MATCH REPORT: Eagles stun Hammers with double

Ipswich Eagles welcomed the Horspath Hammers to Whitton raceway knowing nothing other than a win would keep them in the hunt for league glory.

Horspath got off to the best possible start when Ash Hill was excluded for crossing the inside line and Mark Carmichael got the better of Cody Chadwick to open with a 7-2 to the hammers.

Josh Brooke caught new European champion, Lucasz Nowacki napping in heat 2 to bring through his partner for a well worked 5-5, before the first of a series of tapes exclusions for Horspath in heat 3.

Zac Payne moved when on gate 2, but Paradzinski limited the damage, pulling off a stunning move on the first bend to get past young Jamie Chittock and give the Eagles a 6-3 advantage.

Carmichael won heat 4 and Chadwick heat 5 before Nowacki moved under orders in heat 6, Chambers/Chittock being split by Lewis Osborne to give the Eagles a 1 point lead.

Chadwick/Hill gained a 6-4 in heat 7, Hill making his way past Zac Payne, before two more 5-5s closed out the half, 45-42 at the interval.

Heat 10, and Lewis Osborne was left on his own again. This time, Mark Boaler moved at the starts, Charlie Rumbold eventually getting the race win after Chambers challenged the Horspath man on the inside. Brooke and the returning Adam Peck, in his first match of the season, got the upper hand in heat 11 to give Ipswich an 8 point lead.

Ash hill suffered his second exclusion of the match in heat 12, Chadwick splitting the Horspath pairing to limit the damage, before Mark Boaler received his second exclusion of the match, again for a tapes infringement, Chambers/Chittock taking advantage with another 6-3, where Mark Carmichael dropped his first point of the match.

Horspath got right back into it in heat 14 when Boaler took Peck wide on the first turn, making way for his team partner to score a vital 7-3 for the away side. Brooke took heat 15, before Horspath closed the gap further with a solid 6-4 from Carmichael/Osbourne. Adam Peck won heat 17 for another shared heat before an action packed heat 18.

With Brooke trying to come round from gate 4 and Boaler/Paradzinski squeezing Dan Chambers the 4 riders came down the back straight four abreast. Steaming into the 3rd bend and the slightest of touches sent Paradzinski and Chambers crashing to the floor.

Then on the exit, Boaler unceremoniously dumped Brooke in the fence. Referee Colin Simmons called it a racing incident, and after an extended break, heat 18 got back underway. This time Brooke made the gate to clear Boaler and the Oxford man was kept at the back until an uncharacteristic slip gave him too much ground to make up.

In heat 19, Ipswich chose Chadwick and Chittock with Horspath opting for Carmichael and Paradzinski. The home side were sitting a 6-4 before Paradzinski got the better of Chittock for the 2nd time in the match, pulling off a pass almost as good as the first one, to come inside the Ipswich man and gain an all important 5-5.

This left Kolata/Nowacki from the favourable inside grids against Brooke/Chambers knowing a 6-4 claimed a share of the points. Brooke though, in his second last heat decider of the season at Ipswich had other ideas.

Giving Kolata a little nudge going into the first bend from the starts, he then nipped up the inside on the exit of the bend, much to the delight of the crowd and raced away to seal the points for Ipswich with a victory almost as narrow as at the village.

Cody Chadwick then defeated Mark Carmichael to defend his match race trophy, capping off a great day for the suffolk side.

All in all a great spectacle for the healthy crowd gathered and watching on periscope, which included a delighted Wednesfield Aces team gathered around a mobile device at Hearsall Common in Coventry.

Horspath will rue costly gate exclusions which had they just been last places would have given them a victory by the same margin. Mark Carmichael showed what he can do when his head is in the right place and will give him a massive boost ahead of the British in a few weeks time.

For Ipswich, Chadwick and Brooke again led the team superbly, both finishing on 20 points, while Dan Chambers and Jamie Chittock had a solid match as a pairing, both finishing with good double score figures.

The Eagles now must beat Poole in their final match of the season and hope that results elsewhere go their way in order to force a play off for the title.

Let’s hope there’s plenty more twists in the title race yet.

Ipswich Eagles 98
Ash Hill 5+1 (5) Cody Chadwick 20 (6) Josh Brooke 20+1 (6) Adam Peck 13+1 (5) Jamie Chittock 14 (6) Dan Chambers 15+1 (6) Dan Knights 5 (3) Charlie Rumbold 6 (3)

Horspath hammers 96
Mark Carmichael 22 (6) Jake Neighbour 3+1 (2) Lucas Nowacki 13+1 (6) Lewis Osborne 14 (5) Marcin Paradzinski 18+2 (6) Zac Payne 6 (5) Marcin Kolata 12+2 (5) Mark Boaler 8 (5)