Oxford Cheetahs v Poole Pirates

Report

FORMER Oxford rider Kyle Newman marked his Poole return with a stunning 13+1 haul as the Pirates grabbed a 46-43 away win in the BSN Series at Cowley.

The visitors emerged on top on opening night to take the initiative in the Southern group, despite a 15-point maximum from Cheetahs captain Scott Nicholls.

A solid-scoring Poole side won just five races – three of them from Newman – but prevented any Oxford comeback after taking the lead with a 5-0 in Heat 9.

Pirates promoter Dan Ford said: “That was an excellent night’s work from Kyle, he really stepped up to the plate and weighed in with a performance that we knew he was capable of. If there are more of those to follow, then all I can say is bring it on!

“Conditions were a bit tricky at times so I salute all fourteen riders who got on with the meeting, and of course I am more than happy that we started the season with an away win.”

Oxford boss Peter Schroeck said: “Of course we’re disappointed with the result, no one ever wants to lose. But we had a few hiccups along the way and Poole are a team which will punish any mistakes, which is what happened.

“I’m encouraged by the amount of race wins we recorded, that’s definitely something we can build on as a team.

“We’ve kept the aggregate scores close and that’s what we have to go for at Wimborne Road on Good Friday.”

BSN SERIES SOUTHERN GROUP
OXFORD 43: Scott Nicholls 15, Lewis Kerr 9, Cameron Heeps 8+1, Sam Masters 6, Jordan Jenkins 2, Luke Killeen 2, Henry Atkins 1+1
POOLE 46: Kyle Newman 13+1, Richard Lawson 9+2, Ben Cook 8+1, Zach Cook 6+2, Steve Worrall 5, Anders Rowe 4+1, Adam Roynon 1+1

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Photo credit: LES AUBREY