Scunthorpe Scorpions v Poole Pirates

LEAGUE title holders Poole surged back into contention with a 50-40 win at Scunthorpe to regain control of their Cab Direct Championship play-off group.

The Pirates had been under huge pressure heading to the Eddie Wright Raceway after the Scorpions ‘drew’ 45-45 in the reverse fixture, and they were then reduced to six riders when Anders Rowe suffered concussion in a Heat 1 crash.

But they showed real resilience to run up an away win over an in-form home side, meaning victory at home to Edinburgh on Wednesday will see them reach the Grand Final again.

Steve Worrall (12+1) and Richard Lawson (11) led the way with reserve Joe Thompson (7+3) making a key contribution against the side with whom he started the season. Ryan Douglas racked up 15 for the Scorpions.

Lawson said: “Obviously we put ourselves in a difficult position coming into this meeting, but we knew what the task in hand was and every single rider was so up for this.

“We knew we could do it, we felt like we were the better team and it was so satisfying, especially after Heat 1 disaster when it was backs against the wall time. But it seems as though when the Pirates face those situations we find it from somewhere.

“It almost did feel like a Final tonight. The pressure was on. We put that pressure on ourselves having that performance last Wednesday week, but we’ve redeemed ourselves and now we’ve got to finish it off home and away against Edinburgh.”

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF GROUP A
SCUNTHORPE 40: Ryan Douglas 15, Simon Lambert 6+1, Michael Palm Toft 6, Jake Allen 5+2, Drew Kemp 5, Connor Mountain 4, Nathan Ablitt 0
POOLE 50: Steve Worrall 12+1, Richard Lawson 11+1, Zach Cook 8+2, Joe Thompson 7+2, Ben Cook 7, Kyle Newman 5+1, Anders Rowe 0
Poole win the aggregate point

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Photo credit: IAN RISPIN