STARS RUE THEIR MISFORTUNE

KING’S Lynn manager Rob Lyon admitted the Stars had been beaten by the better team in the Premiership KO Cup Final.

A 60-30 second leg defeat in the Final at Leicester was poor reward for Lynn who had pulled off one of the results of the season to knock out favourites Ipswich in the semi-finals.

But they found themselves out of luck at the Hydroscand Arena with no fewer than five of their riders involved in crashes on the night.

The Stars were especially frustrated by a disqualification for skipper Nicolai Klindt in Heat 6 when he came down on turn two as Leicester captain Max Fricke made a strong move, whilst Niels-Kristian Iversen and Jan Kvech walked away from awkward falls, and Chris Harris was disqualified from Heat 12 when he tangled with Ryan Douglas.

Lyon said: “It was a tough night, with two decisions which weren’t debateable, they were clear-cut.

“I don’t think it would have made a huge difference to the scoreline to be honest, but it does take the wind out of your sails when you’re thinking you can keep it tight and move on to the next heat.

“So we were disappointed with those decisions, but overall Leicester were the better team over the two legs, and we take nothing away from them, they rode well and deserved it.

“I’ve said to the guys they need to be proud of what they’ve achieved in terms of getting here. I know we haven’t performed that well tonight for various reasons, but to get to a Cup Final is an achievement in itself.”

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Photo credit: MIA DURKIN