Boston 44 Oxford 48

[Genghis]

Full report will follow tomorrow, but what a performance by the Cheetahs to win at the Norfolk Arena without Andrew Bargh or Jordan Frampton.

Danny Betson scored a brilliant 15-point maximum, passing Simon Lambert and James Brundle in great stlye.

Woo-hooooo!!!!

All the best
Rob

[Genghis]

Friday, August 10, 2007
BOSTON BARRACUDAS 44 OXFORD CHEETAHS 48
(Conference League)

Danny Betson was in scintillating from, blasting to a superb 15-point maximum, as the Cheetahs continue to hold the Indian sign over the Boston Barracudas.

These two teams have met seven times at Conference League level since 2003 - and Oxford have won the lot!

It was a marvellous performance at the Norfolk Arena from an Oxford side bereft of both Andrew Bargh (dislocated ankle) or Jordan Frampton (riding for Somerset). But with Lee Smethills producing a true captain's performance to back up the flying Betson, and Brendan Johnson, Sam Martin and Kyle Hughes, on his return from a foot injury, all scoring well, the Cheetahs had too much for their opponents - who relied almost exclusively on Simon Lambert and James Brundle.

Unlucky George Piper was in the wars again, suffering a foot injury in an alarming Heat 2 crash, and taking no further part in the proceedings.

Brundle won the opening heat from the Oxford pair of Smethills and Hughes, with the latter showing no ill effects from a parade lap accident when he looped the bike (3-3).

Heat 2 was brought to a halt, with Piper leading, with referee Barbara Horley warning Piper for moving at the start. In the re-run, Adam Lowe & Carl McDade got out in front for the Barracudas, but a battling Piper thrust under McDade after a lap. Piper & McDade both drifted wide on the opening bends of lap 2, Johnson took McDade for third, while Piper was losing a battle to regain control of his machine and he came a cropper on the exit of he second bend. Fortunately, Piper was off the bike before it impacted with a thud with one of the wooden fence panels, while Johnson & McDade just missed Piper & his machine as he fell. Piper's bike was ruined, while he was left feeling somewhat second hand with a foot injury, and withdrawn from the rest of proceedings by the track doctor.

In the second re-run, Johnson produced an electic start from the outside to keep things level (6-6).

Betson headed home Lambert in Heat 3, while Martin took advantage of machinery problems for Matthew Wright to come through into third place (8-10).

Heat 4 saw another unsatisfactory start - with the referee this time warning Johnson for moving. Martin had been leading Adam McKinna, Johnson and McDade at the time of the stoppage. In the re-run, Johnson blasted from the tapes to win his second race of the evening, while McKinna had to resist pressure from Martin, before taking second. Fourth-placed McDade fell on the second lap (10-14).

Lambert & Wright were first away in Heat 5, but Smethills chopped under Wright on the back straight to move into second place. Smethills then took up pursuit of Lambert, but Lambert held on to win (14-16).

Boston's top men Lambert and Brundle took a 5-1 over Martin & Johnson in Heat 6 (19-17), but the pendulum swung back in the Cheetahs favour in Heat 7. McKinna had the edge from the tapes, but Betson wasted no time in flying around him on the opening bends. Smethills then threatened on McKinna's outside for a couple of laps, McKinna moved over to block, but Smethills then changed lines and moved inside McKinna on the second bend of the final lap. A nice piece of trackcraft by the Oxford skipper and the Cheetahs moved back ahead with a 5-1 (20-22).

Brundle won Heat 8, despite a scare from the battling Johnson, while Johnson & Hughes finished in second & third places, to take the Cheetahs into the interval with a two-point lead (23-25).

Wright got his act together to win Heat 9, with Lambert holding on for second place, despite finding Martin a handful. Johnson fell on the second bend, but cleared the track to allow the race to continue (28-26).

Heat 10 saw Betson really turn on the style. He was left trailing at the start by Brundle and Wright, but he kept the throttle on, shot around Wright down the back straight, and then blasted around Brundle at the completion of the opening lap. It meant that Betson maintained his unbeaten run, while Brundle dropped his first point to an opposing rider. Great stuff indeed - Brundle is a six-point man for Premier League leaders King's Lynn and is a hot property around the Norfolk Arena, it's not often he's passed from behind at Saddlebow Road! (31-29).

It had been nip and tuck until now, but the next few races saw Oxford step up a gear. Hughes & Smethills gated in Heat 11, and Smethills then tucked in behind his team-mate in what was a comfortable 5-1 to the Cheetahs (32-34).

The Barracudas strived to hit back in Heat 12, and for a while held a 4-2 courtesy of Lambert & McDade. But, just like Brundle two races earlier, Lambert was unable to contain the charging Betson, who flew around him at the end of the second lap. Another great move by Betson. Meanwhile, Johnson was piling the pressure on McDade, and eventually McDade was forced into a mistake, going wide entering the first bend of the final lap. Johnson moved through into third, while McDade ended up taking an awkward tumble into the fence, causing the race to be halted and awarded as a 4-2 to the Cheetahs (34-38).

The Cheetahs were now on a roll. Smethills shot away from the tapes in Heat 13, and Martin (on the outside) fought off the Boston pair on the second bend to join his team-mate at the front. Third-placed McKinna fell on the fourth bend of lap 2 with the Cheetahs on for a commanding 5-1 - and the decision of referee Barbara Horley to order a re-run rather than award the race left the Oxford camp scratching their heads. Not that it made one jot of difference - Martin beat Brundle to the first bend in the re-run, and then Smethills shot around Brundle on the back straight, as the Cheetahs moved towards the winning line (35-43).

In desperation, Boston team manager Malcolm Vasey nominated Lambert as a tactical substitute off 15 metres in Heat 14. Betson streaked off to win his fifth ride, while Johnson fended off early pressure from Wright. Wright then made way for Lambert, who moved inside Johnson on the back straight of lap 3. But with Betson a convincing winner, the race finished as a 4-4 and the Cheetahs clinched the match (39-47).

Oxford boss Peter Oakes was afforded the luxury of tracking Sam Martin & Kyle Hughes in Heat 15. The pair battled hard, but Lambert and Brundle took a consolation 5-1 (44-48).

So, quite a performance by the Cheetahs, despite being without two heat-leaders. Danny Betson was, in a word, brilliant. Lee Smethills was also flying, and three times followed home his partner for a 5-1 - the sign of a team man. Sam Martin and Kyle Hughes both battled away, and their participation in Heat 15 was an acknowledgement of their efforts. Sam produced a great ride in Heat 13 (twice!!), while Kyle's 5-1 alongside Lee in Heat 11 started the Oxford domination of the latter part of the match. Kyle completed the meeting without any adverse effects to his foot. Brendan Johnson was again a busy boy, and defeated the likes of Wright and McKinna on the way to his double-figure haul. And George Piper remains luckless - he was really battling in Heat 2 before he came a cropper.

And the score is now: Oxford 7 Boston 0!


BOSTON BARRACUDAS 44
James Brundle 3 2* 3 2 1 2* (13+2)
Rider replacement - Darren Mallett
Simon Lambert 2 3 3 2* 2 4# 3 (19+1)
Matthew Wright R 1 3 1* 0 (5+1)
Adam McKinna 0 2 1 1 FX (4)
Adam Lowe 1* 0 0 (1+1)
Carl McDade 2 F 0 FX (2)
Daniel Hunt (No.8) DNR
Team manager: Malcolm Vasey

OXFORD CHEETAHS 48
Lee Smethills 2 2 2* 2* 2* (10+3)
Kyle Hughes 1* 0 1* 0 3 0 (5+2)
Rider replacement - Jordan Frampton
Danny Betson 3 3 3 3 3 (15)
Sam Martin 1 1 1 1 3 1 (8)
George Piper FX (0)
Brendan Johnson 3 3 0 2 F 1 1 (10)
Chris Widman (No. 8) DNR
Team manager: Peter Oakes
Referee: Barbara Horley

# = tactical substitute from 15m

HEAT DETAILS:
1: Brundle (B), Smethills (O), Hughes (O), McKinna (B), 63.8 (3-3).
2: (Re-run twice) Johnson (O), McDade (B), Lowe (B), Piper (O) (fell, excluded), 64.4 (6-6).
3: Betson (O), Lambert (B), Martin (O), Wright (B) (ret), 62.8 (8-10).
4: (Re-run) Johnson (O), McKinna (B), Martin (O), McDade (B) (fell), 64.9 (10-14).
5: Lambert (B), Smethills (O), Wright (B), Hughes (O), 63.7 (14-16).
6: Lambert (B), Brundle (B), Martin (O), Johnson (O), 64.3 (19-17).
7: Betson (O), Smethills (O), McKinna (B), Lowe (B), 63.7 (20-22).
8: Brundle (B), Johnson (O), Hughes (O), McDade (B), 64.8 (23-25).
9: Wright (B), Lambert (B), Martin (O), Johnson (O) (fell), 65.2 (28-26).
10: Betson (O), Brundle (B), Wright (B), Hughes (O), 63.0 (31-29).
11: Hughes (O), Smethills (O), McKinna (B), Lowe (B), 64.9 (32-34).
12: Betson (O), Lambert (B), Johnson (O), McDade (B) (fell, excluded), awarded - no time (34-38).
13: (Re-run) Martin (O), Smethills (O), Brundle (B), McKinna (B) (fell, excluded), 64.8 (35-43).
14: Betson (O), Lambert (B) (t/s - 15m), Johnson (O), Wright (B), 64.4 (39-47).
15: Lambert (B), Brundle (B), Martin (O), Hughes (O), 65.0 (44-48).


All the best
Rob

[Deleted]

Betson looked outstanding.. He was pretty much untouchable all night, I was impressed.
Brendan Johnson also had his moments.. His first two heats were pretty good, for instance.
Was disappointed Piper got injured so early on - you could see he was really trying, would have been interesting to see what impact the lad could have made.

Though Boston lost by enough, so points wise it may have helped, I suppose. For Boston Brundle and Lambert were scoring as much as ever, with Simon in particular standing out for the Barracudas. The others had their moments, but never seemed to really get into the swing of the meeting.