Poole completed a Premier League double over their South Coast rivals in a hot and dusty affair at Winchester Road to keep up their challenge on Leicester for second spot in the table behind runaway leaders Horspath. There was a minor panic for team manager Pete Barnes before the match as Andre Cross was stuck in traffic en route from Norwich and unable to take his place in the line-up. Fortunately Richard Clanfield was due to assist Pete in the pits in the absence of Colin Sutton and he was pressed into action using borrowed machinery and racing kit. This move paid off as he scored 10 points from 3 starts as the match built up to another nailbiting finish.

 

The match started quietly enough with a series of drawn races and an exchange of 6 - 4's until Poole maximised their advantage in heat 7 with a 7 - 2 after Lee Galley had been excluded. No sooner was the ink dry on the scorechart than the 5 point advantage was thrown away at a stroke as Pete Young moved at the tapes to leave the half-time scoreline deadlocked at 44 - 44.  The second half started off in similar vein to the first half but with 2 races remaining, Poole held a slender two point lead.

 

Heat 17 looked to be a potential match decider as the strong Galley/Woodhouse pair clashed with Daniel Pudney and Pete Young. The two Saints stormed to a 7 - 3 as Woodhouse completed his paid max and the scoreline moved to 85 - 83 with hitherto unbeaten Gavin Wheeler lining up for the last heat decider against Chris Roberts and Brad Hoppo. The home side replaced Alan Busby with reserve Colin Wheeler and the stage was set for a nailbiting finish with Roberts going from gate 1 and Gavin Wheeler opting for the outside. Referee Terry Ashford was kept busy with several re-starts but at the third attempt, the two Saints collided with each other and the race was rightly allowed to continue despite protestations from the home pair who opted to pull out of the race leaving Poole with a 7 - 0 and a deceptively comfortable margin of 5 points.

 

The victory helped to make amends for the controversial BTC defeat on June 11th but more importantly adds another two league points in what is already the club's most successful Premier League campaign.

 

Scorers: Brad Hoppo 14+3, Daniel Pudney 14+2, Chris Roberts 13+2, Mark Everingham 12, Adam Peck 11+2, Pete Young 11, Richard Clanfield 10, Ben Donohue 5.

 

Poole raced to a narrow 67 - 71 victory in the Division 2 fixture but frustratingly missed out on the bonus point with only 5 fit riders available from the scheduled 7 with Phil Norwood injured and Shane Cassidy a no-show. Ben Donohue was drafted in and was good value for his 15 points after conceding 5 penalty points from the Div 1 fixture. The Saints fielded a strong side so it was just as well that Andre Cross stayed on to race while the rest of the team were in fine form, no doubt due - in part - to their regular Tuesday grand-prix sessions! This victory keeps the team 3rd in the league table.

 

Scorers - Richard Chappell 15+1, Ben Donohue 15, Andre Cross 12+1, Kev Lowman 11+2, Jessie Lamb 9+2, Eddie Wilkins 6+1.