CHEETAHS: KILLEEN INJURY COSTLY

OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck admitted the loss of reserve Luke Killeen gave his side too much to do in the second leg of the Cab Direct Championship Grand Final.

Killeen had starred with 11+3 on his previous visit to Wimborne Road when the Cheetahs won in the league, and he then racked up 12+1 in the first leg of the Final against Poole at Cowley.

But he could take no further part after two falls on Wednesday, the first coming after a clash with Pirates reserve Vinnie Foord which saw the visitors unhappy with Killeen’s disqualification.

Schroeck said: “I think the loss of Luke Killeen is ultimately what killed us off tonight. We lost our trump card reserve.

“In his first race in Heat 2, Luke was left with nowhere to go. There were some weak refereeing decisions tonight and Luke should not have been excluded. He went out again, but he wasn’t right, came off again and he was withdrawn from the meeting.

“Jody (Scott) was lucky not to be hurt in Heat 8 when he was taken into the fence at speed. That could have been a very nasty one when he was too was taken out by Vinnie Foord.

“The Poole boys were ruthless – particularly in the opening races. Both Sam (Masters) and Ashton (Boughen) had to pick themselves up after nasty crashes and that all took its toll. But all the boys battled on and I’m proud of their efforts.

“Congratulations to Poole on winning the league title. Once it settles down, we will start to reflect that we pushed them all the way and finished above seven other teams in the Cab Direct Championship.

“In the meantime, of course, it’s a tough one to take. But I got together the riders and mechanics and told them they’d given their all and to brush ourselves off and give it another go in the Cab Direct Knockout Cup Final, when we will try to repay the favour.”