Disappointment for Kent’s junior side, the Code Kestrels in a double header at Central Park Stadium on Monday night (25/9) as they surrendered the Southern Development League [SDL] leadership they’d held all campaign to see instead the title go to the Reading Racers.
The consolation for John Sampford’s charges was that their team selections have all campaign concentrated mainly on their own resources and even though the two Kent born and bred lads in the side, James Laker and Andrew Palmer had on this occasion an unproductive evening, there is a sense that this is what the SDL should be about. There was disappointment on the contrary that the two visiting sides actually was the same quartet of riders, somewhat damaging the credibility of the SDL in truth: all four being riders with plenty of Travel Plus National League [TPNL] experience this term, really putting the homesters up against it.
With only riding order being different between the almost entirely ‘scratch’ Plymouth Demons side and the Kestrels’ challengers for the title the Reading Racers, there can be little surprise that both six heat matches ended up with the same scoreline too: 16-20. Anders Rowe was the dominant individual force in the first match going through the card unbeaten including two wins over the star man in both visiting ‘sides’, Taylor Hampshire, Adam Portwood who’d won the amateur championship at this track the Futurama earlier in the campaign chipped in with a heat in too, but the failure of both local rookies Laker and Palmer to register points cost the hosts dearly who conceded heat advantages in the first and sixth heats.
Defeat by Plymouth was the writing on the wall for the Code Kestrels’ previously buoyant title hopes and the match against Reading started similarly with a 4-2 reverse. There was renewed hope when the only heat advantage of their own followed in heat two of the second match – Laker getting the better of O’Keefe for his only point of the evening. However, when Hampshire finally got the better of Rowe in heat four (albeit it courtesy of what seemed a massive roller from the start) it was curtains for the Kestrels and the SDL title was heading to Berks.
Kent Code Kestrels 16 Adam Portwood 2 3 2 7 Andrew Palmer 0 0 0 0 James Laker 0 0 0 0 Anders Rowe 3 3 3 9[M]
Plymouth Demons 20 Nick Laurence 1 1* 3 5+1 Taylor Hampshire 3 2 2 7 William O’Keefe 1* 1* 1 3+2 Alex Spooner 2 2 1* 5+1