Plymouth Gladiators v Oxford Cheetahs

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OXFORD moved back into contention in the BSN Series with a 48-41 win at Plymouth on Saturday – despite being seven points down at the halfway stage.

Cheetahs saw Dan Gilkes and Jordan Jenkins both disqualified from Heat 3 as they conceded a 5-0, but they took the lead in Heat 11 with a 5-1 from captain Sam Masters and the impressive Jonas Knudsen.

Masters then combined with Cameron Heeps in Heat 13 and officially sealed the win by completing his 15-point full score in the last race.

Knudsen added 7+2 after a first ride fall and UK newcomer Mitch McDiarmid also scored well with 6+2 as the visitors recovered from dropping a home point to Poole in the Southern section on Wednesday.

Debutant Lasse Fredriksen top scored for the Gladiators with 12 points from reserve.

Masters said: “We were on the back foot early on, with the 5-0 against us. But the boys continued to battle and to get the win from where we were was a big effort.

“15-point maximums don’t come easy and I’m really happy to get one away from home this early in the season. I made life easier for myself, because I was making good starts, and I can’t complain.

“It’s early in the season. We’ve got to keep on battling away and we’ve got the team to do that.”

BSN SERIES (SOUTHERN)
PLYMOUTH 41: Lasse Fredriksen 12, Joe Thompson 7, Ben Barker 7, Alfie Bowtell 6+1, Nicolai Klindt 6, Mitchell Cluff 2+1, Ben Trigger 1.
OXFORD 48: Sam Masters 15, Cameron Heeps 8+2, Jonas Knudsen 7+2, Mitch McDiarmid 6+2, Jordan Jenkins 5, Dan Gilkes 5, Luke Killeen 2+1.

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Photo credit: BLUEMONKEY MEDIA

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