Post by Genghis on Sept 1, 2007 11:53:33 GMT
Friday, August 31, 2007
OXFORD LCD PUBLISHING CHEETAHS 50 BOSTON BARRACUDAS 43
Oxford win aggregate point by 98-87
(Conference League)
This was arguably one of Oxford's best performances of the season.
The Cheetahs had FIVE riders ruled out through injury or rider availability, but still pulled through with a makeshift side to defeat the Boston Barracudas.
Just look at the quality of the riders ruled out from riding for Oxford last night:
* Andrew Bargh (10.22 average from league and cup meetings) - out with dislocated ankle
* Jordan Frampton (9.77) - riding for PL Somerset, and indeed proved a match-winner for the Rebels in a tough home match against the Isle Of Wight
* Danny Betson (9.68) - out with broken bones in his foot, sustained in the televised meeting at Rye House on Monday
* Matt Bates (6.67) - currently awaiting a medical check-up
* George Piper (1.67) - another injured Cheetah
With Rye House promoter Len Silver putting a block on Adam Roynon riding for the Cheetahs while the Rockets are still involved in the chase for the Premier League play-offs, it left Oxford struggling to put out a six-man team plus rider replacement for this fixture.
In the end, 30-year-old Darren Andrews answered an SOS to ride for the club. Locally-based Andrews had last rode competitive speedway for Sittingbourne in 2005, and had not raced a bike at all since a training school at Oxford some five or six months ago! Using an engine borrowed from Pete Seaton, Andrews scored paid 4 from 3 rides despite a lack of race fitness. Moreover, Andrews's inclusion kept Brendan Johnson at reserve, where Johnson scored a match-winning paid 11.
The Cheetahs took a 4-2 from Heat 1, with Lee Smethills heading home Simon Lambert, and Kyle Hughes overhauling Cal McDade for third place on the opening lap (4-2).
Boston new signing Jaimie Pickard led for over three laps in Heat 2, but kept going wide, and on the second turn of the final circuit, he drifted into the air fence, which killed his momentum and maybe damaged his bike as well. He dropped from first to last, and Scott Campos and Brendan Johnson came through to take a 5-1 for the Cheetahs (9-3).
Matthew Wright won Heat 3 - and thus became the first visitor to win a race at Sandy Lane since August 3, after 47 successive races won by the home Oxford riders, a remarkable sequence. Sam Martin closed in on Wright on the final lap, while Kyle Hughes finished third and Wayne Dunworth a distant fourth (12-6).
Adam McKinna gated in Heat 4, but came under increasing pressure from Brendan Johnson. On the final bends, Johnson made a move around the outside, but McKinna somewhat dubiously cut across his path, and Johnson had to back down to avoid a collision. Meanwhile, Darren Andrews missed the start, but Pickard went wide on the second bend of lap 2, and Andrews needed no second invitation and moved through into third place (15-9).
Martin & Johnson both missed the start in Heat 5, but Martin raced around McDade on the second bend, then hunted down Lambert. It was difficult to know where to look at the end of the first lap, as Johnson thrust inside McDade on the fourth bend, while Martin moved inside Lambert as the lap was completed. Johnson then closed in on Lambert, and tried to move inside his opponent on the third bend of the final lap. However, Johnson overcooked it and slid off, but nevertheless, it had been an excellent effort from the 15-year-old (18-12).
The fast-starting McKinna led Heat 6 from Smethills, but third-placed Hughes locked up on the third bend and the following Lowe ran into him and fell. The race was stopped, with Hughes adjudged as the cause of the stoppage. In the re-run, Smethills make no mistakes to lead all the way as a fourth successive race finished as a 3-3 (21-15).
Heat 7 was shared, with Wright a convincing winner, and Campos and Andrews packing the minor placings (24-18).
Hughes's nightmare evening continued when he was excluded under the two-minute allowance in Heat 8. Campos replaced him, then McDade and Pickard flew out of the gate for the Barracudas. However, Johnson produced a wonderful ride, muscling under Pickard on the fourth bend, and then switching to the outside to fly around McDade on the opening bends of the third lap. An excellent third to first from a youngster who has become a firm crowd favourite at Cowley (27-21).
Heat 9 was stopped after fourth-placed Lowe took a pearler on the second bend. In the re-run, Smethills won his third race of the night for the Cheetahs, while Martin went around McKinna in great style on the second lap, to join Smethills for a 5-1 and break the sequence of six shared heats (32-22).
Smethills also won Heat 10, inflicting the first defeat of the night on Wright, who came second, and with Hughes in third, the Cheetahs took a 4-2 (36-24).
Boston team manager Malcolm Vasey, who must have been left kicking himself for not using R/R for the injured Darren Mallett instead of introducing Dunworth to the side, nominated Lambert as a tactical ride in Heat 11. Lambert didn't disappoint, leading all the way to collect six points. McDade joined him for an 8-1, after Johnson - trying to get past McDade - fell on the second bend of the final lap (37-32).
Any glimmer of hope for the Barracudas was pretty much crushed in Heat 12, as Martin and Johnson took a convincing 5-1 to extend Oxford's lead back to nine points (42-33).
Smethills looked set for another win in Heat 13, but his bike started to misfire and McKinna came past on the final lap, as the Barracudas took a 4-2 (44-37).
Wright & Pickard gated in Heat 14, but Martin flew around them on the outside on the second bend and disappeared into the distance to clinch the match for Oxford. Meanwhile, Johnson was close to passing Pickard on the final lap (47-40).
Wright won Heat 15 despite being chased all the way by Smethills, while Martin rounded McKinna early on to take third (50-43).
And so, another three points for Oxford's push for a possible first place finish in the league table, prior to the championship play-offs. A hard-fought win in difficult circumstances, although to be fair to Boston, they were also missing the likes of James Brundle, Darren Mallett and Shane Waldron.
Brendan Johnson was a highly deserving winner of the Linda De Boise Memorial Rider Of The Night, for his never-say-die efforts and his crucial paid 11 tally from reserve, to back up top men Lee Smethills (16) and Sam Martin (paid 16).
And a huge thank you to Darren Andrews for dusting off his leathers and returning to the Oxford line-up he first graced as a 16-year-old in 1993. Had Darren not rode, Oxford would have been forced to use a grade 1 rider, Johnson would have moved up to the main body of the team, and in all likelihood, the match would have been lost.
OXFORD LCD PUBLISHING CHEETAHS 50
Lee Smethills 3 3 3 3 2* 2* (16+2)
Kyle Hughes 1 1* X MX 1 (3+1)
Rider replacement - Andrew Bargh
Sam Martin 2 3 2* 3 3 1* (14+2)
Darren Andrews 1* 1* 0 (2+2)
Scott Campos 3 2 0 1 (6)
Brendan Johnson 2* 2 F 3 F 2* 0 (9+2)
Team manager: Peter Oakes
BOSTON BARRACUDAS 43
Simon Lambert 2 2 6! 1 (11)
Cal McDade 0 1* 2 2* (5+2)
Wayne Dunworth R 0 0 (0)
Matthew Wright 3 3 2 2 3 (13)
Adam McKinna 3 2 1 3 0 (9)
Adam Lowe 1 1* FX 1 (3+1)
Jaimie Pickard 0 0 1* 0 1* (2+2)
Team manager: Malcolm Vasey
Referee: Mick Bates
! = tactical ride
HEAT DETAILS:
1: Smethills (O), Lambert (B), Hughes (O), McDade (B), 61.41 (4-2).
2: Campos (O), Johnson (O), Lowe (B), Pickard (B), 66.16 (9-3).
3: Wright (B), Martin (O), Hughes (O), Dunworth (B) (ret), 62.62 (12-6).
4: McKinna (B), Johnson (O), Andrews (O), Pickard (B), 63.93 (15-9).
5: Martin (O), Lambert (B), McDade (B), Johnson (O) (fell), 63.31 (18-12).
6: (Re-run) Smethills (O), McKinna (B), Lowe (B), Hughes (O) (excluded, cause of stoppage), 63.31 (21-15).
7: Wright (B), Campos (O), Andrews (O), Dunworth (B), 64.59 (24-18).
8: Johnson (O), McDade (B), Pickard (B), Campos (O), Hughes (O) (excluded, two minutes), 65.47 (27-21).
9: (Re-run) Smethills (O), Martin (O), McKinna (B), Lowe (B) (fell, excluded), 62.19 (32-22).
10: Smethills (O), Wright (B), Hughes (O), Dunworth (B), 62.90 (36-24).
11: Lambert (B) (tactical ride), McDade (B), Campos (O), Johnson (O) (fell), 65.62 (37-32).
12: Martin (O), Johnson (O), Lowe (B), Pickard (B), 64.22 (42-33).
13: McKinna (B), Smethills (O), Lambert (B), Andrews (O), 63.91 (44-37).
14: Martin (O), Wright (B), Pickard (B), Johnson (O), 62.87 (47-40).
15: Wright (B), Smethills (O), Martin (O), McKinna (B), 63.43 (50-43).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY
OXFORD LCD PUBLISHING CHEETAHS 50 BOSTON BARRACUDAS 43
Oxford win aggregate point by 98-87
(Conference League)
This was arguably one of Oxford's best performances of the season.
The Cheetahs had FIVE riders ruled out through injury or rider availability, but still pulled through with a makeshift side to defeat the Boston Barracudas.
Just look at the quality of the riders ruled out from riding for Oxford last night:
* Andrew Bargh (10.22 average from league and cup meetings) - out with dislocated ankle
* Jordan Frampton (9.77) - riding for PL Somerset, and indeed proved a match-winner for the Rebels in a tough home match against the Isle Of Wight
* Danny Betson (9.68) - out with broken bones in his foot, sustained in the televised meeting at Rye House on Monday
* Matt Bates (6.67) - currently awaiting a medical check-up
* George Piper (1.67) - another injured Cheetah
With Rye House promoter Len Silver putting a block on Adam Roynon riding for the Cheetahs while the Rockets are still involved in the chase for the Premier League play-offs, it left Oxford struggling to put out a six-man team plus rider replacement for this fixture.
In the end, 30-year-old Darren Andrews answered an SOS to ride for the club. Locally-based Andrews had last rode competitive speedway for Sittingbourne in 2005, and had not raced a bike at all since a training school at Oxford some five or six months ago! Using an engine borrowed from Pete Seaton, Andrews scored paid 4 from 3 rides despite a lack of race fitness. Moreover, Andrews's inclusion kept Brendan Johnson at reserve, where Johnson scored a match-winning paid 11.
The Cheetahs took a 4-2 from Heat 1, with Lee Smethills heading home Simon Lambert, and Kyle Hughes overhauling Cal McDade for third place on the opening lap (4-2).
Boston new signing Jaimie Pickard led for over three laps in Heat 2, but kept going wide, and on the second turn of the final circuit, he drifted into the air fence, which killed his momentum and maybe damaged his bike as well. He dropped from first to last, and Scott Campos and Brendan Johnson came through to take a 5-1 for the Cheetahs (9-3).
Matthew Wright won Heat 3 - and thus became the first visitor to win a race at Sandy Lane since August 3, after 47 successive races won by the home Oxford riders, a remarkable sequence. Sam Martin closed in on Wright on the final lap, while Kyle Hughes finished third and Wayne Dunworth a distant fourth (12-6).
Adam McKinna gated in Heat 4, but came under increasing pressure from Brendan Johnson. On the final bends, Johnson made a move around the outside, but McKinna somewhat dubiously cut across his path, and Johnson had to back down to avoid a collision. Meanwhile, Darren Andrews missed the start, but Pickard went wide on the second bend of lap 2, and Andrews needed no second invitation and moved through into third place (15-9).
Martin & Johnson both missed the start in Heat 5, but Martin raced around McDade on the second bend, then hunted down Lambert. It was difficult to know where to look at the end of the first lap, as Johnson thrust inside McDade on the fourth bend, while Martin moved inside Lambert as the lap was completed. Johnson then closed in on Lambert, and tried to move inside his opponent on the third bend of the final lap. However, Johnson overcooked it and slid off, but nevertheless, it had been an excellent effort from the 15-year-old (18-12).
The fast-starting McKinna led Heat 6 from Smethills, but third-placed Hughes locked up on the third bend and the following Lowe ran into him and fell. The race was stopped, with Hughes adjudged as the cause of the stoppage. In the re-run, Smethills make no mistakes to lead all the way as a fourth successive race finished as a 3-3 (21-15).
Heat 7 was shared, with Wright a convincing winner, and Campos and Andrews packing the minor placings (24-18).
Hughes's nightmare evening continued when he was excluded under the two-minute allowance in Heat 8. Campos replaced him, then McDade and Pickard flew out of the gate for the Barracudas. However, Johnson produced a wonderful ride, muscling under Pickard on the fourth bend, and then switching to the outside to fly around McDade on the opening bends of the third lap. An excellent third to first from a youngster who has become a firm crowd favourite at Cowley (27-21).
Heat 9 was stopped after fourth-placed Lowe took a pearler on the second bend. In the re-run, Smethills won his third race of the night for the Cheetahs, while Martin went around McKinna in great style on the second lap, to join Smethills for a 5-1 and break the sequence of six shared heats (32-22).
Smethills also won Heat 10, inflicting the first defeat of the night on Wright, who came second, and with Hughes in third, the Cheetahs took a 4-2 (36-24).
Boston team manager Malcolm Vasey, who must have been left kicking himself for not using R/R for the injured Darren Mallett instead of introducing Dunworth to the side, nominated Lambert as a tactical ride in Heat 11. Lambert didn't disappoint, leading all the way to collect six points. McDade joined him for an 8-1, after Johnson - trying to get past McDade - fell on the second bend of the final lap (37-32).
Any glimmer of hope for the Barracudas was pretty much crushed in Heat 12, as Martin and Johnson took a convincing 5-1 to extend Oxford's lead back to nine points (42-33).
Smethills looked set for another win in Heat 13, but his bike started to misfire and McKinna came past on the final lap, as the Barracudas took a 4-2 (44-37).
Wright & Pickard gated in Heat 14, but Martin flew around them on the outside on the second bend and disappeared into the distance to clinch the match for Oxford. Meanwhile, Johnson was close to passing Pickard on the final lap (47-40).
Wright won Heat 15 despite being chased all the way by Smethills, while Martin rounded McKinna early on to take third (50-43).
And so, another three points for Oxford's push for a possible first place finish in the league table, prior to the championship play-offs. A hard-fought win in difficult circumstances, although to be fair to Boston, they were also missing the likes of James Brundle, Darren Mallett and Shane Waldron.
Brendan Johnson was a highly deserving winner of the Linda De Boise Memorial Rider Of The Night, for his never-say-die efforts and his crucial paid 11 tally from reserve, to back up top men Lee Smethills (16) and Sam Martin (paid 16).
And a huge thank you to Darren Andrews for dusting off his leathers and returning to the Oxford line-up he first graced as a 16-year-old in 1993. Had Darren not rode, Oxford would have been forced to use a grade 1 rider, Johnson would have moved up to the main body of the team, and in all likelihood, the match would have been lost.
OXFORD LCD PUBLISHING CHEETAHS 50
Lee Smethills 3 3 3 3 2* 2* (16+2)
Kyle Hughes 1 1* X MX 1 (3+1)
Rider replacement - Andrew Bargh
Sam Martin 2 3 2* 3 3 1* (14+2)
Darren Andrews 1* 1* 0 (2+2)
Scott Campos 3 2 0 1 (6)
Brendan Johnson 2* 2 F 3 F 2* 0 (9+2)
Team manager: Peter Oakes
BOSTON BARRACUDAS 43
Simon Lambert 2 2 6! 1 (11)
Cal McDade 0 1* 2 2* (5+2)
Wayne Dunworth R 0 0 (0)
Matthew Wright 3 3 2 2 3 (13)
Adam McKinna 3 2 1 3 0 (9)
Adam Lowe 1 1* FX 1 (3+1)
Jaimie Pickard 0 0 1* 0 1* (2+2)
Team manager: Malcolm Vasey
Referee: Mick Bates
! = tactical ride
HEAT DETAILS:
1: Smethills (O), Lambert (B), Hughes (O), McDade (B), 61.41 (4-2).
2: Campos (O), Johnson (O), Lowe (B), Pickard (B), 66.16 (9-3).
3: Wright (B), Martin (O), Hughes (O), Dunworth (B) (ret), 62.62 (12-6).
4: McKinna (B), Johnson (O), Andrews (O), Pickard (B), 63.93 (15-9).
5: Martin (O), Lambert (B), McDade (B), Johnson (O) (fell), 63.31 (18-12).
6: (Re-run) Smethills (O), McKinna (B), Lowe (B), Hughes (O) (excluded, cause of stoppage), 63.31 (21-15).
7: Wright (B), Campos (O), Andrews (O), Dunworth (B), 64.59 (24-18).
8: Johnson (O), McDade (B), Pickard (B), Campos (O), Hughes (O) (excluded, two minutes), 65.47 (27-21).
9: (Re-run) Smethills (O), Martin (O), McKinna (B), Lowe (B) (fell, excluded), 62.19 (32-22).
10: Smethills (O), Wright (B), Hughes (O), Dunworth (B), 62.90 (36-24).
11: Lambert (B) (tactical ride), McDade (B), Campos (O), Johnson (O) (fell), 65.62 (37-32).
12: Martin (O), Johnson (O), Lowe (B), Pickard (B), 64.22 (42-33).
13: McKinna (B), Smethills (O), Lambert (B), Andrews (O), 63.91 (44-37).
14: Martin (O), Wright (B), Pickard (B), Johnson (O), 62.87 (47-40).
15: Wright (B), Smethills (O), Martin (O), McKinna (B), 63.43 (50-43).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY