|
2010 Fixture List (Provisional)
Key PL = Premier League,
SWL = South West League, BTC + British Team Champ.
Mar 14th
Swindon (A) SWL Mar 21st Swindon
(H) SWL Mar 28th
Norwich (A) PL Apr 4th
Horspath (H) PL Apr 11th
Exeter (H)
SWL Apr 17th
Junior Lge Rd.1 - Oxford Apr
18th Birmingham (H) PL Apr 25th
Horspath (A) SWL May 1-3 Euro
Club (Bury) May
8th Junior Lge Rd.2 - Southampton May 9th
Wednesfield (A) PL May 16th
E.Newport (A) SWL May 23rd
Sheffield (H) PL May 29th
Young England International May 30th ADE GALE "LAURELS" Jun 5th
Junior Lge Rd.3 - Newport Jun
6th BTC Rd.1 Jun 13th Gt.Blakenham (A)
PL Jun 20th
Newport (H) SWL Jun 26th
Junior Lge Rd.4 - Swindon Jun
27th Leicester (A)
PL Jul 4th
BTC Q/F Jul 11th
Norwich (H) PL Jul 18th
SW Riders Champs (Oxford) Jul
23-25 Euro Champs (Poland) Aug 1st Horspath (A)
PL Aug 7th British Club Championships - Open &
Women Aug 8th Horspath (H)
SWL Aug 15th Birmingham (A)
PL Aug
21st Junior League Rd 5 - Exeter Aug 22nd
Hellingly (H) SWL Aug 28-30
Brit.Indiv Champs (North) Sep 5th Wednesfield (H)
PL Sep
11th Junior Lge Rd 6 - Poole Sep 12th
BTC Finals (East Park Wolv.) Sep 19th Newport (A)
SWL Sep 26th Sheffield (A)
PL Oct
2nd Junior Lge REGIONAL FINAL - POOLE Oct 3rd Southampton
(A) SWL Oct 9th Hellingly (A)
SWL Oct 10th Gt.Blakenham (H) PL Oct 17th
Leicester (H)
PL Oct 23rd Exeter (A)
SWL Oct 24th E.Newport (H)
SWL Oct 31st Southampton (H)
SWL
2009 Fixture List (For match reports please scroll down)
- March 15th Poole v
Horspath PL
- March 22nd
Exeter v Poole SWL
- March 29th Norwich v Poole
PL
- April 5th
Poole v Southampton SWL
- April 12th Poole
v Gt Blakenham PL
- April 18th
Poole v Exeter SWL
- April 19th Newport v Poole SWL
- April 26th Birmingham v Poole
PL
- May 3rd
Poole v Filton/Newport SWL
- May 10th Leicester
v Poole PL
- May 17th
Poole v East Newport SWL
- May 23rd
BRITISH U.13 Club Championships (1230,2pm,4pm)
- May 24th ADE
GALE LAURELS
- May 25th
Horspath v Poole SWL
- May
31st Poole v Sheffield
PL
- Jun 7th Poole
v Horspath SWL
- Jun
14th Hellingly v Poole SWL
- Jun 21st Poole v
Wednesfield PL
- Jun 28th Southampton
v Poole SWL
- July 5th Poole
v Leicester BTC (Note: 3pm start)
- July 12th Horspath
v Poole PL
- July 26th Poole v Norwich
PL
- Aug 2nd Poole
v Hellingly SWL
- Aug 9th Gt.Blakenham v Poole
PL
- Aug 16th Filton
v Poole
SWL
- Aug 23rd Poole
v Birmingham PL
- Sept 5th British
Youth/Junior League (1200)
- Sept 6th
East Newport v Poole SWL
- Sept 13th
BTC
- Sept 20th Poole v Leicester
PL
- Sept 27th Swindon v
Poole SWL
- Oct
4th Sheffield v Poole
PL
- Oct 11th Poole v Swindon SWL
- Oct 18th Wednesfield
v Poole PL
Premier League Match Averages 2009
M. Pts M.Av
Thomas Reed
10 168 16.8
Gavin Wheeler 10 160
16.0
Marcin Paradindski 3
46 15.3
Artur Poprawski 5 73 14.6
Pavel Cegielski
3 41 13.7
Pete Young
5 63
12.6
Tom Colling 12 149 12.4
Ben Mould
13 157 12.0
Aaron
Lowey
5 57 11.4
Chris Roberts
4 45 11.3
Sam Hearn 10 98
9.8
Dave Murphy
9 65 7.3
Ben Donohue
8 57
7.1
Jake Williams
6 36 6.0
(Also rode - C.Wheeler 13:1 = 13, L.Glover 22:2 = 11, A.Morgan 11:1 = 11, R.Clanfield 11:1 = 11, R.Haywood 15:2 =
7.5, C.Cox 6:1 = 6, D.McCrae 4:1 = 4).
South West League Match Averages
2009
Pts
M M.Av
Chris Roberts
51 3 17.0
Dave Murphy 84
5 16.8
Aaron Lowey 99
6 16.5
Sam Hearn 190
12 15.8
Ben Mould
61 4 15.3
Ben Donohue 157 11
14.3
Chris Shylock 156
11 14.2
Jake Williams 165
12 13.8
Arron Morgan
116 9 12.9
Leyton Glover
83 7 11.9
Luke Armes
109 13 8.4
Kev Lowman
71 10 7.1
(Also rode -
Karol Wlodarczyk 29:2=14.5, Matt Elston 27:2=13.5, Bobby McMillan 12:1=12,
Matthew Mildon 11:1=11, Kayleigh Stiggants
6:1=6, Jess Lamb 5:1=5)
South West
Conference Match Averages 2009
Pts M M.Av
Arron Morgan
175 10 17.5
Leyton Glover 170 10
17.0
Jake Williams 103
7 14.7
Matt Mildon 102
7 14.6
Sam Hearn 54 4 13.5
Jess Lamb 46 4 11.5
Matt Elston 75 7 10.7
Mike Buczak 50 7 7.1
Dave Buczak 42 8 5.3
18th October 2009: Wednesfield
103 Poole 69
With only Dave Murphy available to ride from the senior squad - it was left to
the young brigade to shoulder the racing burden in the final PL match of the season against Wednesfield. Matters became even
worse when Dave crashed heavily in his opening race and was unable to take any further part in the meeting. This left Poole
with a 7 rider team with an average age of about 14.5 at a venue which is formidable enough at the best of times. A notable
PL debut was that of Arron Morgan....expect much more in 2010!
It was no surprise therefore that the interval deficit
was a hefty 26 points but all credit to the dogged 2nd half performance from the team as they began to work out the quirks
of the track. Special word of praise for young Charlotte Cox for stepping in and taking a full quota of riders after
the Murphy injury on a day when some of the senior absentees need to ask themselves about their commitment levels. Limited
though the attraction of the fixture might have been to them compared to racing at Harbourside, it was a PL match after all!
It was also disappointing that no neutral referee was available for the match in view of the current level of league fees
and that is no reflection on Al Bentley who did well.
Scorers:- Ben Mould 16, Thomas Reed 14+1, Sam Hearn 11, Arron
Morgan 10+1, Jake Williams 7+1, Charlotte Cox 6, Leyton Glover 5, Dave Murphy 0.
4 exclusions.
Div 2. Wednesfield 63 Poole 66 (Pen pts not added)
Poole conceded the points in this one
as five members of the team were drafted into the first team!! Welcome to Alex Lane who had a baptism of fire in his first
team match having graduated from Tuesday Clubnight.
Scorers: Sam Hearn 18, Arron Morgan 15+1, Jake Williams 14, Leyton
Glover 10+1, Alex Lane 5, Charlotte Cox 4.
11th October 2009: Poole 94 Swindon 78
Poole rounded off their home league season with a win against a lively Wiltshire
side who provided tough opposition but it was the better balance and youthful zest which secured the two points which will
ensure runners-up spot in the final table.
Swindon were boosted by the inclusion of Shaun Rudman who has ridden
only a handfull of matches this season due to a serious leg injury. He recorded three race wins and together with Rob Hunt
formed a powerful twin spearhead for the Wiltshire side who put up a spirited performance against a youthful Poole line-up.
Sam Hearn stepped up to
the mark as captain and was unbeaten from four starts while Ben Donohue and Jake Williams also excelled. Surpise packet Matt
Elston recorded his best score in first team racing with 14 from four races including two wins. Gilt edged prospect Arron
Morgan - just 13 years old - also recorded two wins including the scalp of Premier League star Rob Hunt in heat 7.
Special word of praise for referee Robin Spicer
who handled this lively match very well and handed three exclusions to Danny Harper for progressively more serious
infringements and was totally unfazed by the inevitable diatribe he received in return!
Poole scorers; Sam Hearn 17+1, Ben Donohue 16+1, Jake Williams 15+3, Matt Elston 14, Arron Morgan, Leyton Glover 8+1, Luke Armes
6+1, Chris Shylock 6. Swindon scorers; Rob Hunt 20, Shaun Rudman 18, Mark Janes 11, James Bailey 9, Danny Harper 8, Martin Glover 6, Paul Matthews
3, Franek Joachin 3. Referee -
Robin Spicer.
October 4th 2009: Sheffield 94
Poole 85
At first glance this is not the scoreline that suggests the performance of the season
for Poole in the Premier League. But wait....against the team that was one match point away from the League championship at
Horspath a few weeks ago and without the services of Gav Wheeler, Pete Young, Chris Roberts or any overseas stars....this
was a heartwarming day for team managers Colin Sutton and Pete Barnes. They watched as their youngest ever PL team gave the
Yorkshire side a real run for their money, recovering from an early 6 point deficit to trail 46 - 43 at the break with debut
boy Leyton Glover unbeaten from two starts.
With a triple Polish spearhead, the hosts turned up the heat after
the break but what the Poole team lacked in experience, they more than made up for in enthusiasm as the scoreboard showed
87 - 82 with one race to go. Just a shame there were no more than a handful of people to watch - but Sheffield are by no means
the only PL club to be short of the mark on this essential promotional requirement!
Scorers: Leyton Glover 16+1,
Thomas Reed 16+1, Tom Colling 15+1, Sam Hearn 12+1, Ben Mould 10+3, Ben Donohue 8, Jake Williams 6+1, Dave Murphy 2.
Division 2:
This was one of those mis-matches where the home side tracked a much younger line-up. Although Poole has
a whole host of kids in the same age and ability bracket, the long trip North is not an attractive proposition for their families
in term time! Hats off to Arron Morgan and Matt Elston for making the long trip for what turned out to be a less than competitive
encounter...but why oh why do the PL rules not allow these riders to be named as substitutes in the Div 1 match - no scheduled
rides but able to come in for a few races to gain experience at the top level. It works in Poland and there is no reason why
it shouldn't here too.
Sheffield 79 Poole 90 ( Arron Morgan 19+1, Matt Elston 17+3, Leyton Glover 15+1, Sam Hearn
14, Jake Williams 13+3, Dave Murphy 12+4)
September
27th 2009: Swindon 92 Poole 84
On paper this looked to be another 2 SWL points
for the taking.....24 hours previously......... but the late withdrawal of skipper Chris Shylock weakened the side and caused
Poole to field an incomplete team for the first time this season. Hats off to the efforts of the riders who made the trip....especially
to Kayleigh Stiggants who made her first team debut and had her full quota of races.
Poole scorers: A.Morgan 16 + 1 M.Mildon
9 + 2 S.Hearn 15 M.Elston 12 + 1, B.Donohue 12 + 1, J.Williams 14 + 2 K.Stiggants
6
September 20th 2009: Poole 93
Leicester 84
Premier League encounters between Poole and Leicester are seldom
dull affairs and this was no exception to the rule as the destiny of the two points was in the balance until the closing heats.
The visitors missed the services of Craig Marchant and Mark Newey while the home side, already without any of their Polish
stars, suffered the last minute loss of skipper Chris Roberts who was delayed en route from a football match. Early exchanges saw Poole take 6 - 4 wins in heats 2, 4 and 6 with Thomas Reed's victory over newly
crowned GP champion Lukas Nowacki being the highlight. However, Reed was left on the deck in heat 7 after coming off
second best in an encounter with Dan Pike and Kev Burns who notched a 6 - 4 of their own to narrow the margin to 4 points.
The hosts looked set to restore their 6 point advantage before the break as Ben Donohue superbly passed Adam Stephenson, only
to needlessly send the Hull based star flying, giving Leicester a 5 - 4 win and the match was anybody's at 46 -43. A very ragged start to heat 11 did not attract the expected re-run allowing the visitors to pick
up the easiest 7 - 3 they will ever get and the match tipped in their favour at 54 - 55. Nowacki kept them ahead in the next
with a comfortable win over Gav Wheeler and the in-form Pete Young. Up to this point
in spite of the close and robust racing, there had been one solitary exclusion in marked contrast to the BTC encounter
in July which racked up no less than eleven. However, tapes infringements in the next two heats proved pivotal and Leicester were guilty on both occasions as
nerves got the better of first Nicky Whitehead and then Adam Stephenson. Sole representatives Kev Burns and Dan Pike fought
gamely but could not prevent the home side taking a 6 - 3 followed by a 7 - 2 to lead 77 - 70. Gav Wheeler evened the score with Lukas Nowacki for a
share of the spoils in heat 16 to maintain the 7 point margin then a very tactical penultimate race almost produced a Leicester
7 - 3 on the final lap until young guns Reed and Mould outpaced Leon Yelland on the final bend for a 5 - 5. Heat 18 was now
academic in match terms, but not for stand-in skipper Pete Young who sped home for his 3rd race win and a total score more
reflective of his ability than the BTC disappointment seven days previously. While more crucial PL matches were being ridden elsewhere, these two sides were battling for mid-table
supremacy in near perfect weather conditions and racing was enjoyed by another healthy attendance. The match was preceded
by an impeccably observed one minute silence for Poole founder members Roger Nicholson and Colin Sanders. Poole
scorers - Pete Young 17 Ben Mould 15 Gavin Wheeler 15 Thomas Reed 14 Sam Hearn 12 Tom
Colling 10 Jake Williams 7 Ben Donohue 3
Leicester scorers - Lukas Nowacki 18 Daniel Pike 17
Kev Burns 13 Leon Yelland 13 Mark Whitehead 8, Adam Stephenson 6 Nicky Whitehead 6 Matt
Hartshorn 3 Referee Richard Hughes
Division 2:
Poole 93 Leicester
61
Seeing newly crowned British GP champion Nowacki in their line-up, Chris Roberts asked to have a rare Div 2
outing to bolster the Poole ranks and even without the addition of 28 penalty points, a home win was chalked up. Good to see
Charlotte and Kayleigh in action against British Ladies champion Lucy Whitehead - maybe one day they will reach the same heights! Poole scorers - Leyton Glover
16 Arron Morgan 13 Chris Roberts 11 Luke Armes 11 Matt Elston 8 Charlotte Cox 5 Kayleigh
Stiggants 2 Leicester scorers
- Lukas Nowacki 16 Nicky Whitehead 15 Steph Whitehead 10 Matt Hartshorn 7 Sam Hartshorn
7 Lucy Whitehead 6 Referee
Mike Legge
September 6th 2009: East
Newport 84 Poole 92
Scorers: Dave Murphy 18, Ben Donohue 13+1,
Ben Mould 12+2, Arron Morgan 12+2, Bobby McMillan 12, Sam Hearn 10+1, Jake Williams 10+1, Luke Armes 5.
Combination -
E.Newport 28 Poole 52
Matt Mildon 12, Jess Lamb 11+1, Shane Bentley 10+2, Matt Elston 10+2, Leyton Glover 7+1, Kaleigh
Stiggants 2.
Conference - E.Newport 76 Poole 71
Arron Morgan 17+1, Leyton Glover 14, Jake Williams
10+1, Matt Mildon 10, Jess Lamb 5, Matt Elston 3, Kalieigh Stiggants 1.
August 23rd 2009: Poole 90 Birmingham
87
Premier League racing at Harbourside just seems to get better and better this season in what is without doubt the
most competitive and enjoyable season for many years. This match summed it all up perfectly with close racing, controversy
and a last heat decider with the teams deadlocked after 17 pulsating races. Thomas Reed,
so often a pocket rocket on his home PL track could get nowhere near Chris Timms in heat 1 and Rich Harrison outfoxed Ben
Mould for a 6 - 4 opener with heat 2 squared when Artur Poprawski outpaced Lewis Bates and Russ Evans. Poole made a breakthrough
in the next as Marcus Wadhams slipped off on lap 2 undeintenser pressure from Gavin Wheeler allowing skipper Chris Roberts
the chance to join his team mate for a 7 - 3.
Tom Colling led from the tapes in heat 4 but all the action was behind him as young Welsh international Mould
succesfully challenged the Harrison/Heard pairing for another 7-3 maximum moving the score to 23 - 17. Timms once again once
again opted for the gate to get the better of Reed in heat 5 with Dave Murphy outpacing Leighton Bates for a 5 -
5. Chris Roberts was ruled out at the tapes by referee Colin Simmons in the next heat but Wheeler kept his nerve to hold
off a lively Lewis Batesin the re-start. The next 3 races were shared with visitors Wadhams,
Timms and Heard taking the chequered flag while the hosts packed the minor places including a last ditch pass in
heat 8 by Poprawski on Harrison which saw the disgruntled visitor wreck the Pole's back wheel as the riders returned to
the pits.The interval scoreline of 47 - 42 meant that either side was well capable of taking
the two points.
Heat 10 saw the home lead extended with a Wheeler/Colling
6 - 4 over the Bates brothers before a contentious heat 11 saw hard charging Pole Poprawski ruled out by the referee to protests from the terraces as well as the home pits who claimed that the challenge on
Paul Heard was firm but fair. With Pete Young marooned on gate 4, the re-run gave the visitors a lifeline which they took
with a comfortable 7 - 2 from Heard and Wadhams to tranform the scoreboard to 55 - 53. Heat
12 saw the first race win of the day for Reed ahead of Bates for another 5 - 5 but an incident packed heat 13 saw Birmingham
take a 6 - 4 with Harrison the suprising winner and Wheeler even more surprisingly last with Roberts just getting the better
of Timmsin all the confusion! Now it was level pegging and the Brummies had their tails up as Wadhams surprisingly gated
over the usually fast starting Pole Poprawski in heat 14 for another share of the spoils. Newly crowned British U.19 champion Paul Heard notched his third straight
win in heat 15 while unsung hero Errol Thaw did well to shut out Young for a vital 3rd as his team went back into the lead
for the first time since heat 2. The home side were desperate to stop the visitors momentum and up stepped the Reed/Roberts
pairing for a vital 6 - 4 win to bring it back to all square with two heats remaining.
Birmingham unsurprisingly brought in their number 7 trump
card Heard for Thaw in the penultimate heat and he made no mistakes from gate 1 but importantly Poprawski and Mould packed
in the minor places leaving it at 84 points apiece with a race to go. Home fans amongst another healthy crowd were biting
their nails in anticipation as British Champion Gavin Wheeler headed towards gate 1 but with Colling replacing Young
on 3 and with Wadhams and Timms on 2 & 4 respectively, the odds were probably still on a drawn outcome. At this point lady luck evened itself up on the day with the unfortunate exclusion of Wadhams at the tapes and a
home victory was assured with Wheeler taking the re-start from Timms who passed Colling late in the race. Poole just about
deserved to take another two league points in their quest to secure fourth place in the table behind their opponants.
But the final comment is in danger of becoming something of an over-worked cliche in 2009.....cycle speedway was undoubtedly
the real winner.
Poole scorers - Thomas Reed 17
Gavin Wheeler 17 Tom Colling 13 Chris Roberts 11 Artur Poprawski 11 Ben Mould 9 Pete Young 7
Dave Murphy 5 (2r)
Birmingham
scorers - Paul Heard 18 Chris Timms 17 Lewis Bates 15 Marcus
Wadhams 12 Richard Harrison 9 Russ Evans 8 Errol Thaw 5 Leighton Bates 3 Referee: Colin Simmons
Division 2 - POOLE 59 BIRMINGHAM 70
Title favourites Birmingham hit the ground running by taking
a ten point lead in the first four races after which the home side got their act together. With Nathan Groves in a class of
his own and several of his team colleagues worthy of first team racing, the visitors held on to their advantage and already
have one hand on the league trophy! Both clubs tracked separate eight rider teams and the quality of racing in the match
was on a par with the best regional league racing which surely serves to fuel the debate about the merits of this competition
even more! Special word of praise for reserve Matt Elston....only one race today....but he won it!!
Poole - Sam Hearn 15, Aaron Morgan 9, Leighton Glover 8, Rob Haywood 8, Chris
Shylock 7, Luke Armes 7, Matt Elston 4, Jess Lamb 1.
Birmingham
- Nathan Groves 19, Andy James 11, Paul Timms 10, Tom Sensical 9, Carl Winwood 8, Mark Winwood 6, Mark Fletcher 5, Phil Widdas
2. Referee - Mike Legge
August 16th 2009: Filton 87 Poole 91
Scorers: Ben Mould 19, Leyton Glover 7 + 1, Chris Shylock 15 + 1, Luke Armes 9 + 1, Jake
Williams 12 + 2, Sam Hearn 14 + 1, Jessica Lamb 4 + 1, Aaron Morgan 11 + 2
August 9th 2009: Gt.Blakenham 83 Poole 96
Revenge for the ten point home defeat back in April was sweet indeed as Poole built up a first half
lead of 10 points and consolidated after the break as every team member played his part. The two valuable league points elevate
the team into the top half of the PL table, overtaking Wednesfield, Leicester and Blakenham who all lost. Now the task is
to stay there!
There were absentees from both sides but greater squad strength in depth for the SeaView boys won the day
with skipper Dave Murphy putting on a vintage display while down the age range, Sam Hearn and Jake Williams again showed that
they are ready for regular PL first team action. Ben Mould threatens to steal the show in every match these days and once
again his pass on home rider and former Poole star Adam Peck in heat 18 was top drawer stuff.
Next up in the fixture list will see high flying Birmingham visit Harbourside in a fortnight...now what
a match that promises to be!
Scorers: Gavin Wheeler 15+1, Ben Mould 14+1, Tom Colling 14 (1 exc), Thomas Reed 13+2, Dave Murphy 13+1,
Artur Poprawski 13+1, Jake Williams 8+2 (3r), Sam Hearn 6+1 (3r).
Division 2:
Gt Blakenham 59 Poole 70
Jake Williams 13+2, Sam Hearn 13+1, Arron Morgan 13+1, Matt Elston 12, Leyton Glover 10+1, Luke Armes 9+1.
August 2nd 2009: Poole 104 Hellingly 75
The return SWL fixture with South Coast rivals went off very smoothly as Poole carried strength in depth
in contrast to the Lions largely 2 man attack.
Chris Roberts sheared a crank in his opener and Ben Donohue hit the deck a race later to give an early
2 point lead to the visitors. Poole responded with four 7 - 3's before the interval with Sam Hearn's dual with top
Lion Neil Hollebon in heat 8 the race of the day.
Tactical moves after the break kept the racing lively but Chris Roberts was in no mood to drop any more
points after his heat 2 disappointment as his replacement crank withstood the force of four powerhouse starts! Luke Armes
put in four excellent races from reserve and Sam Hearn went through the match unbeaten by an opponant. Every member of the
team played their part in a comprehensive victory and a word of praise for referee Robin Spicer who came through his first
Division 1 appointment with flying colours.
Poole: Sam Hearn 18, Chris Roberts 16, Chris Shylock 15, Jake Williams 14, Ben Donohue 13, Arron
Morgan 12, Luke Armes 12, Kev Lowman 4.
Hellingly: Neil Hollebon 21, Martin Hollebon 18, Zac Parsons 11, Eddie Ridley 10, John Durham
7, Jamie Morley 4, Sam Craddock 3, Shaun Archer 1.
Referee - Robin Spicer
Division 2:
Poole 56 Hellingly 24
Three wins from debut rider Dean Hook reveal another potential young track star in the making as Poole notched
up 7 - 3's in every heat!
Poole: Dean Hook 12, Harry Boucher 12, Matt Mildon 9, Leyton Glover 9, Matt Elston 8, Jess Lamb
6
Hellingly : Andrew Geer 7, Jamie Craddock 6Richard Ball 5, Steven Archer 5, Shaun Archer 2.
July 25th 2009: Poole 94 Norwich 81
An even and sportingly contested encounter before an appreciative crowd saw the result in doubt
right down to the closing heats when the hosts finally seized the initiative with two late wins. Full credit to the Norfolk
side with their strongest away line-up of the season which included Phil Howells and sprightly Dave Solomon who ended the
day as top scorer.
With Tom Reed injured, several squad members sidelined and flu victim Pete Young managing only
two races before being forced to withdraw from the meeting, Poole drew heavily on the
power of Artur Poprawski who inspired three vital heat wins on his way to a full maximum return..
Ian Grange led home hard charging Gavin Wheeler in the opener which was shared while Pete Young
did well to hold off the challenging Stars in the next after Chris Roberts was ruled out at the tapes. A foretaste of what
was to come from Artur Poprawski in a re-run heat 3 saw him race from last to first picking off Lee Cossey and Phil Howells
and creating gaps for his partner Colin Wheeler in the process to calm home nerves with a maximum 7 - 3 return.
Gav Wheeler and Ben Donohue followed suit in heat 4 but Ian Grange and Dave Solomon worked a
good 6 - 4 in the fifth heat to reduce the arrears to 5. Two shared heats followed with Phil Howells getting the better of
Gav Wheeler in heat 7 before another Grange/Solomon 6 - 4 tightened the soreline to 41 - 38.
An over exuberant challenge by Nick Myhill on Artur Poprawski which sent both riders tumbling
heavily ruled the Norwich rider out of a re-run heat 9 which produced a third staight win for the pacey Pole in a 6 - 3 Poole
advantage to give an interval scoreline of 47 - 41. Race wins from Solomon and Howells after the break kept the visitors
in touch until Nick Myhill tangled with Gav Wheeler in heat 12 and failed to complete the four laps as the hosts clinched
another 6 - 3 win.
Convincing wins from Poprawski and home skipper Chris Roberts saw the scoreline advance
to 73 - 64 with 4 heats remaining. Any thoughts of relaxing were short lived in the home side of the pits as a Ben Donohue
tapes exclusion opened the door for a Norwich 6 - 3 as Nick Myhill recovered from a nightmare 3 rides, which produced
only 2 points, to outpace Tom Colling.
The deficit was back to 6 and the visitors prepared for a late surge only to be thwarted when
Richard Wliiamson shed a chain at the start line of heat 16. Artur Poprawski duly completed his maximum to generous applause
and the home advantage was back to 9. Nick Myhill squeezed in another race win at the expense of the Wheeler/Roberts combination
in the penultimate heat and with the score at 87-78 the excitement was over for the day...or so we thought.
Heat 18 provided one of those very special moments for Colin Wheeler, drafted in at short notice
to replace teenage sensation Tom Reed. Just a day after his 65th birthday he featured in a classic 7 - 3 with fellow Saint
Tom Colling as they oufoxed the powerful Grange/Howells duo in the race of the day which drew the crowd to its feet in appreciation......magical
stuff!
Poole scorers: Artur Poprawski 20, Gav Wheeler 15, Tom Colling 13,
Colin Wheeler 12, Chris Roberts 11,Ben Donohue 9, Rob Haywood 7, Pete Young 7 (2 rides).
Norwich scorers: Dave Solomon 15, Phil Howells 14, Ian Grange 14,
Lee Grange 11, Nick Myhill 10, Richard Williamson 7, Craig Norton 5, Leigh Cossey 5.
Referee Richard Hughes.
See BCF photo report following this link;-
Division 2: Poole 65 Norwich 62
If every Division 2 match was even half as good as this one, any doubts about the need for the
competition would be dispelled forever! It was a classic encounter between two evenly balanced sides brimming with young
talent as every heat was contested as if lives depended upon it. An early tapes offence by Sam Hearn enabled top of the table
Norwich to claw a single point advantage up to heat 7 when Luke Armes made a similar error. James Wakefield and George Solomon
capitalised fully with a 7 - 2 in the re-start despite pressure from Sam Hearn and with the score at 31 - 37 things
looked bright for the visitors. Jake Williams and the highly impressive Arron Morgan hit straight back with a 7 -3 and the
margin was back to 2 points which is where it stayed for the next 4 heats which were all shared.
Norwich had the advantage of inside grids in the nominated finale and opted for Kieron Parr and
George Solomon while Poole unsurprisingly selected Jake Williams and Sam Hearn. A momentary lapse of concentration on the
first bend by the Norwich pairing saw the Poole duo heading for a win until George Solomon was judged to have clipped over
the inside line to launch an attack on Jake Williams leaving Kieron Parr to tackle the two home riders alone in the re-start.
It proved just too much for him and Poole moved into the lead for the first and only time of the match to record an unlikely
win with a Hearn/Williams 7 - 2. Hard to pick a man of the match for Poole as all 6 rode so well - probably the youngest on
parade, Matt Mildon....never has a rider ridden so hard for such a modest return!
Full credit to both teams for their efforts as many "wise" heads around the track with more years
in the sport than they would care to mention agreed that they had just seen the best combination match ever! Who could disagree?
Poole - Jake Williams 17, Arron Morgan 13, Sam Hearn 13, Leyton Glover
9, Luke Armes 9, Matthew Mildon 4, Jess Lamb dnr Matt Elston dnr
Norwich - Kieron Parr 16, James Wakefield 12, George Solomon 11, Barry
Copping 10, Josh Colby 8, Liam Parker 5.
Referee Mike Legge
July 11th 2009; Horspath 94 Poole 81
This was a great performance by the Seaview team against the league leaders especially given the non-availability
of the "champion" trio of Gavin Wheeler, Pete Young and Thomas Reed and the absence of suspended Aaron Lowey. With a full
strength line-up, victory would have been there for the taking. Fortunately, the depth of the senior squad saw Torun stars
Pawel Cegielski and Marcin Paradindski pressed into action and the centenarian reserve pairing of Dave Murphy and Rob Haywood
adding experience to the lower order.
Trailing by 9 at the half-way stage having suffered a couple of exclusions, Poole started pegging back after
the break but there was a harsh exclusion for Marcin Paradindski in the penultimate race when Poole were on for a
6-4 which would have narrowed the gap to 7. Ironically the Torun stars faced their clubmate
Rafal Dulinski who flew in for his first match for the Hammers in 2009 - a clear sign of how worried the home side were. Had
Poole tracked their full line-up, those worries would have been well justified!
Scorers: Artur Poprawski 15+1, Pawel Cegielski 13+2, Tom Colling 13, Chris Roberts 11+1, Marcin Paradindski
9, Ben Mould 7+1, Rob Haywood 7, Dave Murphy 6.
Division 2: Horspath 58 Poole 72
With two of the Under 16 championship winning team Arron Morgan and Leyton Glover leading the way,
Poole gained revenge in the Division 2 encounter by a 14 point margin. Recent junior recruit Harry Boucher made a promising
away debut and looks set to follow in the wheeltracks of his accomplished young team mate Matt Mildon
who was again in fine form.
Scorers: Leyton Glover 16, Arron Morgan 15, Luke Armes 12, Matt Elston 9, Matt Mildon 9, Jessie Lamb 6,
Harry Boucher 5.
July 4th 2009; Poole 84 Leicester 82
With 16 title successes between them and a host of epic clashes down the years, there was every
expectation that this might be another classic and so it proved to be. The home side had more or less written off their chances
at the break, trailing by eight points and conceding no less than 5 exclusions. Without the services of Chris Roberts
and Aaron Lowey through suspensions, the visitors safe passage to the semi's seemed assured.
After a quiet opening exchange, Poole suffered the first of their exclusions in heat 4 with Ben
Donohue out for moving at the tapes, swiftly followed by Sam Hearn for the same offence a heat later when he was joined by
Ben Mould after a hotly contested exclusion when disputing second place with Dan Pike. The resulting 7-0 gave Leicester a
28-18 advantage.
Races were becoming more fiercely contested and when Dan Pike was the first visitor to get his
marching orders at the tapes in heat 8, Poole looked to be cruising to a 7 - 2 with Dave Murphy out in front and Gav Wheeler
covering in second. Then Kev Burns tried an inside pass on the home straight and came to grief with referee Richard Hughes
pointing to the home rider. Pandemonium reigned for several minutes as tempers flared but order was soon restored and Dave
Murphy won the two rider re-run against Burns.
Nerves were playing an increasing part in procedings as first the usually cool Pete Young and
then Nicky Whitehead both ruled out of heat 9 for tapes movement, leaving Leon Yelland to head home Ben Donohue for a 4 -
3 and an interval score of 36 - 44. Ben Donohue picked up the sixth home exclusion after the break for a do or die last bend
lunge for third place on Robbie Venson but with Craig Marchant taking the win, Leicester looked out of sight on 39 - 50.
Poole hit back with a Wheeler/Hearn 6 - 4 before a pivotal heat 12 when Craig Marchant
was ruled out for an obstruction on fast charging Ben Mould. The re-start allowed Mould and in-form Tom Colling to fully capitalise
with a 7-2 and all of a sudden at 52 - 56 there was a glimmer of hope for home fans amongst a healthy Harbourside Park crowd.
With the next 3 heats shared, the margin remained as the scores progressed to 67 - 71 and surely
victory would depend on holding nerves in check. Then in heat 16 Craig Marchant caught the eagle eye of referee Hughes for
a flinch at the tapes and all of a sudden the impossible dream for the host began to look distinctly feasible as Pete Young
sped away followed by Burns and Mould. Then a piece of sheer magic from the Welsh youngster in the ride of the day as he out
foxed the Leicester skipper to join his parter for a 7 - 2 and an unlikely 74 - 73 scoreline.
Leon Yelland came out for his third race in heat 17 despite being less than 100% fit and steadied
the Leicester nerves with a win under pressure and with Mark Newey holding on to third place, the visitors were back in front
78 - 79. The all important last heat lined up with Clanfield and Wheeler on 1 and 3 and Pike and Craig Whitehead on 2 and
4. Pike sped away from gate 2 but cut sharply across on home star Wheeler on the back straight sending him crashing
to the deck and leaving the referee little option but to rule him out.
Four tense laps later the British Champion sped home for a win and with Richard Clanfield tucked
in for third place, Poole clinched a 6 - 3 and a place in the semi-finals which few would have believed possible at the interval
stage.
There were 11 exclusions and countless re-runs in a match which was hard but never dirty as each
team had a healthy respect for the other. Indeed there were many who reckoned that it would hard to beat this for sheer excitement
in the final itself.
Well done to all 16 riders for playing their part in another epic!
Poole 84 ( Tom Colling 16, Gavin Wheeler 16, Pete Young 14, Ben Mould 11, Rich
Clanfield 10, Dave Murphy 9, Sam Hearn 4, Ben Donohue 4);
Leicester 82 (Mark Newey 14, Kev Burns 13, Nicky Whitehead 10, Leon Yelland
10, Robbie Venson 9, Dan Pike 9, Craig Marchant 9, Mark Whitehead 8).
Referee - Richard Hughes
For action shots...follow this link to the British Cycling website!
June 28th 2009: Southampton 107 Poole 70
Scorers: Jake Williams 12, Arron Morgan 11+1, Chris Shylock 9+1, Luke Armes 9+1, Leyton Glover 8+1, Ben
Donohue 8, Sam Hearn 7+2, Kev Lowman 4.
Conference League: Southampton 56 Poole 94
Scorers: Arron Morgan 17+1, Matt Mildon 16+3, Leyton Glover 16+3, Less Lamb 15+4, Sam Hearn 12, David Bukzak
10+1, Jake Williams 8.
June 21st 2009: Poole 101 Wednesfield 77
After 3 consecutive home defeats in the Premier League at the hands of Horspath, Gt Blakenham and Sheffield,
Poole finally put together a convincing performance against old enemy Wednesfield, with every rider playing his full part
in a convincing victory. Although the visitors had their experienced top four in action, it was disappointing to see their younger
riders fail to put in an appearance.
Captain Chris Roberts and Thomas Reed got the home side off to the best possible start with a 7 - 3 and
three more maximum heats before the break gave the Seaview boys the luxury of a 20 point interval advantage. Pete Young featured
in two of them as first Terry Norman then Lee Aris were sidelined for tape infringements. Artur Poprawski made his first appearance
of the season with three accomplished rides while Ben Mould put in some sterling team work picking up 4 bonus points en route.
After the break, the visitors claimed inside grids and Poole were content to share the heats. Sam
Hearn caught the eye in heat 15 with a fine pass to pick up 3rd place while Thomas Reed burst through to win an entertaining
heat 16 taking his tally to 18+1 - dropping his only point to Lee Aris. Another notable achievement for the revamped home
line-up was the clean sheet in the exclusions chart....amazing!
Scorers: Thomas Reed 18+1, Pete Young 17, Gavin Wheeler 15+2, Ben Mould 12+4, Tom Colling 11+1, Artur Poprawski
10+1, Chris Roberts 10, Sam Hearn 8+1.
Division 2: Poole 87 Wednesfield 66 (Jake Williams 13, Leyton Glover 13, Luke Armes 12, Arron Morgan
9, Jessie Lamb 6, Lewis Mitchell 5, Matt Elston 4, David Buczak 2).
(For photo report go to the new British Cycling website)
June 14th 2009: Hellingly 87 Poole 87
A foolish over-reaction by Aaron Lowey to a heat 12 exclusion resulting in a red card cost Poole a comfortable
win as the home side closed the deficit in the remaining heats. A successful defence of the SWL title was always a long
shot after the season opening reversal at Exeter in March but with this result the trophy now seems to be heading in
the Oxford direction. Consolation here was the way the Seaview young guns rode out the match with pride.
Chris Shylock 17, Sam Hearn 15+1, Jake Williams 14+3, Aaron Lowey 12, Leyton Glover 9+3, Aaron Morgan 9,
Kev LOwman 6, Luke Armes 5.
7th June 2009 Poole 96 Horspath 81
This was sweet revenge for Poole after their 92 - 84 defeat at the village a fortnight ago but the league
title may beyond their grasp after that expensive and controvsersial one point defeat at Exeter in March. Aaron Lowey was
different class with a faultless maximum and how good it was to see Chris Roberts returning to something like his old
form. Still well short of match practise, he dropped his only point to Steve Harris but turned tables on the Horspath star
in the final race.
Ridden in steady rain, this was another all round team performance with young guns Jake Williams and Sam
Hearn always in the thick of the action.
The visitors made good use of the tactical rules to keep in touch but sorely missed their ace card Mark
Boaler.
Scorers - Aaron Lowey 20, Chris Roberts 19, Sam Hearn 13+1, Ben Donohue 12, Jake Williams 11+1, Chris
Shylock 9+1, Kev Lowman 6+2, Luke Armes 6+1.
(Action shots will appear on British Cycling and Spokesman websites)
Referee - Mike Legge
Conference League - Poole 82 Horspath 67
Scores were nip and tuck in the early stages as the rain continued to fall but the home side got into their
stride to consolidate their lead at the top of the league table. Leyton Glover and Arron Morgan confirmed their recent run
of fine form, both raced unbeaten by an opponant but for sheer breathtaking entertainment, Matt Mildon once again stole the
show with some well judged overtakes!
Scorers - Matt Mildon 16+3, Leyton Glover 15+1, Matt Elston 12+1, Arron Morgan 12, Lewis Mitchell 9+2, Jess
Lamb 9, Harry Boucher 5, David Buczak 4.
31st May 2009 Poole 88 Sheffield 90
This was another real classic between these two teams as 18 heats of scintilating races were dished up in
front of another healthy crowd who shunned the attractions of the beach amidst brilliant weather. Already depleted by Thomas
Reed due to exam preparations, Poole had not expected to be without British Champion Gavin Wheeler who ended up racing at
a regional event at Hellingly - but these absentees proved costly as did a number of basic errors from Poole riders either
side of the interval.
The Stars were 46-43 ahead at the half-way stage and had moved to 86-82 by the penultimate race. A home
6-4 in the last was too little too late to save any league points and a lowly league table position now looks likely. Bright
spots were a scorching 18 points from world number 4 Marcin Paradinski and some vintage stuff from vets Pete Young and Rich
Clanfield drafted in to cover absentees at short notice.
But for sheer determination, hats off to young Ben Mould in heat 16. With just 7 hard won points from his
first four races, he muscled his way through from last to pass experienced Pole Darious Pilas for a third place
which kept Poole in with a chance up to the final heat.
Scorers - Marcin Paradinski 18, Aaron Lowey 17+1, Pete Young 13+1, Pavel Cegielski 11+1, Rich Clanfield
10+1 (4r), Ben Mould 9, Ben Donohue 6, Sam Hearn 4.
Div 2: Poole 88 Sheffield 65 (Leyton Glover 17, Jake Williams 12, Jessi Lamb 11, Matt Elston 11, Lewis Mitchell
6, Luke Armes 4, Mike Buczak 3.) 24 p/pts
25th May 2009: Horspath 92 Poole 84
Against a very strong Hammers team featuring 6 of their Premier League squad, Poole put on a creditable
performance with a great all round effort from all 8 riders.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 17+1, Ben Mould 15+1, Chris Shylock 14, Jake Williams 11+2, Dave Murphy 10+2, Ben Donohue
8, Luke Armes 5+1, Kev Lowman 4+1.
Horspath 71 Poole 79
Poole maintained their unbeaten record in the Conference League after a hard fought battle against the rapidly
improving young Oxford side. Once again, this was a victory which was attributable to the efforts of every single team member
- top to bottom.
Scorers: Leyton Glover 19+1, Arron Morgan 19, Matt Elston 16, Jessie Lamb 10, David Buczak 8+1, Mike Bukzak
7.
17th May 2009 Poole 119 East Newport 61
The wet and blustery weather took its toll on the crowd for this one and the sturdy souls who did brave
the elements witnessed a rather one sided affair.
Minus five of their senior team regulars, the Welsh team were a pale shadow of the side which provided such
stiff opposition towards the end of the 2008 season when the league championship was on the line. Poole did not concede one
heat and won 12 of them by a maximum score.
The home top six all scored maximums and this included Chris Roberts who came through with flying colours
for his first match of the season after his ankle operation earlier in the year.
Scorers: Sam Hearn 19+1, Ben Donohue 19+1, Dave Murphy 18+2, Chris Shylock 17+3, Aaron Lowey 16+4, Chris
Roberts 16, Luke Armes 9+1, Kev Lowman 5.
Referee - Mike Legge
SW Conference League: Poole 87 East Newport 63
This match provided some ecellent racing with Leyton Glover and Jake Williams leading the way with unbeaten
scores and Arron Morgan headed only once to maintain the top of the table position. Jessie Lamb made a successful comeback
after her return from Australia.
Scorers: Leyton Glover 20, Jake Williams 19+1, Arron Morgan 18+1, Matt Elston 12+2, Jess Lamb 12,
Mike Buczak 4, Dave Buczak 1, Charlotte Cox 1.
SWL Division 2: Poole 43 East Newport 37
Ashley Stafford 15, Charlotte Cox 11, Harry Boucher 8, Richard Witherington 6, Mike Buczak 2, David Buczak
1.
10th May 2009: Leicester 81 Poole 93
With Dave Murphy and Ben Donohue unavailable and other home based riders still sidelined, the
opportunity was taken for Polish stars Pawel Cegielski and Marcin Paradinski to line up for their first match of the season
and the two Torun based riders certainly did not disappoint. From the moment they teamed up for a 7 - 3 in the first race,
Poole spirits were lifted and the whole team responded to return their first Premier League victory of the season.
With Marcin and Thomas Reed only dropping a point apiece in 6 first half heats, Poole were able
to build a lead of 7 by the interval and piled on the pressure after the break with the lead stretched to 13 after race 13.
The home side conceded 4 exclusions in their efforts to close the gap while Poole suffered that fate only once with Tom Colling
suffering a tapes offence in a re-start after a home rider had already had his marching orders!
Aaron Lowey made a successful return to the saddle after his recent hand injury scoring 11 from four races
at reserve. All eight riders performed well and were jubilant after opening their PL account....and just a little relieved.
Scorers: Marcin Paradinski 19, Thomas Reed 16+1,Gavin Wheeler 16+1, Pawel Cegielski 13+1, Aaron Lowey 11 (4),
Ben Mould 9+1, Tom Colling 5+1 (4), Sam Hearn 4+1 (3).
Division 2 : Leicester 63 Poole 66
A close match between two well balanced teams saw Poole edge home by a 3 point margin with all seven riders
playing their vital part. Matt Elston caught the eye with some vital points while Charlotte Cox had the opportunity of seeing
British Ladies champion, Amy Crouch in action.
Scorers: Leyton Glover 16, Luke Armes 13+1, Matt Elston 11, Arron Morgan 10, Matt Mildon 7+1, Charlotte Cox
6, Mike Buczak 3.
3rd May 2009: Poole 109 Filton 71
A solid team performance paved the way for a convincing SWL victory against Filton with Ben Donohue leading
the way with an unbeaten return. The visitors top three were restricted to 4 race wins while 7 home riders notched at least
one heat success. The general standard of racing was excellent, none better than heat 11 when Sam Hearn stalked
Mike Burgess for 3 laps before executing a superb outside overtake.
Scorers: Ben Donohue 19+1, Sam Hearn 17+2, Chris Shylock 17, Leyton Glover 15+2, Dave Murphy 15+1, Jake
Williams 12+2, Kev Lowman 9+1, Luke Armes 7+1.
Poole 84 Newport 65 (SW Conference)
Arron Morgan and Matt Mildon provided a potent spearhead in the return match against the South Wales club,
dropping just one point between them in five rides apiece. Leyton Glover, Sam Hearn and Jake Williams dropped races to let
in reserves but were all unbeaten.
Scorers: Arron Morgan 19+1, Matt Mildon 17+2, Leyton Glover 15+1, Jake Williams 11+1, Sam Hearn 7+1, David
Buczak 6+1, Mike Buczak 6, Harry Ryan 3).
April 26th 2009 Birmingham 89 Poole 84
An opening heat 6 - 4 win with Gavin Wheeler leading the way was immediately cancelled out by a Birmingham
7 - 3 then a shared heat 3 with Thomas Reed headed by Lewis Bates. Gavin once again sprung into action in the next as he came
through to join partner Ben Mould for a 7 - 3 max.
Unfortunately the home side returned a 7 - 3 of their own and after 2 shared heats Ben Donohue picked up
the first of two exclusions for some over zealous riding. A pre-interval home 7 - 3 put the half way scoers at 49 - 40 and
the writing was on the wall. A second half recovery came to a faltering halt in heat 16 when Gavin was somewhat controversially
given his marching orders at the tapes after a couple of home riders seemed to get away with previous movement.
Once again the league points evaded Poole albeit that reports of a top quality match ridden in excellent
spirit provided a modicum of compensation!
Scorers: Thomas Reed 17, Gavin Wheeler 14, Sam Hearn 13, Tom Colling 12, Ben Mould 11, Dave Murphy 9, Ben
Donohue 7, Jake Williams 1 (1r).
Division 2: Birmingham 64 Poole 61 (Jake Williams 15,Leyton Glover 14,Arron Morgan 12, Matt Mildon 8, Matt
Elston 4,David Buczak 4, Mike Buczak 4).
See BCF website for action photos
April 19th 2009: Newport 70 Poole 79
Poole maintained their unbeaten league record with a win against the South Wales club and now set the pace
at the top of the table.
Scorers: Leyton Glover 17+1, Jake Williams 17+1, Arron Morgan 16, Matt Mildon 11+2, Matt Elston 10+1, David
Buczak 4, Mike Buczak 2, Harry Ryan 2.
April 18th 2009: Poole 90 Exeter 88
Everything that you could possibly want from an afternoon's racing was right here in the Div 1 and Conference
League matches with two well matched teams giving 100%...fast and furious...never dull and always fair. If anyone wanted an
advert for regional league racing then it was right here in abundance. Making their first team debuts, Arron Morgan and Leyton
Glover impressed in heats 1 and 2 then a Chris Shylock/Jake Williams 7-2 nudged Poole ahead after Dom McCrae moved at the
tapes. When Arron Morgan was guilty of a similar offence in heat 7, Exeter were sitting on a 7 - 2 until Ben Donohue sprung
to life first passing Dom McCrae then Corey Heyde on the run in for an outstanding victory.
Poole stretched their lead to 64 - 54 by heat 12 but the visitors bounced straight back in heat 13 by using
the tac sub rule for a 7 - 3. A match winning ride by Leyton Glover to hold off Dom McCrae and Aaron Herbert in heat
14 enabled Poole to hold their crucial 6 point lead up to heat 17 so that the expected Reed/McCrae 7 - 3 in the final race
was too late to save the points for Exeter. All in all, a great result with worthwhile contributions from every team member.
Scorers: Ben Donohue 16, Leyton Glover 15+2, Jake Williams 14+1, Chris Shylock 13, Karol Wlodarczyk 12+1,
Arron Morgan 10+1, Kev Lowman 5+2, Luke Armes 5+1.
What a showcase for under 18 talent the Conference League match turned out to be as the lead changed constantly
throughout the 15 heats as Poole grabbed a 6 - 4 in the final race to clinch victory. Jake Williams and Leyton Glover with
four race wins apiece and Arron Morgan with three provided a potent spearhead while a vital win under pressure from Matt Elston
in heat
13 proved crucial in the closing stages. With Sam Hearn unavailable, Matt Mildon stepped up to the mark
and rode tenaciously despite having just returned from a 2 week holiday.
Conference League: Poole 77 Exeter 72
Scorers - Leyton Glover 18, Arron Morgan 17, Jake Williams 16, Matt Elston 11, Matt Mildon 10+2, Mike Buczak
3, Charlotte Cox 1, David Buczak 1.
Combination League: Poole 25 Exeter 55
Charlotte Cox 7, Mike Buczak4, Adam Bendinelli 4, Harry Ryan 4, David Buczak 3, Daniel Cox 3.
April 12th 2009 Poole 82 Great Blakenham 92
A great 18 heats of racing in front of a healthy Bank Holiday crowd was marred by a nasty heat 7 tumble
by skipper Aaron Lowey who was forced to withdraw from the meeting with a hand injury - later diagnosed as two broken fingers.
The advantage swung back and forth for a dozen heats with the lead changing no less than 6 times such was the competitive
nature of the racing.
Thomas Reed brought the crowd to its feet in heat 3 when he stormed past Chris Osborne and Adam Peck to
win the race after being left alone when Tom Colling was excluded for an infringement. Poole were still 3 ahead after 10 races
but with Lowey missing from heats 12 and 17 and Colling guilty of moving at the tapes in heat 13, the Suffolk side capitalised
with wins in all 3 races.
There were race wins for young England stars Sam Hearn on his home PL debut and Ben Mould but with 3 consecutive
league defeats, concern is growing about the prospects for the 2009 season. Once again, however, cycle speedway was a winner...racing
out of the top drawer, great crowd and perfect track conditions.
Scorers - Thomas Reed 19, Gav Wheeler 14+1, Ben Mould 12, Dave Murphy 10+1, Sam Hearn 10, Tom Colling 9+2,
Ben Donohue 6, Aaron Lowey 2.
(See British Cycling and Spokesman online websites for action photos)
Div2: Poole 79 (inc 33 pen.pts) Gt.Blakenham 81
Unfortunately, the visitors had just 2 riders for the D2 event which proved to be someway short of a competitive
event....the term men against boys springs to mind. Strong advocates of the compulsary need for D2 would have been hard pressed
to justify their views in this context. Leyton Glover and Arron Morgan once again battled away bravely and it was good to
see one of the Poole club's founder members Rob Haywood back on a bike again.....training for the vets maybe?
Scorers: Rob Haywood 10, Leyton Glover 7, Arron Morgan 7, Kev Lowman 7, Luke Armes 6, Mike Buczak 6, David
Buczak 3.
April 5th 2009: Poole 108 Southampton 72
With Saints twin spearhead of Gav Wheeler and Pete Young unavailable due to work, Poole gave valuable first
team opportunities to rapidly improving Leyton Glover and Arron Morgan who grabbed the chance with both hands. After the disappointing
result at Exeter, the defending SWL champions got their season under way at Baiter Park with a good all round team effort.
There were some excellent races involving Tom Colling and Colin Wheeler and the scoreline did not do justice to the entertainment
delivered up.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 18, Sam Hearn 17+2, Karol Wlodarczyk 14+2, Arron Morgan 14+1, Chris Shylock 13+2, Luke
Armes 12+1, Kev Lowman 11+1, Leyton Glover 9+2.
As if to underline the quality of the club's junior talent, Dan Reeves reeled off 4 wins out of 5 races
to top the scorechart on his debut match for the SeaView U.18 team when the Conference team maintained its 100% record
as the final scoreline read Poole 92 Southampton 57
Scorers: Dan Reeves 18, Arron Morgan 17+2, Sam Hearn 15+1, Leyton Glover 14+1, Mike Buczak 13+4,
David Buczak 11+1, Harry Ryan 4.
March 29th 2009: Norwich 94 Poole 82
This was a well contested match as the hosts picked up premier league points at the expense of a slightly
depleted Poole team which missed the services of Thomas Reed and Dom McCrae. Injury to 2008 trump card Andre Cross during
a mid-week practise further reduced the fire power and with Chris Roberts still some weeks away from a return to the saddle,
it was not surprising that the Dorset side struggled after the break, having - somewhat surprisingly - lead by 2 points at
the interval.
The cause was not helped by three race exclusions involving Ben Mould, Ben Donohue and Aaron Lowey, but
there were no complaints about referee Pete Dalley who was fair and consistent. Considering the home side were boosted by
two recent Polish signings and the return of former British Champion Phil Howells, Poole did well to keep in touch and bright
spots were the form of Tom Colling who was happy to be back on his own bike and Sam Hearn who showed that he is ready for
top flight racing with 12+2 points which included an overtake on Phil Howells.
Significantly, the Poole line-up featured 8 British riders with primary registrations at the club...no secondaries
and no overseas stars. It will be interesting to see what clubs have put together elsewhere today!!
Scorers: Gavin Wheeler 15+1, Tom Colling 15, Aaron Lowey 13+1, Sam Hearn 12+2, Dave Murphy 11+1, Ben Mould
7+, Ben Donohue 7, Jake Williams 2+1 (1 ride).
Div 2 Norwich 68 Poole 59
Leyton Glover 17, Jake Williams 13+1, Kev Lowman 9, Matt Elston 8+1, Arron Morgan 8+1, Luke Armes 6+2.
March 22nd 2009: Exeter 89 Poole 88
A heat 17 max from Thomas Reed and Dom McCrae put the home side 5 points ahead and although Poole returned
a 7 - 3 in the final race, the heat 18 result was academic in terms of the SW league points. This was a close encounter between
two evenly matched teams and it was a pity that a highly contentious exclusion to Aaron Lowey on the first bend of heat 11
ultimately proved to be the real match decider.
Although the decision incensed the Seaview riders and officials, they recovered their poise to battle it
out to the finish. With Chris Shylock sidelined through injury and Karol Wlodarczyk unavailable due to work, Dave Murphy stepped
in to reel off a vintage performance against his home town team in the process scotching internet stories about his health!
Scorers: Dave Murphy 16+2, Sam Hearn 14, Ben Donohue 13+1, Ben Mould 12, Aaron Lowey 10+1, Kev Lowman 9,
Luke Armes 7+1, Jake Williams 7.
Once again Leyton Glover, Arron Morgan and Matt Mildon caught the eye in the D2 match and it cant be long
now before they are given opportunities in SWL Division 1 racing.
Combination League: Exeter 33 Poole 47
Scorers - Arron Morgan 15+1, Matthew Mildon 13+1, Leyton Glover 10, Matt Elston 7, David Buczak 2.
New rules banning graded riders from Conference racing sidelined Thomas Reed and Ben Mould but probably
made little difference to the final outcome as Poole U.18's started the season with a fine victory.
SW Conference League: Exeter 65 Poole 82
Scorers - Jake Williams 17+1, Arron Morgan 17, Sam Hearn 15+3, Leyton Glover 13+1, Matthew Mildon 9+1, Matt
Elston 7, David Buczak 4.
March 15th 2009: Poole 81 Horspath 97
The former PL champions looked the stronger outfit on paper and although the final margin probably flattered
them, they were deserved winners in this season opener. The opening heats were equally contested after Dom McCrae picked up
a tapes exclusion in heat 1 but it all started to go wrong for Poole in heat 7 when Aaron Lowey relinquished the lead to Steve
Harris giving the Hammers the luxury of a 7 point interval lead.
Playing catch-up after the break, the Poole skipper yeilded another max, this time to the powerful Boaler/Morgans
duo and when Ben Donohue and Dave Murphy were outfoxed by Harris in heat 15, it was game over with a 17 point margin hardly
reflecting the closeness of the racing. A crumb of consolation via a 7 - 3 in heat 15 saw Gavin Wheeler shepherd home Ben
Mould for the only Poole race win of the day, with the young Welshman giving a great account of himself on his home debut.
This was a less than auspicious start to the season for the SeaView boys and the emphasis on young British
talent - while laudable, may not win too many PL league points judging by line-ups elsewhere on 2009 opening day!
Scorers: Thomas Reed 14+3,Gavin Wheeler 14+1,Ben Mould 13,Aaron Lowey 12,Ben Donohue 10,Tom Colling 8,Dave
Murphy 6,Dominic McCrae 4+1.
Div 2: Poole 71 Horspath 59: Jake Williams 13,Arron Morgan 12,Leyton Glover 11,Sam Hearn 11,Kev Lowman 9,Luke
Armes 6,David Buczak 5,Mike Buczak 4.
There were promising performances for the Sam Hearn, Jake Williams and especially Leyton Glover in the D2
encounter, no doubt boosted by their recent Aussie experiences while Arron Morgan continues to impress and could be knocking
on the door of an SWL first team place before long!
===================================================================
2008 Fixture List (for Match
Reports scroll down)
STARTING TIMES.........2pm unless stated
-
March 9th Exeter (H)
SWL 98 - 79
-
March 16th Horspath (A)
Prem 84 - 87
-
March 23rd Filton (A)
SWL 91 - 83
-
March 30th Gt.Blakenham (H)
Prem 103 - 73
-
April 6th Swindon (H)
SWL 87 - 90
-
April 13th Leicester (A)
Prem 99 - 78
-
April 20th East Newport (A)
SWL 85 - 91
-
April 27th Norwich (H)
Prem 100 -75
-
May 11th Horspath (A)
SWL 90 - 89
-
May 18th Wednesfield (A)
Prem 93 - 83
-
May 25th The "ADE GALE LAURELS"
-
Jun 1st Southampton
(A) SWL
86 - 92
-
Jun 8th Gt.Blakenham (A) BTC 115
- 56
-
Jun 15th Sheffield (H)
Prem 80 - 93
-
Jun 22nd Hellingly (H) SWL 101
- 77
-
Jun 29th Horpath
(H) PL
97 -79
-
July 13th Gt.Blakenham (A) Prem
97 - 81
-
July 20th Horspath (H) SWL
89 - 88
-
Aug 3rd Leicester
(H) Prem
74 - 98
-
Aug 17th Norwich (A) Prem 87
- 89
-
Aug 23-25 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS (see news page)
-
Aug 30th Southampton (H)
SWL (to be re-arranged)
-
Aug 31st Hellingly (A) SWL
84 - 95
-
Sept 7th Wednesfield
(H) Prem
90 - 86
-
Sept 14th Exeter (A) SWL
76 - 100
-
Sept 21st Newport (A)
SWL Conf 77 - 73
-
Sept 27th Newport (H)
SWL Conf 87 - 63
-
Oct 5th Sheffield
(A) Prem
85 - 93
-
Oct 12th East Newport (H) SWL
90 - 85
-
Oct 19th Filton (H)
SWL 99 - 79
-
Oct 26th Southampton
(H) SWL
97 - 80
2008 MATCH REPORTS
October 26th 2008: Poole 97 Southampton 80
Despite very wet conditions, Poole consolidated their league championship success with a win against the
defending champions in this early start at Harbourside Park. The home side took the early initiative and sped to a 14 point
lead by heat 8 with Sam Hearn having his best match of the season going on the drop just one point to British Champion Gavin
Wheeler who was unbeaten for the Saints.
The visitors took an equal share of the heat winners with 9 apiece but all 8 home riders notched bonus points
underlining the strength in depth that has taken them to the league title. Ben Donohue took a heavy tumble in which both rider
and machine suffered but despite the rain the team was happy to complete their successful season on a high note.
Scorers: Sam Hearn 18+1, Aaron Lowey 17+2, Chris Shylock 15+2, Kev Lowman 14+2, Luke Armes 9+1 (3r), Karol
Wlodarczyk 8+1 (4r), Ben Donohue 8+1, Aidan Hedgecock 8+1 (3r).
October 19th 2008: Poole 99 Filton 79
After the drama of the last heat decider against title rivals East Newport 7 days ago, Poole clinched the
South West league championship crown with a convincing victory against the Filton Fliers. As with all their league performances
throughout the 2008 season, this was another solid affair with all eight riders playing their part.
Exclusions at the start and end of the first half combined with some excellent racing from vet Mike Burgess
and the highly talented Ben Mould limited the interval margin to 48 - 40 but after the break, the home side really got into
top gear. It was appropriate that top man Aaron Lowey secured the coveted trophy in heat 15.
It appears topical for clubs around the country to extol the virtues of competing with a fully home
grown team so it will doubtless escape anyone's attention that this was very much the case with this team with 100% Poole
credentials all round and not an air ticket in sight! Three of the younger members of the team - Jake Williams,
Sam Hearn and Aidan Hedgecock have all been hugely impressive in their first full season of Div 1 league racing. Chris Shylock,
Ben Donohue and Luke Armes have added experience and fire power and how about quiet and unassuming team captain Kev Lowman
who rounded off probably his most successful season in the sport as he proudly circled the track with the cup held aloft after
heat 18.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 15+1 (4r), Chris Shylock 14+1, Jake Williams 14+1, Sam Hearn 14+1, Ben Donohue 13+2,
Kev Lowman 11 (4r), Luke Armes 10+2, Aidan Hedgecock 8.
Div 2: Poole 36 Filton 44 Scorers - Aaron Morgan 11, Matt Elston 8, Alex McLeod 8, Michael Buczak
3, Adam Bendinelli 3, David Buczak 2, Harry Ryan 1.
12th October 2008: Poole 90 East Newport 85
What a perfect advert for cycle speedway, with two well matched teams, a constantly fluctuating scoreline
with a last heat decider before an appreciative crowd.....not forgetting a circuit bathed in warm sunshine. With a couple
of matches to race, Poole are now firmly in the driving seat to secure the SWL title but the team certainly made life difficult
for themselves!
Poole won 3 of the first 4 races and despite the setback of a Ben Donohue exclusion in heat 2, they lead
23 - 16 and appeared to be in the driving seat but further exclusions for Jake Williams and Chris Shylock and several schoolboy
errors combined with a spirited fightback by the visitors meant that the interval score stood at 44 - 43 and the league title
honours very much in the balance.
After a couple of drawn races, Poole notched up a couple of 7 - 3's firstly by Jake Williams and Chris Shylock
then top pairing Aaron lowey and Sam Hearn then with 3 races remaining and the scoreline at 77 - 70, the match looked
in the bag. Wrong! Jake Williams incurred another exclusion in heat 16 and the margin was down to 4.
Heat 17 looked promising with Poole off gates 1 and 3 and with Ben Donohue and Chris Shylock but
turned into a nightmare as the two E.Newport boys rammed home a vital 7 - 3 to make it 83 - 83. A tense last heat decider
saw Nicky Evans excluded for cutting over on skipper Kev Lowman which allowed the home side to take a 7 - 2 and put one hand
on the league trophy.
Poole certainly made too many errors and suffered too many exclusions to feel happy but relief was the over-riding
feeling as both teams completed a deserved lap of honour in what was probably the match of the season at Harbourside Park...
and that includes Premier racing too!
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 19, Sam Hearn 15+1, Chris Shylock 13+1, Kev Lowman 12+1, Ben Donohue 12, Jake Williams
11+1, Luke Armes 5, Aidan Hedgecock 3. (Referee Mike Legge)
Poole were 7 point victors in Division 2 encounter with Adam Bendinelli making a fine league debut in the
43 - 36 win. Scorers - Aaron Morgan 16, David Buczak 8,Matt Elston 8, Michael Buczak 6, Adam Bendinelli 5,
A 92 - 57 win in the Conference league match rounded off a clean sweep of victories as Poole riders outclassed
their younger opponants with the exception of Louis Harvey who was oustanding for the visitors.
Scorers - Aidan Hedgecock 18,Matt Elston 17,Mike Buczak 15+3,David Buczak 13+4,Aaron Morgan 11+1,Adam Bendinelli
10+1,Sam Hearn 8.
5th October 2008 Sheffield 85 Poole 93
The Premier League 2008 finale ended on a high note for Poole when they became the only team to take
a victory at the Yorkshire circuit this season, exacting sweet revenge for the home defeat suffered in June at Harbourside
Park. Despite the presence of World Champion Marcin Szymanski who scorched to a faultless maximum for the Stars, Poole packed
in the solid team work with British Champion Gavin Wheeler leading the way. The 2 league points mean that Poole have secured
third place in the final table ahead of 2008 surprise packets Gt.Blakenham who were 4th.
In a workmanlike performance before the break, Poole built up a 7 point lead but the hosts pulled it back
to 3 and threatened to take the initiative. Up steps Thomas Reed and Jake Wiiliams for a vital 7 - 2 with TR showing how much
he has picked up his team game in 2008 as he expertly ushered his partner through. A 7 - 3 from Gav Wheeler and Dave Murphy
in heat 16 ensured the 2 points as Poole opened a 12 point margin so that the Stars' 7 - 3 in the final race was somewhat
academic.
Scorers: Gavin Wheeler 15+2, Tom Colling 14, Dave Murphy 13+1 (4 rides), Thomas Reed 12+3, Aaron Lowey 12+2,
Dom McCrae 12+1, Ben Donohue 9+1, Jake Williams 6 (2 rides).
Div 2 : Sheffield 51 Poole 76: Luke Armes 16, Sam Hearn 14+1, Jake Williams 14+1, Kev Lowman 12+4, Mike
Buczak 11+1, Dave Buczak 9+1.
28th September 2008: Poole 87 Newport 63
Poole turned the tables on the Welsh side 7 days after an away defeat in this Conference league encounter.
The two races of the day featured debut boy Harry Ryan and Newport's Kalid Mitha with the Welsh rider getting the verdict
twice after epic head to head battles.
Scorers: Matt Elston 20, Arron Morgan 15+1Mike Buczak 15+1, Leyton Glover 15+1, David Buczak 9, Harry Ryan
8, Holly Morgan 5+2.
September 21st 2008: Newport 77 Poole 73
Thanks go to the Newport club for kindly loaning 2 riders Kirsty Marshall and Sadil Mitha for this
Conference League match at the last minute after late withdrawals. It was a close scoreline after 15 heats with the "Poole
quartet" pushing all the way.
Scorers - Leyton Glover 20, Matt Elston 15+1, Mike Buczak 14+2, Dave Buczak 11+1, Kirsty Marshall 7, Sadil
Mitha 6.
September 14th: Exeter 76 Poole 100
While the home side had a powerful trio in Thomas and Mark Reed and Dom McCrae, Poole tracked the same team
that picked up th points at Hellingly in their previous league match carried the greater strength in depth as they maintained
their position at the top of the SW League table with a fine win. With tough home matches against Filton, Southampton and
joint league leaders East Newport still to race, it looks like the league championship will go right down to the wire.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 18, Chris Shylock 15+1, Ben Donohue 14+2, Luke Armes 14+1, Sam Hearn 12+1, Kev Lowman
11+2, Jake Williams 9+2, Aidan Hedgecock 7+1.
With Thomas Reed as their trump card in the Conference League match, the home side held on the a narrow
advantage in the closing stages to win by 4 points. Scorers - Aidan Hedgecock 17+1, Sam Hearn 16+1, Jake Williams 15+2, Tom
Ebel 9, Mike Buczak 8, Matt Elston 4, Dave Buczak 3.
Div 2 result - Exeter 48 Poole 31
September 7th: Poole 90 Wednesfield 86
Poole snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the two closing heats after making surprisingly hard work
of this one against their old enemy. Three exclusions and several unforced errors boosted the Wednesfield totals as they held
on to an early lead and despite three faultless rides from Artur Poprawski in his final match of the season, Aces went into
the interval 45 - 42 ahead.
Poole lost further ground after the break and things looked ominous with the scoreline at 60 - 66 and 5
races remaining. 6 -4's in the next two races - first from Dave Murphy and Dom McCrae, then Gav Wheeler and Sam Hearn closed
the gap to 72 - 74 but the Poole recovery was halted in at that point.
The Aces pairing relegated captain for the day Artur Poprawski to last place in heat 16 to retain their
slender advantage after newly crowned British U.16 champion Thomas Reed showed the two former Senior champions Terry Norman
and Lee Aris the way home with a fine win under pressure. The penultimate race looked to be going the same way with Tom Haddock
leading for the Aces until he slipped whilst leading comfortably from Dom McCrae and Aaron Lowey who took a vital
7 - 3 off outside grids to lead 84 - 82.
Who better to have on gate one in the match deciding final race than newly crowned British champion Gavin
Wheeler and he duly obliged the home crowd with a faultless four laps and with Ben Donohue gaining third place on the final
bend with a fine pass on Garry Pearce, the two league points were secure.
Scorers: Gavin Wheeler 17+1, Thomas Reed 16, Artur Poprawski 16, Ben Donohue 11+1, Dave Murphy 10+1, Dom
McCrae 10, Aaron Lowey 6+1, Sam Hearn 4.
In the Division 2 encounter, Poole tracked a younger line-up but gave the visitors a fright in the early
heats with three 7 - 3's in the opening 4 races.
Poole 61.5 Wednesfield 65.5 - Sam Hearn 15, Jake Williams 11.5, Kev Lowman 10, Chris Shylock 8, Aidan Hedgecock
6, Matt Mildon 6, Leyton Glover 4, Mike Buczak 1.
August 31st: Hellingly 84 Poole 95
Poole kept up their challenge at the top of the SW League with an 11 point win at Eastbourne against the
Hellingly Lions. Heavy rain for an hour before the start put the first race back 15 minutes as the home club made the circuit
raceable with sawdust applied to the wettest patches. This certainly did the trick as the match provided some good racing
from both teams.
Things looked ominous after three heats as the Lions forged 8 points ahead and continued to hold the
advantage at the interval by 47 - 43. The second half recovery was sparked by a 7 - 3 in heat 11 then Ben Donohue executed
a superb pass on Martin Hollebon to win heat 13. A 7 - 3 in the next put Poole in the driving seat as they went on to round
off the match with two maximum returns in heats 17 and 18.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 16+1, Ben Donohue 15+3, Jake Williams 14+1, Sam Hearn 14, Chris Shylock 11+3, Kev Lowman
11, Aidan Hedgecock 9+1, Luke Armes 5+1.
In the Div 2 match the scores finished level at 40 - 40 but the home side conceded 10 penalty points to
give Poole a clean sweep on the day, winning 40 - 50. Scorers - Aaron Morgan 13, Tom Ebel 10+1, Mike Buczak 9+1, Dave Buczak
8+1.
August 17th: Norwich 87 Poole 89
Despite the absence of at least eight of the first team squad, a somewhat makeshift line-up picked up both
points in an entertaining encounter at the Norfolk circuit. Trailing by 8 points in the first half, Aaron Lowey teamed up
with Sam Hearn for a valuable 7 - 3 to put the pressure on the home side.
Heat 15 saw Andre Cross feature in a 7 - 3 as Poole edged ahead by 3. Then Artur Poprawski made a late challenge
on Dave Myhill in heat 16 and despite a heavy tumble, the Norwich man earned an exclusion from referee Dave Hunting which
allowed Poole to double their lead to 6. Aaron Lowey took the 4 points from gate 1 in the penultimate heat which allowed Dave
Murphy and Sam Hearn a steady 4 laps in the final race as the home side reduced the arrears back to two points.
This was an all round team effort but special praise must go to Andre Cross who answered a late call up
despite being far from fully fit. His contribution of 14+1 from reserve in his first PL match of the season swung the match
and his track craft was evident as ever. Praise too for super vet Dave Murphy for his tally of 16 on the back of very little
match practise of late.
Scorers: Dave Murphy 16, Artur Poprawski 16, Andre Cross 14, Aaron Lowey 12, Sam Hearn 11, Rich Clanfield
10, Kev Lowman 9, Luke Armes 1.
With so many first team squad members missing, the division 2 team was completed by up and coming youngsters
who have made their way through the highly successful Tuesday clubnights. Although they did not win the league points, they
all gave 100% effort.
Norwich 72 Poole 59 - Matt Elstom 12, Arron Morgan 11,Jess Lamb 9+3,
Leyton Glover 9+1, Mike Buzak 9, Dave Buzak 6, Luke Armes 3+1.
BIG THANKS to Norwich CSC for taking time out yesterday to make sure their track was raceable today despite
very wet weather. They made the decision to withdraw from their British Club championship event (AKA "Ford Galaxy team championship!")
to get the circuit shipshape for today's Premier League 8-a-side event and save a possible wasted journey.
August 3rd: Poole 74 Leicester 98
|
| Artur Poprawski and Lukas Nowacki race neck and neck in heat 13 |
As if the last minute withdrawal of Southampton duo Gavin Wheeler and Tom Colling for a re-arranged
SWL match were not bad enough, Poole gifted the visitors four race wins through being unable to keep still at the tapes. It
became obvious from the opening exchanges that Leiceter were in no mood to relinquish their lead at the top of the table and
with the better balanced side they thoroughly deserved their victory. All top six of the visiting team won at least two races
apiece while the home side took only three between them.
European silver medalist Lukas Nowacki was outstanding and pulled off the two rides of the day with gravity
defying passes on Aaron Lowey in heat one and Artur Poprawski in heat 13. Artur - who was man of the match for Poole - got
his revenge in the final race to spoil the maximum chances of his fellow countryman. The quality of the racing throughout
the match was right out of the top drawer as another healthy crowd enjoyed the spectacle. The home team felt that the absence
of the two Saints unsettled the balance of the side and doubtless the presence of Gavin Wheeler would have made a significant
difference to the scoreline but probably not the destiny of the two league points.
Scoeres: Artur Poprawski 16, Aaron Lowey 10+2, Rich Clanfield 10, Thomas Reed 10, Chris Roberts 8, Karol
Wlodarczyk 7+1, Ben Donohue 7+1, Chris Shylock 6.
Both clubs tracked full teams for the division 2 match with Leicester lining up with three or four riders
who could have easily held their own in the first team. Poole missed Jake Williams and a couple of top end riders who were
drafted into first team places to cover gaps. Some of the best action towards the end featured Jessie Lamb and Leicester's
top two lady riders Lucy Whitehead and Amy Crouch. If this was anything to go by, then the British Ladies final in 3 weeks
time will be a cracker.
Division 2: Poole 53 Leicester 75 (Arron Morgan 10, Sam Hearn 10, Matt Elston 9, Aidan Hedgecock 7, Jess
Lamb 6, Kev Lowman 5, Luke Armes 4, Andre Cross 1.
July 20th Poole 89 Horspath 88
This was a nailbiting SWL fixture between two well balanced teams and where the lead changed constantly
as fortunes fluctuated. Poole lead for most of the first half but immediately after the break the visitors notched a 7 - 3
and threatened to pull away as they sought to avenge a home loss against Poole earlier in the year. A tapes exclusion in heat
12 handed the initiative back to Poole who banged in a 7 - 2 to lead 61 - 58. Another Horspath maximum in race 14 enabled
them to move back in front but Poole got out of jail in the next after a vintage pass by Rich Clanfield on Matt Szymczak who
was then excluded for impeding Luke Armes. Heat 16 finished all square leaving the scoeline 80 - 78 with two heats remaining.
With the visitors looking strong in the final race, there was relief in heat 17 when another Horspath tapes exclusion
gifted Poole a 6 - 3 and an unassailable 86 - 81 lead with the visitors last heat 7 - 3 proving somewhat academic. With Karol
Wlodarczyk sidelined by injury and other seniors unavailable, this was a closer than anticipated result but a great advert
for regional league racing.
Scorers - Aaron Lowey 18+1,Ben Donohue 15+2,Rich Clanfield 14,Sam Hearn 12+1,Jake Williams 11+1,Kev Lowman
9+2,Aaron Morgan 5+1,Luke Armes 5.
In the SW Conference match credit to both clubs as they tracked a full 8 rider team with Poole having the
edge in terms of age and experience and winning by 93 - 57.
Scorers - Matt Elston 16, Leyton Glover 15+1, Aidan Hedgecock 14, Jessie Lamb 11+1, Arron Morgan 10+2, Mike
Buczak 10, Tom Ebel 9, David Buczak 8.
July 13th Gt.Blakenham 97 Poole 81
With only two of the top 8 PL squad available for this match, this was a highly respectable scoreline against
the Suffolk side who are notoriously hard to beat on their own circuit. The dry conditions were not conducive to good racing
but the early heats were even and the scores would have been level at the interval but for an unlucky puncture suffered
by Aaron Lowey whilst leading. Thomas Reed was once again a class act and hats off to Exeter clubmate Dom McCrae for
five action packed races. There was some vintage stuff too from Dave Murphy with his best return of the season. After
the break the home side pulled away to record the expected win and even a full strength Poole side would have had their work
cut out to bring home the PL points.
Scorers; Thomas Reed 19, Dave Murphy 14+1, Dominic McCrae 12+2, Ben Donohue 11+2, Sam Hearn 9+1, Aaron Lowey
8, Kev Lowman 5+1, Luke Armes 3.
In the Division 2 match the home side tracked an older and more experienced team although Britain's top
two Under 13 riders Matt Mildon and Arron Morgan made a good impression but the final scoreline of 90 - 57 tells all.
Scorers: Matt Mildon 10+1, Arron Morgan 10, Luke Armes 8, Jess Lamb 5, Mike Buzak 5, Leyton Glover 5.
June 29th Poole 97 Horspath 79
Despite a depleted line-up compared with the season opener away to the Hammers, the visitors provided stubborn
resistance with only 8 points separating the sides at the half-way stage. Highlights for Poole included a race win for Dom
McRae on his home PL debut for Poole and a greatly improved performance for Aaron Lowey after his disappointing match against
Sheffield. Lowey was the only home rider to lower the colours of Lewis Osborne in heat 7 while Dave Murphy was on the
pace with two wins and Thomas Reed also had some lively tussles with the visitors big four. Chris Roberts and Gavin Wheeler
were in the thick of the action as always, providing another healthy crowd with plenty of entertainment during their four
rides apiece.
Scorers - Aaron Lowey 17, Thomas Reed 16+1, Chris Roberts 13+1, Dave Murphy 12, Gavin Wheeler 11+2, Tom
Colling 11+2, Ben Donohue 9+2, Dominic McRae 8.
At half-time during the PL match, Matthew Mildon and Arron Morgan rode a lap of honour with their gold and
silver medals from the previous day's British U.13 Championship and it was a great touch to see all the senior riders from
both teams out on the track to lead the generous applause for these two highly promising young riders.
Division 2 result - Poole 79 Horspath 50
Scorers: Matt Mildon 12+4, Jake Williams 12, Matt Elston 11+1, Kev Lowman 10+2, Aidan Hedgecock 10, Arron
Morgan 10, Same Hearn 7, Tom Ebel 7.
June 22nd Poole 101 Hellingly 77
This match provided conclusive evidence of the value of the regular Tuesday evening Clubnight sessions as
the talented trio of Sam Hearn, Jake Williams and Aidan Hedgecock played a prominent part in heat victories on the way to
this convincing victory against South coast rivals Hellingly.
Experienced heat leaders Karol Wlodarczyk, Ben Donohue and Aaron Lowey dropped their only points to the
two Hollebon brothers who once again lead the way for the Lions. Aaron's total was restricted by a blank in his fifth ride
after a first bend tumble suffered whilst trying to become the first Poole rider to lower the colours of Neil Hollebon who
went on to record a six ride maximum tally. Luke Armes and Kevin Lowman weighed in with solid scores in this all round team
performance.
Scorers - Ben Donohue 17+2, Karol Wlodarczyk 17+1, Aaron Lowey 13+2, Kev Lowman 13+1, Sam Hearn 13,
Jake Williams 12+1, Luke Armes 9+3, Aidan Hedgecock 7.
Division 2 - Poole 51 Hellingly 27
Arron Morgan scorched to 3 race wins on his team debut for Poole and there was a promising start too for
Michael Buczak who has only been racing for a couple of weeks.
Scorers - Alex McLeod 14+2, Arron Morgan 12, Tom Ebel 11, Matt Elston 8+3, Michael Buczak 6.
June 15th Poole 80 Sheffield 93
|
| Heat 11 - controversially re-started when Poole on a 7-3 win |
As soon as the visitors turn a 6 - 4 opening heat reversal into a 7 - 3 maximum win, things looked ominous
for Poole but after the first 7 races only one point separated the sides. Then disaster struck with Gavin Wheeler receiving
his marching orders as he tried valiantly to fend off a passing move by Marcin Szymanski. A Stars 7 - 2 in the re-start put
them in the driving seat with a 40 - 47 interval lead after Rich Clanfield was excluded at the tapes in the 9th.
Heat 10 was shared but Poole sensed a chance in heat 11 (pictured) as Gavin Wheeler and Chris Roberts clearly
outgated the visiting pair who literally threw their bikes on the deck, but referee Colin Simmons disappointingly called all
4 back. Roberts was excluded in the re-start leaving Wheeler to face the two Stars alone. Further disaster struck when Gavin
sheared a pedal arm at the gate turning what started as a 7 - 3 win into a 7 - 0 reversal. Game over at 45 - 59 which would
have been 52 - 55 if the original race start had been allowed to continue as everyone on the blue side of the pits strongly
felt. A glimpse of what might have been in heats 14 and 15 saw a Roberts/Clanfield 7- 3 followed up with a similar score
from the two Saints Wheeler and Colling but Sheffield stopped the rot with a fine win from Andy Angell - the best of the Brit
riders on show - and another share of the spoils in the penultimate race.
For the second season running, luck seemed to desert Poole in their encounter with the Stars although with
World Champion Szymanski once again showing his liking for the Harbourside circuit with an unbeaten 19+1, it would have taken
a top class performance by all 8 home riders to clinch the league points in this one. Despite the obvious disappointment,
this was a top class showpiece event which once again underlined the status of the Premier League as the pinacle of team competitions.
Congratulations to Sheffield for their victory.
Scorers: Artur Poprawski 14+1, Thomas Reed 13+1, Pavel Cegielski 12, Chris Roberts 11+1, Tom Colling 9+1,
Aaron Lowey 8, Gavin Wheeler 7+1, Richard Clanfield 6+1.
Division 2 - Poole 72 Sheffield 62 ( Sam Hearn 14, Karol Wlodarczyk 12, Kev Lowman 11, Jake Williams
9, Aidan Hedgecock 8, Luke Armes 6, Jessie Lamb 4, Matt Elston 4.)
June 8th Gt Blakenham 115 Poole 56
When it comes to a bad day at the cycle speedway office, they dont come any worse than this. With Aaron
Lowey sidelined through suspension for an offence 9 months ago (!) and track expert Andre cross injured, the last thing the
team wanted was a bad start but with captain Chris Roberts excluded in his first outing and given a highly dubious match ban
in his second, it was game over. In truth the hosts were always favourites to win on their own circuit and monopolised the
race wins while Poole did likewise in the exclusion stakes by 5 - 0, something which will require detailed feedback
to the CS Commission in view of the serious nature of the perceived refereeing inadequacies. Although this BTC competition
is not what it once was, it is steeped in history and Poole remains the most successful club....maybe 2009 will be the time
to remind ourselves and everyone else of that fact. Meantime, good luck to Blakenham, they would be worthy winners this season.
Scorers - Chris Shylock 11, Dave Murphy 11, Sam Hearn 9+1, Rich Clanfield 9+1, Ben Donohue 6+2, Kev
Lowman 6, Luke Armes 4, Chris Roberts 0.
June 1st Southampton 86 Poole 92
Poole chalked up another valuable away win at Winchester Road against the Saints who missed their ex-British
Champion Colin Wheeler who was ill. Although always in the lead, Poole were made to fight all the way with the big circuit
suiting the powerhouse racing style of Sam Hearn who lead the scorechart alongside Aaron Lowey. Karol Wlodarczyk took a nasty
tumble but recovered to complete the remainder of his races.
Scorers - Aaron Lowey16+2, Sam Hearn 16+1, Chris Shylock 15+1, Karol Wlodarczyk 13+1, Jake Williams 10+3,
Kev Lowman 8+2, Luke Armes 8+2, Jess Lamb 6.
Division 2 - Southampton 64 Poole 72 (Inc penalty points).
Aidan Hedgecock 12, Matt Elston 9+1, Tom Ebel 7+2, Kev Lowman 7+2, Jake Williams 4.
May 25th Ade Gale "LAURELS"
World champion Marcin Szymanski retained the Ade Gale Laurels trophy
with an immaculate twenty point maximum at Harbourside Park in front of a healthy bank holiday crowd. The Sheffield and Leszno
star led from start to finish in all his races and was boosted by drawing inside grids against all his principle rivals. Runner
up was Gavin Wheeler with a powerhouse display of riding which saw him drop his only point to Szymanski while 3rd place
went to Aaron Lowey who was a point ahead of British Champion Lee Aris on 17 points. Heat 8 saw the big guns clashing with Szymanski on gate 2 heading home Wheeler and Aris who were both on his outside.
In heat 11 Lowey made a valiant effort to round the Polish star from gate 4 but tracked him for 4 laps without quite getting
close enough to find a gap. Adam Peck and Thomas Reed tried to make life difficult for Szymanski in heat 17 but were unable
to stop the defending champion from gating round the pair for a title clinching victory. Scorers - Marcin Szymanski 20, Gavin Wheeler 19, Aaron Lowey 17, Lee Aris 16, Adam Peck 15, Mitchell Spear
14, Chris Osborne 13, Darius Pilas 12, Lewis Osborne 12, Craig Marchant 12, Chris Jewkes 10, Thomas Reed 9, Karol Wlodarczyk
9, Chris Roberts 7, Tom Colling 7, Kev Lowman 6. (Referee Mike Legge) A great curtain raiser in the Junior Laurels culminated in a race-off between Mitchell Spear and Thomas Reed who
tied on 19 points apiece. The Sheffield based Aussi came under intense pressure from the young Exeter star after leading from
gate 2 and held his nerve to clinch the major silverware. Scorers
- Mitchell Spear 19, Thomas Reed 19. Ashley Birks 18, Ben Mould 17, Jamie Brown 15, Ryan Hoyland 15, Tom Colling 14, Craig
Nethercott 14, Jake Williams 12, Sam Hearn 12, Luke Armes 9, Aidan Hedgecock 8, Matt Mildon 8, Tom Ebel 5, Aaron Morgan 5.
(Referee Dave Dart)
May 18th Wednesfield 93 Poole 83
Ashmore Park continues to be a less than happy hunting ground for Poole who were unable to match Premier
League frontrunners Sheffield and Leicester either by fielding their strongest team or picking up two valuable league points.
Nevertheless, the team battled hard and were unlucky not to stage a late rally after the misfortune of a 7 - 2 reversal in
heat 13. Gavin Wheeler was having one of his best matches to date for Poole but fell victim to a tapes exclusion when on gates
1 & 3 leaving team partner Tom Colling to face the home pair alone with disastrous consequences when rather than a potential
7 - 3 in their favour a maximum reversal was the outcome. But for that, a last heat decider could have been the outcome.
Dominic McCrae made his Premier debut and after a nervous start which included a tapes exclusion, he bounced
back to win a heat and showed great potential. With captain Chris Roberts unavailable, Ben Donohue and Karol Wlodarczyk both
unfit and Artur Poprawski racing in Poland, the team was always likely to be up against it but some consolation came after
the match when top British Cycling referee Mike Hack praised the club for the way in which they conducted themselves throughout
the procedings, in marked contrast to some of the things happening elsewhere of late!
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 15+1, Gavin Wheeler 15, Thomas Reed 13, Rich Clanfield 12+1, Tom Colling 12,
Dominic McCrae 7, Dave Murphy 5, Chris Shylock 4+1.
Division 2 - The young up and coming team Poole octet battled hard against the powerful and experienced
(!) Midland six-man combo unit and will learn a lot from what was the first visit to this venue in most cases.
Wednesfield 80 Poole 49: Scorers Sam Hearn 11, Jake Williams 10, Luke Armes 7, Alex McLeod 6,
Kev Lowman 5+1, Aiden Hedgecock 5, Matt Elston 3, Tom Ebel 2
May 11th: Horspath 90 Poole 89
This was a close and sporting encounter ridden in good spirit with a last heat decider with a Poole
team tracking a blend of youth and experience. A succession of drawn heats was broken by a Horspath 6 - 4 just before the
break, giving them a 46 - 44 lead which was extended in heat 10 with a 7 - 3. Aaron Lowey and Jessie Lamb team up for a vital
7 - 2 in heat 14 over Polish star Denis Augustinski to put Poole right back in the hunt. A good 6 - 4 from Chris Shylock and
Sam Hearn in the penultimate race put the scores at 85 - 84 with the spotlight falling on Aaron Lowey and Kev Lowman in a
last heat decider.
The hosts tracked Steve Harris and Dave Carmichael off gates 1 and 3 and while Aaron shot straight from
the tapes to lead, the home duo shut up shop to draw the race and win the match by the narrowist of margins.
Scorers - Chris Shylock 17, Aaron Lowey 16+2, Rich Clanfield 15+1, Sam Hearn 11+1, Jake Williams 9+3, Kev
Lowman 8+1, Jessie Lamb 8, Luke Armes 5+2.
Conference League: Horspath 63 Poole 87 ( Aiden Hedgecock 20, Matt Elston 16, Tom Ebel 14+2,
Sam Hearn 13+3, Leyton Glover 13+1, Phil Norwood 8+3, Jake Williams 3 (1 ride).
April 27th Poole 100 Norwich 75
With Thomas Reed in action for Exeter and a full programme of Polish league matches sidelining the club's
overseas stars, Poole called on Richard Clanfield for his first match of the season and despite minimal training, he did not
let the side down with a "paid" 13 tally from 4 rides. He would have earned unofficial the man of the match award had it not
been for an outstanding performance from Karol Wlodarczyk who returned his best Premier performance for Poole with four brilliant
rides yielding 13+2 mostly earned the hard way.
Aaron Lowey gave cause for concern with a heavy tumble which gave him a nasty knock to the head in heat
2 but he bounced back with four fine race wins matching the performance of team captain Chris Roberts who also took 16 from
4 outings thanks to some powerhouse gating. Tom Colling dropped only one point from 3 first half
races but his fortunes dropped off after the break.
Dave Murphy stepped up a gear or two from the Blakenham match taking a paid 11 tally from his four races.
Ben Donohue was good value for his 11+1 especially as he has been carrying an injury which will shortly require a period of
hospitalisation. Gavin Wheeler dropped points at the tapes in heat 6 but looked classy in his other races as this all round
team performance took the points from a lively Norwich team whose efforts were not reflected in the final scoreline.
Scorers: Chris Roberts 16, Aaron Lowey 16, Gavin Wheeler 14, Karol Wlodarczyk 13+2, Tom Colling 11+2, Ben
Donohue 11+1, Rich Clanfield 10+3, Dave Murphy 9+2.
Division 2 - Poole 63 Norwich 64: Scorers Sam Hearn 15, Jake Williams 12, Luke Armes 10, Aiden
Hedgecock 9, Jessie Lamb 8, Kev Lowman 8, Matt Elston 1.
April 20th: East Newport 85 Poole 91
A close encounter with the match outcome in doubt up to the closing heats saw Poole take their first win
on the road in the SWL at the expense of the lively Welsh opposition. Aaron Lowey cruised to a bonus maximum while Jake Williams earned
the unofficial man of the match award with a highly polished performance on the tricky circuit. The track also suited Karol
Wlodarczyk who was mounted on brand new equipment and what a difference it made.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 19+1, Karol Wlodarczyk 17, Jake Williams 16+1, Ben Donohue 14+2, Luke Armes 10, Sam
Hearn 9, Jessie Lamb 3, Kev Lowman 3.
Division 2 - E.Newport 43 Poole 41 Scorers - Matt Elston 11 Tom Ebel 9, Aiden Hedgecock 8+1,
Phil Norwood 7+2.
Conference - E.Newport 52 Poole 98. Scorers - Jake Williams 19+1, Sam Hearn 18+2, Jessie Lamb
17+2, Matt Elston 16+3, Aiden Hedgecock 16+2, Tom Ebel 12.
April 13th: Leicester 99 Poole 78
Despite having to track a depleted line-up, Poole turned in a respectable performance against a full strength
Leicester side. Full marks to rookie reserves Sam Hearn and Alex McLeod for their wholehearted efforts as they were both thrown
in at the deep end for their first ever Premier League match. Aaron Lowey was hampered by an exclusion for race slowing but
as usual between these two teams, racing was sporting and enjoyable. Artur Poprawski notched four wins and took the scalps
of all the home stars while Gavin Wheeler is well on the way back to top form.
On a day of unpredicatble results with Sheffield winning by 2 at Horspath and defending champions Wednesfield
surprisingly losing by the same margin at Great Blakenham, it looks look the title favourites are now Sheffield with Leicester
and Poole the likely challengers. Roll on June 15th when the Yorkshire club visits Harbourside Park!
Scorers; - Artur Poprawski 18, Gavin Wheeler 14+1, Aaron Lowey 10+1, Ben Donohue 9+1, Karol Wlodarcyzk 9,
Dave Murphy 7, Alex McCleod 7, Sam Hearn 4.
Division2: Leicester 81 Poole 49 - Sam Hearn 14, Aiden Hedgecock 10, Kev Lowman 7+2, Jessie Lamb 7, Alex
McLeod 6, Luke Armes 5.
April 6th 2008: Poole 87 Swindon 90
This match between two evenly balanced teams swung in favour of the visitors in races
either side of the interval when Jake Williams picked up an exclusion in heat 9 and Luke Armes failed to secure a re-run a
race later when left sprawled on the first bend. Swindon had the greater experience in their middle order as several times
the home youngsters lost positions due to tactical errors. Aaron Lowey was untroubled but the absence of Chris Shylock who
is still on the injured list probably made the difference between victory and defeat.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 19+1, Jarol Wlodarczyk 17, Ben Donohue 16+2, Luke Armes 10+1, Jake Williams 8, Kevin
Lowman 7+2, Sam Hearn 7+1, Jessie Lamb 3.
Div 2: Poole 62 Swindon 34 (Aidon Hedgecock 13, Alex McLeod 12, Matt Elston 7, Lewis Mitchell 6, Jess Lamb
5.)
March 30th: Poole 103 Gt. Blakenham 73
Hats off to both teams for making a match of this on a very difficult racing surface as the newly re-laid
Harbourside circuit was well below its normal standard with both bends cutting up badly. The visitors were lively in the opening
heats but were hampered by two exclusions just as the re-shuffled Poole team got into its stride.
After a Josh Brooke victory over Gavin Wheeler in the second race, Adam Peck got the better of Thomas Reed
in heat 5 which proved to be the Exeter based rider's only defeat of the day. Aaron Lowey looked to be back to something like
his best form as he reeled off three staight wins, a feat matched by Poole captain Chris Roberts in his first match of the
season.
Poole made the most of their greater experience to race to a comfortable 20 point lead by the
interval but the visitors continued to put in 100% effort despite the scoreline.
Attempts to tyre pack the circuit at half time failed to significantly improve the heavy conditions in the
second half as both teams battled on in front of an appreciative crowd. Adam Peck was impressive for the Suffolk side and
had some good scraps with his erstwhile team mates who packed strength in depth
Scorers:- Thomas Reed 18+1, Aaron Lowey 16+2, Tom Colling 15+2, Chris Roberts 14, Gavin Wheeler 13+2, Karol
Wlodarczyk 11+1, Ben Donohue 10, Dave Murphy 6.
Division 2: Poole 71 Gt.Blakenham 73 - Scorers: Kev Lowman 12, Sam Hearn 11, Aidan Hedgecock 9, Luke Armes
7+2, Matt Elstom 7, Jessie Lamb 4, Phil Norwood 4. (+17 penalty points)
March 23rd Filton 91 Poole 83
With three of the victorious line-up from the Exeter match unavailable due to the holiday weekend, Poole
did very well to run the experienced Bristol outfit so close with Sam Hearn once again underlining his great potential and
Aidon Hedgecock earning the unofficial man of the match awards from his team-mates for his efforts on his first team debut.
Aaron Lowey and Ben Donohue were both left scratching their heads after questionable exclusions but generally the luck evened
itself out and the Fliers deserved their victory.
Scorers: Aaron Lowey 18, Sam Hearn 16, Ben Donohue 13+2, Kev Lowman 10+1, Aidon Hedgecock 9, Jessie Lamb
7+1, Luke Armes 4+2, Leighton Glover 4.
NOTE: Action shots from this match can be found on the Filton CSC website.
PREMIER ACTION
March 16th: Horspath 84 Poole 87
For the second season running, Poole turned over their Southern rivals in another epic battle in predictably
poor winter conditions at the tight Oxford bowl. With a 7 point lead going into the penultimate race, a share of the spoils
delivered the valuable 2 points and a Hammers maximum in the final heat was too little, too late to save their day.
The new line up included the three recently announced British stars, Gavin Wheeler, Tom Colling
and Thomas Reed plus the match-winning Polish star Marcin Paradzinski whose signing was kept firmly under wraps until
shortly before the start. Marcin will be coming back to race in the summer along with Artur Poprawski who also figured highly
in the victory.
There were gasps of admiration in heat 2 as Paradzinski shot past Mike Morgans and when Thomas Reed repeated
the winning streak with the first of three race wins in the next, the quality of the winter additions was clear
for all to see. A slender lead throughout the first half gave Poole a 40 - 45 interval advantage as the home side suffered
3 exclusions at the tapes.
When Lewis Osborne picked up his marching orders in heat 16 while falling under pressure from Tom Colling,
Poole virtually had the points in the bag with a 7 point advantage. Top scorers Reed and Paradzindski tucked in for a tactical
5 - 5 in heat 17 and the points were in the bag.
This was a real team effort for Poole with every rider giving 100% while the Hammers were tough opposition.
The real losers were the fans who stayed away due the the wintry conditions in contrast to 2007 when a similar close and exciting
encounter was witnessed by hundreds on a sunny afternoon. Shame that officialdom refused the mutually agreed May date for
this match and insisted on the original winter date. Those responsible clearly have little idea of what
promotion of top level events is all about. Time for a re-think!
Scorers: Thomas Reed 17+1, Marcin Paradzinski 17, Artur Poprawski 15, Gavin Wheeler 9+1, Tom Colling 9+1,
Aaron Lowey 8+1, Ben Donohue 8, Chris Shylock 4.
In the Division 2 fixture, Poole had the better balanced team with several of the young guns in action along
with the experienced Jess lamb and Luke Armes. The 13 point victory rounded off a fine days racing for the Dorset club. Horspath
57 Poole 70 (Jake Williams 13, Luke Armes 12+3, Aiden Hedgecock 11, Sam Hearn 10+1, Jess Lamb 7+3, Matt Elstom 7+1,Phil
Norwood 6,Tom Ebel 4+1.
March 9th: Poole 98 Exeter 79
After many seasons in the Junior League, Exeter made their long awaited return to SWL team racing and didnt
disappoint with their twin spearhead of Thomas Reed and Dominic McCrae each winning 4 of their 5 races. Poole tracked greater
experience in their top 6 with Karol Wlodarczyk turning in a convincing display and Aaron Lowey the only home rider to show
Tom Reed a clean pair of wheels.
A big bonus for the home side was the form of their two reserves Jake Williams and Sam Hearn with Jake winning
all 3 of his races and Sam headed only by the visitors two big names, some going in his first team debut match. Poole notched
up 13 bonus points while the Devon side could console themselves with their 10 race winners. Both clubs enjoyed their day
which was ridden in excellent spirit.
Karol Wlodarczyk 16+1, Chris Shylock 15+2, Kev Lowman 12+3, Ben Donohue 12+2, Aaron Lowey 12+2, Jake
Williams 12, Luke Armes 10+2, Sam Hearne 9+1.
Poole 42 Exeter 38 (Div 2)
Aidan Hedgecock 16, Jessie Lamb 14+2, Matt Elston 5, Phil Norwood 5, Tom Ebel 2, Anders Rowe dnr
Poole 67 Exeter 83 (SWConference)
Jake Williams 17, Sam Hearn 12+1, Aiden Hedgecock 12, Jessie Lamb 11+1, Matt Elston 6, Lewis Mitchell 5,
Tom Ebel 4.
2007 Match Reports
October 7th 2007
Poole 84 Wednesfield 92
Injury gremlins robbed Poole of any chance of a victory against the league leaders who simply had too much
top end power with World Champion Marcin Syzmanski and 'rocket-gating' reserve Marcus Waddams their twin spearhead, each dropping
just one point from 5 rides. Chris Roberts and Dave Murphy both had to withdraw from the match due to heavy tumbles although
Murphy had to be pressed back into action late in the procedings as Poole began to run out of reserve replacements.
A tight first half saw Poole just ahead by a single point as they packed in the minor places behind visiting
heat winners. A Wednesfield 7 - 3 in heat 14 followed by a 6 - 4 gave them an eight point lead and a further maximum in the
penultimate race sealed the result and along with it the outcome of the league championship with next week's clash between
the Aces and Horspath now a formality.
Plus points for Poole were the form of Adam Peck and two great rides from Artur Proprawski who was the only
home rider to lower the colours of Waddams and Szymanski (pictured). Aussie duo Dan Pudney and team captain Brad Hoppo rounded
off their two seasons at Poole with a last heat 7 - 3 which brought the curtain down on their time here in the best possible
way.
Although there were no league honours at stake, Poole nevertheless missed their Polish duo of Lukasz Jozwiak
and Pavel Cegielski whose presence would have doubtless swung the match in the other direction. That rather sums up the latter
part of the season with key riders missing for the last three PL home fixtures which were all narrowly lost.
Once again this was a well attended match and a great advert for Premier League racing between two of the
sports' top clubs.Special praise for referee Colin Simmons who stood in for the unavailable Ian Sizer at the last minute and
did a first class job.
Scorers: Adam Peck 16+1, Daniel Pudney 16+1, Artur Proprawski 15+2, Brad Hoppo 13+1, Karol Wlodarczyk 8,
Ben Donohue 7, Chris Roberts 5+2, Dave Murphy 4.
Division 2 - Poole 59 Wednesfield 69
Scorers: Ben Donohue 16+2, Andre Cross 15, Kev Lowman 9, Jessie Lamb 9, Jake Williams 8, Rich Chappell 2.
September 23rd 2007: Leicester 84 Poole 91
Victory in their final PL away fixture of the season saw Poole chalk up the double over the East Midlanders
with a workmanlike performance headlined by in-form Adam Peck who dropped just one point in five rides - showing just
how costly his absence was from the line up against Horspath a fortnight ago. With a single point lead at the half way stage
Poole moved to an 8 point advantage after 16 races and the margin could have been greater but for 2 exclusions for Lukasz
Jozwiak.
Scorers - Adam Peck 18+1, Daniel Pudney 16, Artur Proprawski 15, Brad Hoppo 11+2, Pavel Cegielski 9+1, Dave
Murphy 9, Lukasz Jozwiak 9, Ben Donohue 4.
September 16th 2007: Poole 100.5 Filton 77.5
With their normal secondary registration support riders unavailable, the league newcomers arranged day contracts
with Poole for Matt Chappell, Luke Armes, Jake Burns and Jake Williams who amassed a 31 point contribution between them
in an entertaining SWL encounter. Unbeaten returns from Karol Wlodarczyk and Artur Proprawski formed the basis of the home
win and Chris Shylock notched up three wins in his best match since returning to Poole colours. Lewis Mitchell made his first
team debut at just 12 years of age and took a respectable 5 points.
Scorers: Artur Proprawski 18+2, Karol Wlodarczyk 18+2, Chris Shylock 15+1, Kev Lowman 14+1, Ben Donohue
13+1, Rich Chappell 12+2, Jess Lamb 5.5, Lewis Mitchell 5.
S.W.Conference 80 - 69
September 9th 2007: Poole 88 Horspath 89
Hats off to the Oxford club who were determined to avenge the home defeat at the hands of Poole in June
which cost them any realistic chance of holding on to the league championship. As with the previous home slip-up against Sheffield,
the referee seemed to come down harder on Poole than the visitors with 3 exclusions to zero in a fiery match which simmered
along as these two giants battled head to head.
The home lineup missed Adam Peck who is usually worth double figures at Baiter but top end power from the
Hammers trio of Boaler, Szynczak and Swowronek was probably the telling factor. There was a pleasing return to the saddle
from Aaron Lowey but what a match to choose for your first of the season!
With 8 international riders on view, this match was the perfect answer to those who might favour restrictions
- 18 heats of scintilating league racing at the very highest level - just what the Premier League was set up for and another
healthy attendance showed their full appreciation as both teams completed a joint lap of honour after heat 18.
Scorers - Daniel Pudney 16+2, Pavel Cegielski 15, Artur Proprawski 13+1, Lukasz Jozwiak 12+1, Brad Hoppo
11, Aaron Lowey 10+2, Dave Murphy 6, Chris Roberts 5,
Div 2 - Poole 69 Horspath 60 (Ben Donohue 13, Karol Wlodarczyk 10, Jake Burns 10, Kev Lowman 9, Jake Williams
8+4, Luke Armes 7+2, Richard Chappell 6+3, Lewis Mitchell 6+2.)
August 19th 2007: Poole 85 Sheffield 88
Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong for Poole in this shock
home reversal against an ultra competitive and jubilant Sheffield team who could hardly believe their luck. A catalogue of
untimely bike problems and four race exclusions meant that the visitors were almost out of sight on 50 - 37 at the interval.
Poole pulled back 10 points after the break but left themselves too much to do without their scheduled number 4 Mark Everingham
who failed to arrive for the match and let his team mates and club supporters down badly.
Scorers - Brad Hoppo 16+3, Artur Poprawski 14, Adam Peck 13, Ben Donohue 11+1, Daniel Pudney 11+1, Dave
Murphy 9, Chris Roberts 7+1, Kev Lowman 4.
August 12th 2007: Poole 91 Horspath 84
This was a close and lively encounter with Poole having the better balanced side but every time they drew
10 points clear, the visitors hit back with tactical rides from their big 3 and use of the inside gates rule.
Artur Poprawski was again in scintilating form reeling off four wins but came to grief in heat 17 on a dusty
first bend while attempting to pass fellow countryman Dennis Augustinski. Ben Donohue was unbeaten in his first four races
with wins over the top visiting riders but he too surrendered his maximum in his final race when the match was already won.
Karol Wlodarczyk was as steady as ever and Kev Lowman rode a true captain's role. Chris Shylock came through
some really tough races when the visitors used the tactical rules but he raced well for his points in only his second match
for Poole this season and his first since moving back to his home town. Mention too for spririted reserve outings from Jessie
Lamb and Luke Armes who played their part in an all round team performance.
Scorers - Artur Poprawski 17, Ben Donohue 16+1, Mark Everingham 13+1, Karol Wlodarczyk 12+1, Kev Lowman
12, Chris Shylock 11+1, Luke Armes 7+1, Jessie lamb 3+1.
Division 2 - Poole 66 Horspath 50 (Scorers: Rich Chappell 9+2, Jake Williams 8, Michael Day 7, Jessie Lamb
6, Leyton Glover 2, Phil Norwood 2).
August 5th 2007: Norwich 86 Poole 94
On the hottest day of the year, the long haul to Norfolk was productive with two more valuable league points
collected by a changed line-up which included Jason Ashford for his first league outing of the season in Poole colours. With
captain Brad Hoppo still nursing World Championship injuries and the Polish duo of Pavel Ciegelski and Lukasz Jozwiak
back home on holiday, this was always going to be a tough match with the additional non-availability of Mark Everingham
and Rich Clanfield.
Thankfully, the advantages of the squad system paid dividends as the team built on their 46 - 44 half time
advantage to win by 8 points to maintain their title aspirations.
Scorers; Adam Peck 16+1, Artur Poprawski 16, Daniel Pudney 15, Chris Roberts 12+3, Jason Ashford 12, Dave
Murphy 12, Ben Donohue 8, Karol Wlodarczyk 3+1.
Division 2: Norwich 62 Poole 66.
Currently sidelined from speedway with Sittingbourne, Andre Cross rode his first match of the season in
this close away fixture...albeit just 10 minutes down the road for him.
Scorers - Kev Lowman 15, Luke Armes 13+2, Jake Williams 13+1, Jessie Lamb 11+1, Andre Cross 9+3, Phil Norwood
5.
July 15th 2007: Poole 98 Hellingly 80
This match was overshadowed by an awkward tumble to to veteren Lions rider Gary Walder who needed lengthy
medical attention on track and eventually taken off to hospital with a suspected broken hip. Gary clashed with Ben Donohue
on the last bend of heat 3 and both riders fell. Ben himself was injured in a later collision with a fallen opponant. Feature
races were those which matched Artur Poprawski with the Hollebon brothers and although the Polish star won through on all
occasions he was made to fight all the way to preserve his 20 point maximum. This was a good all-round team performance and
it was great to see Chris Shylock back in action with a fine race win.
Scorers: Artur Poprawski 20, Karol Wlodarczyk 17+1, Kev Lowman 14+1, Ben Donohue 13+3, Luke Armes 11+2,
Chris Shylock 10, Jake Burns 7+1, Jake Williams 6.
July 8th 2007: Southampton 75 Poole 89
Poole are through to the BTC semi-final after a hard fought and incident packed match at Winchester Road
which was in doubt up to the penultimate heat. Trailing by 8 points after 4 races, the signs looked ominous until Jason Ashford
sparked the Poole recovery with a storming ride in heat 6. The home side were on to yet another 7 - 3 until Jason blasted
round Lee Galley only to be shoved over the outside line earning the Saints man his marching orders. Better was to follow
in the 3 man re-start when Shaun Woodhouse joined Galley after another racing infringement to give Poole a maximum
7 - 0 and a 27-26 lead in the match.
Former Saint Dave Murphy used all his guile to capitalise on his gate 1 in the next but when skipper Chris
Roberts, with two impressive wins already to his credit, fell while challenging the Merrick/Wheeler pairing in
heat 8 the home side went back into the lead. Enter Rich Clanfield, back in the team after
a recent lay-off and a classic drive under Lee Galley bringing through partner Jason Ashford for a morale boosting maximum
just before the break and a match lead 40-43.
After the interval, Poole had a run of three 5-4 heat wins as the home side only tracked one finisher with
two exclusions and a machine failure the cause. The Saints were beginning to lose their composure and in heat 14, when Gavin
Wheeler was ruled out for a do or die last bend challenge on a resolute Dave Murphy another 5-4 moved the scoreline to 61-68.
Heat 15 saw a set back as Rich Clanfield moved at the tapes but Adam Peck showed perfect composure to win
the re-start for a damage limiting 4-5 heat.
The 6 point advantage, looked distinctly under threat in heat 16 as the Colling/Galley pairing were
on to a 7-3. Mark Everingham had a couple of laps to try and pass Galley but then Ben Donohue went for a gap and brought Mark
through for a crucial 5 - 4 win as the hapless Saint drifted prematurely back to the pits.
The Saints could still win the match but needed two 7-3's from their big guns. The Suffolk boys Jason and
Adam had other ideas and stormed to a match winning maximum heat win as Gavin Wheeler picked up his second exclusion of the
day and partner Nathan Harris rode into the pits without completing 4 laps. With the match won Chris Roberts
had the satisfaction of turning the tables on Shaun Woodhouse to underline an emphatic 14 point victory.
Poole were motivated by memories of that controversial defeat 12 months ago in the identical fixture and
it was this together with a greater degree of racing fitness which carried them through despite the very poor track conditions.
The Saints lost their heads as the match progressed and both their top stars were carded by referee Terry Ashford. With Colin
Sutton and Pete Barnes running the Poole side of the contest, there was never the slightest chance of that happening
to their riders although Pete did have to use some nimble footwork during one heated exchange! Every Poole rider
played his part in the victory but special praise must go to Jason Ashford for his gutsy performance .
Scorers: Chris Roberts 16, Adam Peck 13+2, Ben Donohue 13+2, Jason Ashford 12+3, Dave Murphy 11, Richard
Clanfield 10, Mark Everingham 9+1, Kev Lowman 5+1.
Exeter 85 Poole 59 (SW Conference)
Jake Burns 16, Luke Armes 15+1, Jake Williams 14, Michael Day 8, Leyton Glover 6.
Weymouth 66 Poole 76 (SW Conference)
Luke Armes 19, Jake Burns 17+1, Leyton Glover 15+1, Jake Williams 13+1, Michael Day 11.
June 24th 2007: Poole 94 Newport 63
The unseasonally wet weather almost put paid to this Western League match but the mounting fixture backlog
in the region was the deciding factor as the 2 sides braved the elements. Hats off to all the riders for making a match of
it as they fought for every point. Mark and Ben had some lively encounters with Colin Simmons while Luke Armes and Jake Burns
were unbeaten in their 3 outings in the U.19 heats. Leighton Glover was the latest rider from the Tuesday evening academy
to make the progression to league racing and he performed with great credit.
Poole took the points to avenge their away defeat earlier in the season but this was a victory for the Western
League format which was enjoyed by all those involved - proving the doubters wrong again!
Scorers: Jnrs. Jake Williams 13, Luke Armes 12, Jake Burns 11+1, Leighton Glover 11+1, Ashley Stafford 4+1:
Snrs. Mark Everingham 14+1, Ben Donohue 12+2, Kev Lowey 9, Kev Lowman 7, Phil Norwood 3.
POOLE 82 NEWPORT 68 (Conference League)
Scorers - Luke Armes 17+1, Jake Burns 17, Jake Williams 16+2, Shane Stafford 13+1, Lewis Mitchell 10+1,
Leighton Glover 8+1, Ashley Stafford 1.
June 17th 2007: Hellingly 109 Poole 70
With no A or B graded riders available for racing, it was an interesting and diverse line-up which took
to the track at Eastbourne including George Newman and Mike Legge who completed his single race with aplomb. In the circumstances
the whole team put up a very creditable performance on a track which always poses a challenge to visiting riders.
Scorers: Kev Lowman 12+1, Luke Armes 12, Kev Lowey 11+1, Jake Burns 11, Dave Newman 11, Phil Norwood 6,
George Newman 5, Mike Legge 2+1.
With the addition of penalty points, Poole won the combination match
78-88.
June 10th 2007: Sheffield 83 Poole 90
A workmanlike performance after the long trek to Yorkshire brought home another 2 away points on a track
which most of the side had never seen before. Leading 41 - 46 at the half way stage, the margin may have been greater but
for exclusions picked up by Lukasz Jozwiak, Brad Hoppo and Artur Proprwski. This was a victory in which every rider played
a part and frustratingly with them having hit such a rich vein of form, they have to wait until August 5th for their next
PL match due to the loss of Coventry and Bury although the visit of Coventry on July 15th will still go ahead as a challenge
match. In the meantime with other clubs in BTC action today, Poole are now clear at the top of the PL table by 2 points ahead
of rivals Wednesfield and Horspath.
Scorers: Adam Peck 15, Chris Roberts 14+1, Lukasz Jozwiak 14, Artur Proprwski 13, Daniel Pudney 11+1, Pavel
Cegielski 9+2, Brad Hoppo 9+1, Mark Everingham 5.
Division 2: Sheffield 51 Poole 79
A clean sweep of all the league points on offer was achieved in the Div 2 match with too much fire power
from 1 to 6 in the Poole team.
Scorers - Jessie Lamb 17+2, Dave Murphy 15+1, Kev Lowman 13+1, Jake Williams 13, Karol Wlodarczyk 12+3,
Luke Armes 9+1.
June 3rd 2007: Horspath 85 Poole 89
Poole snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at the tight Oxford circuit to put themselves in with a great
chance of Premier League honours against a Hammers team who were defending a five year unbeaten home record. The match swung
back and forth throughout the 18 heats providing a roller coaster of emotions for riders and supporters alike.
The home side were 6 up after just 3 heats but two heats later Dan Pudney joined Pavel Cegielski for a 7-3
to make the scoreline 24 - 25. Artur Proprwski won heat 7 after a difficult opening race but Brad Hoppo was unable to hold
on to 2nd when another maximum looked on the cards.
A second race win from Cegieski before the break and a battling 3rd from Adam Peck generated optimism at the interval which proved short lived as the home side re-started the match
with two 7-3's to get back in the driving seat. Further Hammers' race wins in heat 13 after a costly Roberts exclusion and
a 6-4 against in heat 15 when Sean Rudman caught Mark Everingham napping, meant that the points were practically in the bag
for the homesters at 78-70.
Then the drama unfolded in heat 16 with a costly gate one tapes exclusion for Matt Szymczak leaving Lukasz
Jozwiak with a comfortable gate 2 in the re-start. A battle for 2nd place developed between Roberts and Augustini which saw
Chris dumped on the deck after almost rounding his opponant and referee Bob Prince pointing to the home rider as the cause
of stoppage. The 7-0 meant there was one point in it with two races to go.
Cometh the hour for Poole and new boy Poprwski produced a brilliant first bend to join partner Cegielski
for a blinding 7-3 against the previously unbeaten home star Skowronek taking the scoreline to 81-84. In the final race Poole
tracked their Aussi duo but the home side could still win the match with a 7-3 from the formidable pairing of Harris
and Boaler off 1 & 3.
Harris held his gate 1 and Pudney was lining up an inside pass on the back straight when Boaler attempted
a do or die pass on turn 3 which incurred the displeasure of referee Mr.Prince. Match won, Daniel eased off in the
re-start as Poole contented themselves with a 5-4 to win by four when 3 heats earlier such a scoreline would have seemed almost
impossible. A great result in a match where every rider played his part and never gave up trying.
Scorers - Dan Pudney 16+2, Lukasz Jozwiak 16, Pavel Cegielski 15, Artur Poprwski 13+1, Chris Roberts 10+2,
Brad Hoppo 10+1, Adam Peck 6+1, Mark Everingham 4.
Division 2 - Horspath 72 Poole 55
This was a tough match for Poole who raced against a Horspath team which included two first team riders
who rode without penalty points such are the odd rules adopted for 2007! Poole picked up a bonus point for tracking a
separate side and battled hard especially young Jake Williams who experienced a baptism of fire!
Scorers - Dave Murphy 13, Karol Wlodarczyk 12+1, Luke Armes 10+1, Kev Lowman 9, Jess Lamb 6+1, Jake Williams
5.
May 27th: Ade Gale "LAURELS"
Polish riders dominated the rostrum positions in a strong International field of 24 riders with Marcin Szymanski
sounding out a warning to all his rivals ahead of the 2007 World Championships. The Lezno and Wednesfield star rode unbeaten
in his 4 qualifying heats then sat behind Lucasz Nowacki in the semi-final before turning up the heat in the final to pass
the Leicester rider to pick up the coveted trophy. Nowacki finshed runner-up and Lucasz Jozwiak completed the whitewash with
a fighting third ahead of England's best performer Mark Boaler.
Unluckiest rider was Dan Pudney who was unbeaten in his heats and looked to have clinched 2nd place behind
Boaler after trailing from a difficult grid 4 only to pick up a harsh exclusion on the final bend while shutting the door
on Lee Aris. The whole event was ridden in almost continuous rain and conditions were heavy but to their credit, all riders
gave it 100%, the only disappointment being the absence of holder Shaun Woodhouse through injury.
Group A scorers: M.Szymanski 16, D.Pudney 16, G.Pearce 11, M.Wadhams 11, M.Winwood 10, T.Colling
10, P.Ciegelski 8, N.Hollebon 8, K.Wlodarczyk 7, B.Hoppo 7, C.Roberts 7, R.Williamson 6.
Group B scorers: L.Nowacki 16, M.Boaler 14, L.Jozwiak 13, L.Aris 12, P.Kozlowski 11, S.Rudman
10, C.Marchant 10, N.Venson 9, C.Jewkes 8, P.Mrugelski 8, K.Lowman 6, B.Donohue 2 (wdn), J.Burns (res) 2.
Semi-final 1 - L.Nowacki, M.Szymanski, G.Pearce , M.Wadhams.
Semi-final 2 - M.Boaler, L.Jozwiak, L.Aris, D.Pudney (exc).
Grand Final - M.Szymanski, L.Nowacki, L.Jozwiak, M.Boaler.
Junior Final - Ryan Taylor, Ben Mould, Thomas Reed, Lee Richardson.
Non-finalists - Mark Carmichael 8, Luke Armes 7, Jake Williams 6, Robbie Venson 5.
May 26th: England 90 Poland 85
England can consider themselves fortunate to have come away with a victory after trailing for most of the
match until a controversial 7-2 from Lee Aris and Jon Birks in heat 17. With the Poles ahead by a single point, Lukasz Jozwiak
was excluded for drifting wide into the first corner of the penultimate race when most present expected an all 4 back verdict.
The decision from referee Ian Sizer caused mayhem and a near walk-out by the Poles as it was the first racing exclusion in
an otherwise tactical but good spirited encounter.
Poland provided 13 race winners of which their star man Marcin Szymanski notched an impressive maximum,
while England amassed 10 bonus points with no individual stars. It looked like Poland would snatch a draw in the final heat
but Lucasz Nowacki shed a chain on the first bend allowing the host nation to pull off an unlikely victory.
England scorers: Mark Boaler 16+1, Jono Birks 14+2, Adam Peck 13+1, Phil Howells 13+1, Lee Aris 12+3,
Chris Roberts 10, Chris Jewkes 7+1, Mark Everingham 5+1.
Poland scorers: Marcin Szymanski 20, Matt Szymczak 15, Lucasz Nowacki 13, Pavel Ciegelski 11+1, Pavel
Kozlowski 11, Lucasz Jozwiak 9, Przemez
Mrugalski 3+1, K.Wlodarczyk 3.
May 19th: Astley & Tyldesley 71 Poole 105
The rain soaked Manchester track posed a severe test of fitness to both teams as Poole comfortably scooped
the league points while the top three home riders suffered an exclusion apiece. On each of those occasions A&T suffered
a maximum 7 - 2 reversal while Poole lost only one race when Pavel Ciegelski and Lukasz Jozwiak conceded a 7 - 3 in heat
8. Hopes of an Astley comeback were squashed before the interval as Mark Everingham and Dave Murphy clinched a 6 - 4
to lead 37 - 51 at the break. It was a case of cruise control in the second half as Poole kept up the
pressure on a day when A&T could have done with one or two more of their established "names".
Poole scorers - Daniel Pudney 17+2, Brad Hoppo 15+3, Adam Peck 15+2, Mark Everingham 14+2, Pavel Ciegelski
14+2, Lukasz Jozwiak 12+2, Ben Donohue 10, Dave Murphy 8.
Division 2 A&T 55 Poole 73
Karol Wlodarczyk 20, Kev Lowman 14+1, Jessie Lamb 10+1, Rich Chappell 10+1, Dave Murphy 8, Ben Donohue 7+1,
Phil Norwood 4.
May 6th: Poole 91 Leicester 86
This match had everything including a last heat decider and a better advert for the sport would be difficult
to find with quality racing and a sporting rapport between the teams. Poole stretched out to an 8 point lead after 4 races
as first Mark Newey then Mark Whitehead got their marching order at the tapes but the advantage was short lived as Lucasz
Jozwiak picked up an exclusion in his second race for cutting across on Kev Burns who fell heavily leaving referee Ian Sizer
little option but to award Leicester a 7-2.
A Newey/Marchant 6-4 in the next made the score 34 - 33 before Lucasz Nowacki headed home Daniel Pudney
in a brilliant race and the single point margin separated the sides at the break with in-form Chris Roberts picking up the
second of three race wins. Lucasz Jozwiak left Phil Howells for dust in heat 10 then lowered the colours of fellow countryman
Nowacki in heat 13 with Chris Roberts tucking in for a welcome 6 - 4 only to be cancelled out by a 6 - 4 Leicester in the
next just when a drawn race looked to be in the bag. Racing throughout and the crowd were captivated as fortunes fluctuated.
The score stood at 69-68 with 4 races to go and the spoils were shared in the next with Daniel Pudney once
again untouchable but Poole let slip a 6-4 in heat 16 when Adam Peck relinquished 3rd place to Phil Howells. After a quiet
match skipper Brad Hoppo stormed past Craig Marchant to win heat 17 at a vital time just when a Leicester heat win
threatened to give them the lead for the first time.
So the match was finely balanced at 84 - 83 and the crowd were on the edge of their seats as the two Poole
big guns Pudney and Jozwiak took on Nowacki and Newey. Pudney rounded Newey from grid 2 and held the lead for a
couple of laps under intense pressure from Nowacki while Jozwiak tried all he knew to pass Newey which he succeded in doing
on lap 3 only for both riders to fall heavily with the Leicester man judged to be the primary cause. Poole only had to complete
4 laps in the 3 man re-run but finished in style with some top notch team riding to shut out Nowacki for a scoreline flattering
7 - 2.
The teams completed a joint lap of honour and received a loud ovation from another healthy and appreciative
Baiter Park crowd.
Scorers: Daniel Pudney 18+1, Chris Roberts 16, Lucasz Jozwiak 15+1, Adam Peck 12+1, Brad Hoppo 11+2, Mark
Everingham 8+1, Richard Clanfield 6, Dave Murphy 5.
Leicester had just too many top end riders in the Division 2 encounter but Poole remained in touch throughout
with the final scoreline 61-68.
Scorers: Karol Wlodarczyk 14, Kev Lowman 11, Luke Armes 9, Jake Williams 9, Kev Lowey 7+1, Jess Lamb 4+2,
Phil Norwood 4, Matt Mildon3.
April 29th: Horspath 96 Poole 81
The hosts packed a few more big guns into their line-up and capitalised on their home track advantage. Brad
Hoppo was in fine form and Karol Wlodarczyk was unlucky not to score more but for a dubious exclusion.
The rest of the side battled gamely for their points.
Scorers:- Brad Hoppo 17+2, Karol Wlodarczyk 13, Kev Lowman 13, Kev Lowey 12+1, Luke Armes 10, Alex McLeod
7, Jessie Lamb 5+1, Phil Norwood 4.
April 22nd: Poole 94 Astley & Tyldesley 78
Another excellent crowd turned out for what proved to be a lively and entertaining encounter for which both
sides can take full credit. Only 7 points separated the teams at the interval stage as the visitors top three Polish stars
supplied the majority of race winners including skipper Thomas Wlodarcyzk who inflicted the only defeat of the day on World
Champ Dan Pudney in heat 7.
Poole emerged from the interval fired up and put in some distance with a run of heat wins to lead 78 - 57
after 14 races. Then A&T took two 7 - 2's as first Adam Peck (tapes) and then Ben Donohue (legging) received their
marching orders from referee Terry Ashford.
With several squad members missing, Karol Wlodarcyzk and Kev Lowman were called up for their first Premier
League outings and neither let the side down. On this showing A & T proved worthy Premier League opponants and with further
signings mooted, they will be a force to reckon with. Poole will need to be at full strength if they want to take the league
points in a fortnight when Leicester are the visitors.
Poole Scorers: Daniel Pudney 17+2, Adam Peck 13+1, Mark Everingham 13, Ben Donohue 12+1, Chris Roberts 11+2,
Dave Murphy 10+2, Karol Wlodarczyk 10, Kev Lowman 8.
Premier League Combination match - Poole 102 A&T 69.
Scorers - Luke Burns 15+1, Luke Armes 10, Rich Chappell 9+1, Ashley Stafford 7+1, Jake Williams 7+1, Jessie
Lamb 6+3, Phil Norwood 5. 45 penalty points added.
April 15th: Poole 81 Southampton 95
They may have withdrawn from the Premier League in the close season, but the Saints turned up for this SWL
match with virtually a Premier strength team thanks to some generous rider gradings along the way. To add to the home side's
problems, three race wins were gifted to the visitors thanks to unecessary tapes exclusions which accounted for the interval
margin of 11.
Heat 7 was a classic battle between Daniel Pudney and Shaun Woodhouse which proved to be the only defeat
of the day for the Saint. There was an equally good race after the break featuring Woodhouse, Gav Wheeler and Karol Wlodarczyk
who was leading under intense pressure for 3 laps but as Woodhouse burst through, Wheeler lost out and Poole were able to
share the spoils.
Poole Scorers; Dan Pudney 16, Ben Donohue 12+1, Karol Wlodarczyk 11+2,
Kev Lowman 11+1, Rich Clanfield 9, Kev Lowey 8+2, Luke Armes 8+1, Jake Burns 6.
Combination match score 50 - 50: Poole scorers Luke Armes 15, Jake Burns 12, Rich Chappell 9+1, Phil Norwood
4, Shane Stafford 2, James Clanfield 1.
April 14th: Wednesfield 102 Poole 75
With several first team squad members unavailable, the odds were already stacked against Poole in this one,
but an off day for some of the top end names meant that the eventual margin was much greater than expected. The potency
of Aces top two of Szymanski and Aris was expected but the two reserves did the real damage with 6 wins in 8 outings. Adam
Peck and Dan Pudney managed only one win apiece and Chris Roberts who is still not 100% also finished with a win after another
nightmare opening race tapes exclusion off grid 1.
Hats off to Wednesfield who should have little trouble with anyone on their own circuit but whether they
can remain at the top of the table will depend on how they fare at places like Horspath and Leicester and of course here at
Poole where they race on October 7th. What price that for a title decider?
Certainly Poole have the potential but will need to step up the pace in the meantime.
Poole scorers - Dan Pudney 14+1, Adam Peck 13, Mark Everingham 12+1, Brad Hoppo 10+1, Chris Roberts 9, Pavel
Cegielski 7, Rich Clanfield 6+1.
(For photo action from this match, see the cycle speedway results page on the British Cycling
website and click on Gallery 1).
The Aces won the Div 2 encounter to maintain their place at the top of the table but the Poole top
four gave the home side a run for their money.
Scorers - Karol Wlodarcyzk 13, Luke Armes 12, Kev Lowman 10+1, Jake Burns 8, James Clanfield 4, Phil Norwood
4.
April 8th: Poole 95 Norwich 78
Following their surpise victory at Coventry, Poole were made to fight every inch of the way against the
Stars in the curtain raiser at Harbourside Park.
The new circuit passed with flying colours and drew widespread approval from riders and spectators alike.
A crowd of around 300 saw 18 fast and furious heats with Dan Pudney and Mark Everingham drop just one point
each to the opposition but this was essentially a team performance with a hatful of bonus points shared around with skipper
Brad Hoppo once again leading by example. Chris Roberts showed no ill effects of his recent operation while Adam Peck was
unfortunate to pick up two race exclusions while in the thick of the action.
Take your hats off to the rapid improving Norwich outfit who are certainly on the up and a fine piece of
refereeing from Rob Absolum. All in all, a great advert for the sport and a satisfying day for all the hard working club members
after all their efforts during the winter months.
Poole scorers: Daniel Pudney 17+2, Mark Everingham 17+2, Brad Hoppo 12+3, Ben Donohue 12+1, Chris Roberts
11, Adam Peck 10+1, Dave Murphy 9,Richard Clanfield 7.
Poole comfortably outscored the younger visitors in the Division 2 encounter 85 - 45. Jake Burns again showed
his potential with 3 unbeaten rides and looks set for a great future.
Scorers - Alex McLeod 15+1, Luke Armes 14+2, Jake Burns 11+1, Karol Wlodarczyk 11+1, Kev Lowman 10+2, Rich
Chappell 10+2, Jess Lamb 10, Phil Norwood 4.
April 1st: Newport 85 Poole 72
The opening Western League match at the South Wales circuit gave Karol Wlodarczyk the opportunity to stretch
his legs for his first match in Poole colours for 7 seasons and he showed enough trackcraft in the senior races to suggest
that he might be knocking on the Premier League door once fit.
Luke Armes top scored for the juniors but watch out for young Jake Burns who showed a great deal of promise
in his first ever team match despite still being under 14. The junior races between the sides produced a 40 - 40 scoreline
but Newport pressed home their advantage in the senior heats.
Scorers:- Luke Armes 14, Karol Wlodarczyk 13, Jake Burns 12, Ben Donohue 10+1, Jessie Lamb 7+3, Jake Williams
7+2, Kev Lowman 5,Richard Chappell 4.
Conference League - Newport 79.5 Poole 69.5
Scorers - Luke Armes 15+1, Jessie Lamb 12+2, Jake Williams 11+1, Jake Burns 11, Shane Stafford 10+2,
Ashley Stafford 10+2.
March 25th: Coventry 87 Poole 92
The new look team made the best possible start to the season with a fine victory at Coventry thanks to all
round effort fom every rider. Bonus points in 11 of the 18 heats told its own story with Pawel Cegielski (4) and Dan Pudney
(3) highlighting the part that the Poole team riding played in the victory.
Having expected to be under pressure early on, the Sea View boys were a little surprised to find themselves
9 ahead at the interval with Dave Murphy using his experience to the full with 2 impressive wins. The home side rallied after
the break as a couple of heat wins reduced the arrears but when the Jozwiak/Everingham pairing shared the penultimate heat
17, the league points were in the bag.
The home side were hampered by the late withdrawal of Dave Hemsley through illness although Poole too have
their own problems with key man Chris Roberts still recovering from a recent ankle operation and Aaron Lowey sidelined through
injury whilst on a recent Army training run. The benefits of a squad system were well demonstrated and auger well for the
rest of the season.
Newly appointed captain, Brad Hoppo drew praise from his team mates for his perfomance on and off the track
and Adam Peck had one of his best matches for Poole but this was a day all about the team rather than individuals and the
perfect curtain raiser for 2007.
Scorers:- Adam Peck 15+1, Lukasz Jozwiak 15, Brad Hoppo 14+1, Dan Pudney 12+3, Pawel Cegieski 11+4, Dave
Murphy 11, Mark Everingham 7+2, Ben Donohue 7.
Poole took the victory in the Divison 2 fixture by 71-49.
Scorers:- Luke Armes 16+2, Brad Hoppo 16, Dave Murphy 13, Ben Donohue 12+2, Phil Norwood 8, Kev Lowman 6+1.
2006 Results
Click on date for match report and scorers.
|
