MATCH REPORT: Four out of Four for Team Green
Astley & Tyldesley maintained their North & Scotland League Division 2 title challenge and clinched their seventh successive Division 3 title win, by
winning all four matches at Gin Pit on Sunday afternoon.
On a cool, blustery afternoon, with a mix of heavy showers and sunshine, A&T’s three recent individual champions – World U-16 Girls Champion Emily Burgess, u-8 Little League Champion Frank White, British o-50 Champion Steve Harris – were paraded around the track, to warm applause from the crowd.
A&T opened up the racing with a 119-0 whitewash win in the Division 3 match against Glasgow Cyclones. A&T’s Charlie Burgess raced unbeaten in the u-13 match, as did Aiden Green in the u-10 match. This result clinched the Division 3 title for Astley & Tyldesley.
North & Scotland League Division 3 result
Astley & Tyldesley 119 Glasgow 0
A&T: Aiden Green 16, Charlie Burgess 16, Oscar Belt 14, Freddie Cox 12, Chloe Warn 12, Myles Grantham 11, Stephen Warn 9, Levi Edwards 8, Lewis Skitterall 8, Harriet Belt 5, Aliesha Green 4, Lucy Grantham 4.
Referee – Catherine White.
This was followed by a comfortable win over Glasgow in the Division 2 match, 70-47, as Team Green won six of the twelve races by a maximum score.
Emily Burgess, Matt Snell and Charlie Burgess all raced unbeaten for A&T. Simon Morris and newcomer Calum Ramsey both won races for Glasgow.
North & Scotland League Division 2 result
Astley & Tyldesley 70 Glasgow 47
A&T: Mick Knowles 12 (2), Emily Burgess 12, Charlie Burgess 11 (1), Matt Snell 11 (1), Tom Morrissey 9, John White 6, Mark Grantham 5 (1), Chloe Warn 4 (1).
Glasgow: Simon Morris 14, Calum Ramsey 9, Andy Macdougall 8 (2), Joe Beuckmann 8 (1), Jim Alexander 6, Colin Gray 2.
Referee – Kyle Holland.
A&T took an emphatic 171-21 win over Fife Revolution in the Division 3 match. Brothers John and Frank White both raced unbeaten in the u-13 and u-10 matches respectively.
North & Scotland League Division 3 result
Astley & Tyldesley 171 Fife 21
A&T: Frank White 16, John White 16, Aiden Green 15, Oscar Belt 14, Tom Morrissey 14, Charlie Burgess 14, Myles Grantham 12, Freddie Cox 11, Stephen Warn 11, Harriet Belt 9, Levi Edwards 8, Duncan Whalley 8, Chloe Warn 8, Lewis Skitterall 6, Aliesha Green 5, Lucy Grantham 4.
Fife: Lyla Peoples 11, Elliott Davey 10.
Referee – Catherine White.
The main match of the day was last on the bill, with A&T taking on the unbeaten Division 2 league leaders Fife. The two teams dished up a classic match at Fife in May and today was a repeat encounter, between the Division’s top two teams.
Fife twice opened up a 5 points lead early on and it wasn’t until heat 7, when the Matt Snell/ Emily Burgess pairing took the first of their three heat
wins together, with a 7-3 over the Alsop brothers, that A&T took the lead, 34-33. Fife hit back with a 7-3 to Vas Hill/ Craig Hardie over Mick Knowles and Mark Grantham to regain the lead. Another 7-3 to Snell/ Burgess over Harris Alsop/ Hill in heat 9 restored A&T’s lead. Hardie won the next race, but with Lewis Alsop excluded for bringing down Knowles, A&T edged their lead to 2 points. Hill won the penultimate race, but John White and Lee Phillips relegated H. Alsop to the back for a shared heat. Fife had the inside grids for the last heat, but a terrific gate from 4 by Snell saw him take the win over Hardie, with Burgess taking a vital third place over L. Alsop, for A&T to seal a 60-56 victory.
For A&T, Matt Snell reeled off five superb wins from outside gates, after a first race exclusion, with Emily Burgess in terrific form after a last place
first time out. Craig Hardie was best for Fife, featuring in all three of their 7-3 heat wins.
Cycle speedway matches don’t get any better than this one, hard fought and fast, but ridden in a great spirit. Matches between A&T and Fife are usually
close affairs and this was no exception. With Stockport not re-arranging their postponed match at Fife, the Revolutions have finished their programme on 26 points. A&T will match that total if they win at Sheffield in their final match in two weeks time, which would necessitate a play-off on a neutral track, to determine the Division 2 title.
North & Scotland League Division 2 result
Astley & Tyldesley 60 Fife 56
A&T: Matt Snell 20, Emily Burgess 13 (2), John White 9, Mick Knowles 8 (1), Lee Phillips 5 (2), Mark Grantham 5, Charlie Burgess dnr, Tom Morrissey dnr.
Fife: Craig Hardie 18 (1), Lewis Alsop 13 (1), Vas Hill 13, Harris Alsop 10, Jamie Penny 2 (1), Jake Ferguson dnr, Harry Langdale dnr, Danny Peoples dnr.
Referee – Kyle Holland.