MATCH REPORT: A&T youngsters impress against Glasgow
Astley & Tyldesley’s young guns put in a great showing to record a comfortable win over Glasgow, in a Northern League Division 2 match at Gin Pit.
The Scots were making their first ever trip to Astley and found themselves 46-21 down, as A&T slammed in five maximum heat wins in the first seven races. The visitors rallied and picked up two maximum heat wins of their own later on, but the result was never in doubt, as A&T rode to an 87-60 victory.
Reece Pollitt raced unbeaten for A&T, with the other juniors and two inexperienced seniors all scoring solidly. For Glasgow, the experienced Andy McDougall recovered after a first race fall, to win two races, whilst Colin Gray, Joe Beuckmann and Shaun Webster all won a race each.
Astley & Tyldesley 87: Reece Pollitt 16 (4), Max Evans 16, Gareth Paine 15 (2), Ben Dickinson 15 (1), Matthew Snell 14, Jon Quarmby 9 (2), Joe Quarmby 2 (1), Emily Burgess dnr.
Glasgow 60: Andy McDougall 15 (1), Colin Gray 12 (1), Shaun Webster 11 (1), Joe Beuckmann 8, Jim Alexander 7, Dougie Webster 7.
Referee – Bill Phillips
The visitors didn’t field any riders for the Division 3 match, whilst A&T lined up with 13 riders, even without Max Evans and Matthew Snell, following their efforts in the Division 2 match. British u-10 Girls silver medallist Emily Burgess raced unbeaten in the match, inflicting the only defeats on Ben Dickinson and Joe Quarmby.
Astley & Tyldesley 145: Emily Burgess 16, Ben Dickinson 15, Joe Quarmby 15, John White 13, Charlie Dickinson 13, Kieran Fallon 12, Charlie Burgess 11, Finlay Hodson 11, Jack Murray 9, Ryan Fallon 9, Max Quarmby 8, Laura Snell 7, Caillen Langlands 6.
Referee – Bill Phillips
It was a very sporting meeting, with the Glasgow riders treating the A&T youngsters to ice creams after the match, after being impressed by their efforts!
Astley & Tyldesley’s new random electronic starting system made its debut and worked perfectly without any hitches. The system operates by the starting marshal pressing a button, when the referee puts the riders under starters orders. The system then randomly releases the gates between 2 and 5 seconds later. This has been introduced to ensure a completely fair and random selection of starting in accordance with the sport’s regulations and to prevent starting marshals from being occasionally subjected to unfounded abuse by visiting teams and riders at Gin Pit.