PIRATES GAIN ON LEADERS

POOLE closed in on Cab Direct Championship leaders Oxford with a 47-43 away win over Scunthorpe in a last-heat decider at the Eddie Wright Raceway.

The Pirates fought back from a six-point deficit and took the lead for the first time with a 4-2 from Steve Worrall and Richard Lawson in Heat 13, before Lawson won the final race ahead of Ryan Douglas with Ben Cook in third place.

The result moves the defending champions to within three points of the Cheetahs, with one match in hand.

Lawson top-scored with 12 points whilst Cook added 9+2, with Ryan Douglas collecting 12 for the Scorpions, who are fifth in the table.

Poole boss Gary Havelock said: “Before the weekend as Poole manager I hadn’t won at Berwick and I had never won at Scunthorpe, but now the fantastic Pirates  have achieved both of them for me in the space of a week and I am over the moon.

“It was tough out there. It is a tough place to come, probably one of the toughest places to come and get a result. They show that by their results.

“We have come here and beaten them after being behind for a long time. I kept looking at the programme and not seeing any race wins being filled in for us, but then we got it together and as the meeting went on we became stronger, and I think they began to worry about us.”

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Photo credit: IAN RISPIN