Scunthorpe Scorpions v Glasgow Tigers

Report

GLASGOW took control of the first BSN Series semi-final with a 46-44 win at Scunthorpe in a dramatic opening leg on Friday.

The meeting was full of exciting racing and although home No.1 Ryan Douglas won Heat 15, Tigers duo Benjamin Basso and Chris Harris held on for second and third places ahead of Simon Lambert, who briefly passed Harris before the Glasgow No.1 came back through.

Harris was the only rider to defeat Douglas when he passed him in Heat 1, with the Australian scoring 14 points for the Scorpions, and reserve Connor Mountain won three races to score 12.

But the Tigers were the better all-round side with Basso scoring 10+1 despite a disqualification for exceeding the time limit in Heat 10, having earlier been involved in two 5-1s with Claus Vissing.

Glasgow captain Tom Brennan said: “These guys are really good at home, so we had to come strong at the end, and that was always the idea for us.

“We had to build and build, and by the end we managed to get the result we wanted, and it was a really good team effort.

“Any advantage going into any meeting is good, and we obviously know what we can do at home.”

Scorpions boss Dave Peet said: “The set-ups have caught us out tonight for some reason. They’ve been plugging away and I can’t fault them for effort, but it’s one of those nights for us, a bad day at the office.”

BSN SERIES SEMI-FINAL, 1st leg
SCUNTHORPE 44: Ryan Douglas 14, Connor Mountain 12, Simon Lambert 6+3, Michael Palm Toft6, Jake Allen 4, Max Clegg 1+1, Nathan Ablitt 1
GLASGOW 46: Benjamin Basson 10+1, Chris Harris 9+2, Tom Brennan 8, Claus Vissing 7+1, Marcin Nowak 6+1, Ace Pijper 4, Lee Complin 2+1

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Photo credit: IAN RISPIN