+2 (4).
1: Scott, Mills, Barker, Beaton, 58.97 (3-3).
2: McKinna, Martin, Hughes, McDade, 61.41 (6-6).
3: (Re-run) Courtney, Stoddart, J. Branney, Tully (fell, remounted then fell), 58.31 (8-10).
4: C. Branney, Sneddon, McKinna, Hughes, 60.03 (11-13).
5: (Re-run) Barker, Mills, Stoddart, Tully (fell, excluded), 58.72 (12-18).
6: (Re-run) C. Branney, Scott, Beaton, Martin, 59.31 (15-21).
7: Sneddon, Courtney, J. Branney, McDade, 59.63 (18-24).
8: Barker, Beaton, Hughes, McKinna, 59.94 (20-28).
9: (Re-run) Stoddart, Martin, C. Branney, Tully (fell, excluded), 61.34 (23-31).
10: Scott, Courtney, Sneddon (T/S from 15m), J. Branney (fell), 59.97 (28-33).
11: (Re-run) Barker, Mills, McDade (fell, remounted), Sneddon (excluded, unfair riding), 59.69 (29-38).
12: Stoddart (TR), Courtney, Martin (awarded), McKinna (excluded, unfair riding), 60.34 (35-41).
13: (Re-run) Mills, C. Branney, Scott, Sneddon, 59.41 (36-46).
14: McKinna, J. Branney, Hughes, Tully (TR), 61.22 (39-49).
15: Barker, Stoddart, Courtney, Scott, 59.97 (41-53).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY
ARMADALE 41 OXFORD 53 (Conference League)
The Oxford Academy made it six matches unbeaten in 2005 and extended their lead at the top of the Conference League to four points, with an excellent victory at third-placed Armadale.
Oxford were due to be missing Chris Mills for this fixture, with Reading in action at Workington, but Reading dropped Mills out of their side three days in advance of this fixture, making him available to take on the Dale Devils for the match in West Lothian.
Mills was first from the tapes in Heat 1, but Blair Scott (celebrating his 25th birthday) dropped inside him on the second bend to take the lead. Ben Barker took third from Gary Beaton at the same moment in a shared opening race (3-3).
The Armadale reserve pairing of Adam McKinna (son of Scottish legend, Kenny McKinna) and Cal McDade were quick away in Heat 2, but McDade looked a little unsure and he was picked off by Sam Martin on the second bend and then Kyle Hughes went racing away McDade at the end of the lap to take third. Meanwhile, McKinna was an impressive winner, although he did nearly run into the fourth bend fence at one point (6-6).
Heat 3 saw a tightly contested first bend, and Jamie Courtney fell after receiving a slight nudge from Andrew Tully, with Tully also losing control due to the contact and eventually came down on the second bend. Jim McGregor and his female trainee referee correctly called a restart with all four. The Oxford pair led most of the way in the re-run, while fourth-placed Tully came to grief twice, remounting the first time and pulling onto the centre green after coming to grief again. However, Sean Stoddart grabbed second from John Branney with an inside move on the back straight of the final lap, after Branney left a slight gap out of the second bend (8-10).
Heat 4 saw Craig Branney led all the way, although his bike didn't sound 100% right. Meanwhile, Derek Sneddon & Adam McKinna rode somewhat uncomfortably with each other in second and third, allowing Kyle Hughes to keep them on their toes (11-13).
Heat 5 saw a slice of luck for Oxford. Mills gated, but Barker almost looped at the start, and then fell while trying to make an inside move on Stoddart & Tully on the second turn. Barker remounted and the race looked all set to finish as a 3-3 when Tully came crashing down on the first bend of lap 3. With Barker approaching at a rate of knots, the referee took the correct course of action and slapped on the red lights. Neither rider immediately saw the red lights, and in the event, Tully remounted in front of Barker - but the race had already been stopped with Tully's exclusion. In the re-run, the Oxford pair outmuscled Stoddart on the opening bend to take a 5-1 (12-18).
Heat 6 saw the tapes go up crooked, stranding Scott & Martin at the tapes. In the re-start, Craig Branney led all the way in a 3-3 between the two sides (15-21).
In Heat 7, there was an excellent battle for the lead. Courtney got past team-mate John Branney on lap 1 to take second and then took up pursuit of Sneddon. He sliced under Sneddon on the back straight of lap 3, but Sneddon leapt back around him almost immediately on the fourth bend. Courtney wasn't finished and tried an inside challenge on the back straight of the final lap before switching to the outside on the final bend, but Sneddon held off him after what had been a titanic battle (18-24).
Barker & Hughes gated for Oxford in Heat 8, but Beaton raced around Hughes on the back straight, and Hughes then did an excellent job in keeping McKinna behind him. Barker ran out of fuel coming off the final bend, but had enough momentum to carry him to the finish in first place (20-28).
Heat 9 saw poor Andrew Tully again in the wars. He fell entering the first bend, also causing Martin to fall, and Tully was excluded from the re-run - having yet to complete 4 laps. In the re-run, Craig Branney gated, but slowed at the end of the opening lap, and Stoddart and Martin moved through. Branney clearly had something wrong with his bike (it transpired that a bolt had worked itself loose forcing Branney to nurse his bike around the bends) but he managed to keep going to finish third place as Oxford maintained their eight-point lead (23-31).
Heat 10 saw Armadale make their first tactical move of the afternoon, introducing Sneddon off 15m in the place of Beaton. Scott gated, and Sneddon soon made up the ground off his handicap, zooming around John Branney after a lap. However, Sneddon's momentum took him wide on the first bend of lap 2, and Branney sneaked back inside to regain third, with Branney then making Sneddon work hard to get back around him again at the conculsion of the second lap. But, by this time, Courtney had got into a safe second place, and Armadale were restricted to a 5-2 heat advantage (28-33).
Derek Sneddon gated in Heat 11, but moved wide on the second bend to stop Mills's outside charge and Barker took advantage to move up the inside from third to first. But Sneddon inadvertently ended up taking Mills's front wheel away, and Mills came crashing down, with the race stopped and Sneddon excluded for unfair riding. In the re-run, Barker and Mills took a 5-1, as McDade had to remount to take the point after falling at the back on the second lap (29-38).
Heat 12 saw Stoddart win a tactical ride in front of Courtney, while there was a dramatic finish to the battle for third place. McKinna came from a long way back to launch an inside attack on Martin on the final bend, and although McKinna got through, Martin came crashing down, and with McKinna excluded for unfair riding, Martin was awarded the third-placed point (35-41).
Heat 13 saw the tapes fail to go up on the outside for the second time of the afternoon, leaving Craig Branney & Sneddon at the tapes. In the re-run, Mills gated from the inside, then Craig Branney moved inside Scott on the second bend to join Mills at the front, with the pair then team-riding to a 5-1 that almost ensured victory for the away team (36-46).
As a last throw of the dice, Armadale team boss Alan Robertson introduced McKinna into Heat 14 as a reserve and nominated Tully as a tactical ride (he was unable to nominate McKinna, who wasn't a programmed rider in this heat). John Branney gated, but McKinna dived inside of him on the second bend, sending Branney wide into the path of Tully, and Tully came to a temporary halt after glancing the safety fence, allowing Hughes into third. The Armadale fans called for a stoppage, but the refereeing duo (who had been excellent all afternoon) decided that McKinna had messed up his own man, so that the race should be allowed to continue. Tully was unable to overhaul Hughes and the race ended as a match-winning 3-3 to Oxford (39-49).
Oxford team manager Bryn Williams gave young guns Barker & Courtney an extra outing in the nominated Heat 15, and they rewarded him with an excellent race. Stoddart gated, and as Scott moved around Courtney on the second bend, the Armadale pair concentrated solely on dealing with Courtney. Barker read the situation very quickly and switched to the inside, roaring past all three other riders on the back straight. Courtney, now relegated to the back, continued to chase and battled inside Scott on the back straight of the final lap to snatch third and maintain his record of scoring double-figures in every meeting for the Academy in 2005 (41-53).
So ended perhaps the Academy's finest performance so far in 2005. Armadale are a tough team to beat on their own patch and went into this match on the back of three home wins. And yet against the Academy, Armadale's only two heat advantages came in races where they were using tacticals.
The Armadale fans were unhappy that all the refereeing decisions went against them, but to be fair, Jim McGregor and his lady trainee had an excellent afternoon and called everything correctly as the young Armadale riders grew more desperate as the afternoon progressed.
A measure of the Oxford's superiority is that the team only had three last places in fifteen heats of action. And while it was a team performance from the Academy, well done to Ben Barker on top-scoring for Oxford after a sensational afternoon, culminating in that surge from last to first in the final race.
However, Oxford did have one injury concern, after team manager Bryn Williams jolted his back while mounting the trailer that allows viewing to those in the pits! Meanwhile, Pat Bint travelled up to the meeting with 10-year-old son Chris (a regular in the second half at Oxford), and found himself promoted to waving the red flag on the first bend! (and a very good job you did as well Pat!).
DALE DEVILS 41: Blair Scott 9 (5), Gary Beaton 3+1 (3), Sean Stoddart 14 (5) (incl. 6-point tactical ride), Andrew Tully 0 (4) (incl. 0-point tactical ride), Derek Sneddon 7 (5) (incl. 2-point T/S ride off 15m), Cal McDade 1 (3), Adam McKinna 7+1 (5).
ACADEMY 53: Chris Mills 9+2 (4), Ben Barker 13+1 (5), Jamie Courtney 10 (5), John Branney 4+1 (4), Craig Branney 9+2 (4), Sam Martin 5+1 (4), Kyle Hughes 3+2 (4).
1: Scott, Mills, Barker, Beaton, 58.97 (3-3).
2: McKinna, Martin, Hughes, McDade, 61.41 (6-6).
3: (Re-run) Courtney, Stoddart, J. Branney, Tully (fell, remounted then fell), 58.31 (8-10).
4: C. Branney, Sneddon, McKinna, Hughes, 60.03 (11-13).
5: (Re-run) Barker, Mills, Stoddart, Tully (fell, excluded), 58.72 (12-18).
6: (Re-run) C. Branney, Scott, Beaton, Martin, 59.31 (15-21).
7: Sneddon, Courtney, J. Branney, McDade, 59.63 (18-24).
8: Barker, Beaton, Hughes, McKinna, 59.94 (20-28).
9: (Re-run) Stoddart, Martin, C. Branney, Tully (fell, excluded), 61.34 (23-31).
10: Scott, Courtney, Sneddon (T/S from 15m), J. Branney (fell), 59.97 (28-33).
11: (Re-run) Barker, Mills, McDade (fell, remounted), Sneddon (excluded, unfair riding), 59.69 (29-38).
12: Stoddart (TR), Courtney, Martin (awarded), McKinna (excluded, unfair riding), 60.34 (35-41).
13: (Re-run) Mills, C. Branney, Scott, Sneddon, 59.41 (36-46).
14: McKinna, J. Branney, Hughes, Tully (TR), 61.22 (39-49).
15: Barker, Stoddart, Courtney, Scott, 59.97 (41-53).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY