MATCH REPORT: East London give good account but can’t stop Whirlwinds

Ipswich Whirlwinds were in action yesterday afternoon, as they entertained East London in a South East Division One clash at Whitton. The home team knew they couldn’t afford any more slip ups, with Hethersett still unbeaten and the Ipswich Eagles with just one defeat so far this campaign, with the Whirlwinds having already suffered two defeats this season.

An early call off in the morning from Lewis Roberts meant that the home side only had five riders available, so with hasty phones calls the Whirlwinds line up was complete with Josh Brooke stepping in at the last moment. East London themselves turned up a rider down, while for Ipswich saw a first match for Mark Debman, who went on to post a respectable eleven plus one points .

Brooke and Harvey were the big hitters for the home team, while Gunkel and Austen did their best to keep the visitors scoreboard ticking over and keeping the away side in the match in a tight first half, which even saw the Londioners score a 7-3 in heat six, to pull within two points and went into the break only four points down.

The second half slowly saw the home side create some daylight between the two sides, mainly with Harvey and Jacobs partnership doing the damage. Debman and Brooke were supporting with shared heats before finally putting the match to bed, when they secured a 7-2 over Gunkel to move eleven points up East London did enjoy some success in the second half, with two heat advantages in heats fifteen, a 7-3, and finishing off the match in the final heat with a 6-4.

The racing was good and raced in a friendly spirit, with some good banter coming from both sides of the pits, with the London lads often commenting on the age of their squad with just one rider being older than the pair of home riders he was about to race. The Whirlwinds face a difficult trip next away to current leaders Hethersett, in a match that will go a long way to determine where this season title is likely to end up. The Whirlwinds will be hoping that a full set of riders are available for the clash of the South East titans.

Ipswich Whirlwinds 92
Josh Brooke 22+1, Ben Harvey 20, Lauren Jacobs 15+1, Phil Clarke 12+1, Oscar Webb 11+2, Mark Debman 11+1

East London 81
Nicky Gunkel 20, Les Stevens 19+2, Richard Austen 18+1, Kevin Smith 13, Dave Hughes 11

Referee – Jamie Goldsmith