Redcar Bears v Oxford Cheetahs

Report

ASHTON Boughen raced to a sensational 15-point maximum as Oxford booked their place in the Cab Direct KO Cup Final with a 45-45 draw at Redcar.

17-year-old Boughen enjoyed the best night of his senior career so far, reeling off five wins out of five at the ECCO Arena, and he was very much the difference between the sides over the semi-final having scored 10+1 in the first leg.

The result puts the Cheetahs into a KO Cup Final for the first time since 1997 as their terrific revival story continues.

Boughen’s full maximum was backed up by skipper Scott Nicholls with 11+1, whilst Danny King scored ten for the Bears, who were beaten by ten points overall.

Said Boughen: “I’m really pleased with my maximum. It feels like all the hard work is paying off and things are coming together.

“I really like the Redcar track. You can ride anywhere and build your speed up and I love racing on the outside line, while I’ve figured out my starts and got a lot better at those.

“It was a blow being without Jordan (Jenkins) and Cam (Heeps), but the boys have still done it, and it’s great that we’ve through to the final against Poole.

“We’ve won at Poole once and hopefully we can do it again. That’s another track I enjoy racing and love going to, and hopefully we can win the Cup.”

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP, SEMI-FINAL, 2nd leg
REDCAR 45: Danny King 10, Charles Wright 9+1, Jason Edwards 7+3, Jye Etheridge 7, Jake Mulford 6+1, Dan Gilkes 6+1, Danny Phillips 0
OXFORD 45: Ashton Boughen 15, Scott Nicholls 11+1, Sam Masters 8, Luke Killeen 7+1, Jody Scott 2+1, Jacob Hook 2 Cameron Heeps r/r
Oxford win 95-85 on aggregate

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Photo credit: COLIN POOLE