Birmingham Brummies v Sheffield Tigers

Report

CHAMPIONS Sheffield were taken all the way to a Super Heat by newcomers Birmingham in a dramatic ROWE Motor Oil Premiership clash on Monday.

The Brummies and the Tigers drew 45-45 after 15 races in front of the largest attendance in years at Perry Barr, with the visitors fighting back from a ten-point deficit with five races to go.

Grand Prix stars Tai Woffinden and Jack Holder combined for a 5-1 in Heat 15 to level the scores, and they repeated the feat in the additional race after home No.1 Vaclav Milik had been disqualified.

Woffinden racked up 15+1 during the regular meeting, going unbeaten after finishing third in his first ride, whilst Rising Star reserve Leon Flint impressed for the hosts with nine as they got off the mark in the league with a point for the ‘draw.’

Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “I’m pleased that we’ve got points on the board. It was a difficult one; fair play to Birmingham, they looked really sharp and we didn’t.

“But it’s early days for us, we haven’t had a great deal of track time and I think that shows in the early heats.

“When we do get dialled in we seem to come back strong. They never know when they’re beaten, we’ve got a great team spirit, they’re all fighting for each other, they were all thinking that we could get back into it and that’s what we did.”

Birmingham CEO Nigel Tolley said: “It was a strange feeling at the end because it was almost like conceding a last minute goal in football when you’ve been ahead since the first minute.

“And whilst there were some disappointed faces around, I think we need to look at the bigger picture.

“We gave the champions a major scare and when we got those three 5-1s in the first four races, we gave them a big wake-up call.

“We’re showing some very encouraging, early signs and whilst we know there’s a long season in front of us, I think it bodes well for Brummies and I’m feeling very proud right now.”

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1
BIRMINGHAM 45: Leon Flint 9, Vaclav Milik 8+1, Tom Brennan 8+1, Scott Nicholls 7+2, Zach Cook 5+2, Steve Worrall 5+1, Wiktor Lampart 3.
SHEFFIELD 45: Tai Woffinden 15+1, Jack Holder 9, Josh Pickering 8, Kyle Howarth 5+2, Chris Holder 4, Jason Edwards 3+1, Dan Gilkes 1.
Sheffield beat Birmingham 7-2 in Super Heat

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Photo credit: PHIL McGLYNN