The Kent SLYDE Kings went out of the Knock-out Cup at the semi-final stage as expected but emerged with much credit from a plucky showing in the second leg encounter at Arlington Stadium in Sussex on Saturday evening (1/8).
Local rivals Eastbourne Eagles fly onto the Final but Chris Hunt’s charges will take much from an improved showing, where their top four actually outscored their compatriots in the home sextet (rider replacement being deployed by the Eagles for injured rider Georgie Wood). Not for the first time this campaign (though rarely so comprehensively seen) the difference for the Sittingbourne-based Speedway side hinged on the respective points tally of the no. 6 & no. 7 in the two sides: the racing berths which are given the designation, ‘reserves’. For the homesters (hit by the blow of losing ‘guest’ Martin Knuckey after just two rides: both of which he fell in), newly installed reserve Matthew Bates and the returning Kelsey Dugard filled their boots on a busy evening for them both and delivered a10 points and paid 12 respectively from 13 rides between them. This paid 22 points return contrasted unfavourably with what could in other circumstances be a non unrespectable t paid 5 from Ben Basford (making his first appearance at the famous Sussex circuit) and returning to the side, Adam Sheppard.
The meeting started with total carnage! The first bend incident in the first staging was as bad a crash from the start as one is likely to see. Somehow the two number ones, top of the City Gearboxes National League [CGNL] averages, Bradley Wilson-Dean and Kent skipper Ben Morley locked together from a messy tapes-up and plunged straight into and through the air fence where the unlucky Knuckey also joined them. Morley had travelled some distance off his bike along the track and it was feared he’d suffered impact ‘burns’ but bravely he was back up and onto the rerun. The Kiwi Wilson-Dean also looked troubled from the grazes he’d received whilst Knuckey was clearly badly shaken.
In the restart Morley and his now no. 2 riding partner Aaron Baseby were lightning fast away from the tapes. Wilson-Dean was not to be denied but actually was stopped in his leading tracks having gone past Ben by the red light again with the New Zealander’s erstwhile team mate Knuckey falling again. The Kiwi made no mistake in the second rerun.
The Eagles were actually destined to only record two race maximums all match but I guess that heat 2 was one of these would surprise few people. Marc Owen followed up Bates & Dugard’s heroics in heat 2 with a race win but with a fast James Shanes getting his account off the mark in heat 4 and then a now dialled-in Morley making it two Kent heat wins on the bounce –it was just a four points gap. And that’s the way it staged as the meeting reached the halfway mark with heat 8 awaiting. So many times a 5-1 has been scored against the SLYDE Kings in the pivotal heat 8 this term, but Aaron Baseby is providing an anchoring role at no. 2 now and the damage was reduced to just 2-4.
Sadly though the max reverse was delayed this time just a minute or so, as the amazingly lively Dugard and Owen swept to a heat 9 victory over James Shanes – who tried so hard to get past Owen that he ended up falling after the finish!
With the Eagles aggregate lead now 24 points it was all about salvaging pride on the evening.
Heat 11 saw the second of the skipper Ben Morley’s heat wins holding off Hopwood – with Baseby in third it was a rare heat advantage to the visitors.
Heat 13 pitched Wilson-Dean and Morley against each other again with honours to the current top man in the CGNL and with the battered and bruised antipodean being spared the nominated riders race, it was left to Ben to win heat 15 and ensure the gap on the night was ten: a 24 points aggregate defeat.
Jamie Couzins will take confidence from a better paid six tally whilst Sheppard and soon to sign a club contract Ben Basford were largely on the pace.
Eastbourne 50 (92) Bradley Wilson-Dean 3, 3, 3, 3 12 Martin Knuckey (G) Fx, F (injured – withdrawn) 0 Rider replacement - Georgie Wood Marc Owen 3, 0, 2', R, 3, 1' 9+2 Ben Hopwood 2, 3, 2, 0, 2 9 Matt Bates 3, 2, Fx, 1, 1, 3 10 Kelsey Dugard 2', 1', 1, 3, 3, 0, R 10+2
Kent SLYDE Kings 40 (68) Ben Morley 2, 3, 3, 2, 3 13 Aaron Baseby 1', 1, 2, 1 5+1 Danny Ayres 2, 1', 2, 1' 6+2 Jamie Couzins 1', 2, Fx, 2 5+1 James Shanes 3, 2, 1, 1', 0 7+1 Adam Sheppard 1, 0, 0, 2 3 Ben Basford 0, 0, 0, 1' 1+1