LAST HEAT SPIRES WIN AGAIN!
OXFORD edged out Sheffield 48-42 in a terrific Cowley contest to consolidate fourth place in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The depleted Tigers, without their injured top two of Jack Holder and Tai Woffinden, took the meeting down to a last-heat decider thanks to a 5-1 in Heat 14.
But with the gap at just two points it was the Spires who won it with a 5-1 of their own as Rohan Tungate completed a 14-point haul whilst captain Chris Harris came through from the back after the visitors had initially threatened to force a Super Heat.
Harris scored 11+2 for the hosts whilst Chris Holder racked up 14 for the Tigers and also broke the track record, with Josh Pickering on 10+1.
Tungate said: “It was tight again and it’s not something we want to be doing every week, but we got the job done and got the win.
“We knew what we had to do in the final race. It wasn’t easy, because Chris and Picko are good riders and pretty hard to catch once they’re clear. We knew we had to get past them as soon as we could before they got up to full speed. You’ve got to do the job done early in the race.
“The fans were really good again tonight and their support always helps us. We’ve had a few tough matches away from home, but we’re now back on track.”
Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “I don’t think anybody really expected us to do much without Jack and Tai.
“So the fact that we hit 40+ points considering the circumstances with the team was a brilliant effort. I was so proud of the rest of the lads.
“They certainly didn’t feel sorry for themselves or anything like that, in fact they probably bonded together even closer.”
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Photo credit: STEVE EDMUNDS
