Just got back. I don’t think I have ever in my 46 years of watching speedway ever seen a meeting of two halves like that. It was quite frankly ridiculous.
I got to the stadium at 6.30 and they were watering the track. Then at 7 pm there was a short sharp shower which lasted about 5 minutes. Enough to wet the ground. The track still looked in very good condition though.
However, as the riders came to tapes in heat one we got another shower which lasted 2-3 mins. The track looked a little greasy. What the rain had done, together with the heavy rain we have had over the last two days, had made it greasy and tricky. The outside line by the fence came into play and the Ipswich riders were gating and getting straight out wide and then were impossible to catch. We were being mullered. To such an extent that by heat 8, and 12 points down, all hope had vanished into the ether and everyone around me, myself included, chilled and accepted that this season was not going to be our season. It really was men against boys. Led by Chris Harris who was revelling in the racing conditions. There was no holding him out, and with Lawson proved a potent force.
Then something happened. Klindt and Josh G gated over King and held him off to reduce the gap to 8. But the next heat proved false hope as Harris won a good battle with Covatti and Brady was last. Ten down and looking at the Ipswich team it was hard to see where we would get a heat advantage from, when you consider how well the Witches riders were doing.
Heat 11 and a shock 5-1. Holder who had been poor in his first two rides popped out with a battling THJ, in front of Iversen. We were wondering how long it would take Iversen to split our boys but as the laps went on he wasn’t closing. A remarkable and unexpected 5-1 to reduce the deficit to 6.
THJ was then brought out in place of Wells in the next and what a cracking race it was. THJ gated with Klindt but Harris got between them and then started to chase down and pass THJ. They battled side by side for a lap before Harris charged under THJ entering lap four but THJ wasn’t moving and Harris touched THJ calling a slide off. The fact that Harris also fell gave the game away and an awarded 5-1 meant there was only two in it.
Heat 13 and it was game on. Poole gated and a challenge from Iversen petered out and beyond our wildest dreams we were two up. Thoughts were that we could possibly draw or win the meeting.
Heat 14 and the wheels had come off the Ipswich bus as THJ and Josh G gated and won at a canter.
In heat 15 I must admit I was surprised at the Poole picks but it turned into another great race with Harris climbing all over the Pirates for three laps before charging under both entering the 4th lap. The Poole boys then going either side of Harris to stun the crowd and open up a ten point lead to take to the second leg.
It’s far from over. Middlo said afterwards at the press conference he would have been happy with 8 before the meeting and very happy with ten. Ipswich will come back hard at us after this. The team to go through is far from decided. I will say if we hadn’t had that rain Poole wouldn’t have been so poor in the first half.
THJ was named rider of the night. He said he was much happier with his performance. So were we.
I have never seen a team collapse like that. From being utterly dominant to losing 6 of the last 7 heats by 5-1 or 32-10 is frankly ridiculous.
And people say Middlo is not a good manager! He doesn’t know what losing is about, unlike myself who had given up the ghost.
Sorry for the length of this post.
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