MATCH REPORT: Coventry clinical as they end losing run
Coventry Cycle Speedway got back to winning ways in the British Cycling CS Elite League Series yesterday, with a comprehensive 111-86 home victory over Poole, in what was a fine advert for Cycle Speedway.
The visitors were weakened by the unavailability of captain Greg Gluchowski, while regular Dean Hook also had commitments elsewhere.
Coventry were able to track a full strength side, albeit without overseas big guns Michal Sassek and Bobby McMillan, they welcomed back Andy Angell, who missed the trip to Ipswich in round 6.
With a healthy crowd in attendance, heat one set the precedent for a lively encounter, with Dawid Bas being disqualified following a physical coming together with Coventry skipper Myke Grimes, which saw both riders down on lap 3, the Poole rider receiving marching orders for taking 9 running steps to remount his bike.
Coventry’s galvanised team went on to produce six heat advantages in the first half, four of which were from outside grids to pull away from the visitors.
Poole’s heat leaders, Dawid Bas, Matiej Ganczarek and Gavin Wheeler offered some resistance, however running a last in all the first half races reduced their opportunities of causing the home side some damage, and subsequently saw them claim inside grids from heat 9.
Heat 11 produced one of the best races of the day, with Poole’s Steve Harris leading a 6-4 under pressure from Coventry’s Dominik Rycharski, who himself was under pressure from Gavin Wheeler, with Chris Parish on the pace behind.
Heat 11 was highly entertaining for the crowd. Photo by Paul Devine.
Wheeler made his move on lap 3, while Rycharski made his move on Harris at the same time. The result was a punctured front tyre and DNF for Wheeler and Parish coming underneath Harris to open up the second half with an explosive 7-2, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Another heat advantage followed in heat 12, courtesy of the effective Angell/Grimes pairing, their third of the afternoon.
Poole steadied the ship in the following 5 heats, squaring off three of them, while taking their first race advantage in heat 14, Will Bristowe and Gavin Wheeler coming out on top over Coventry’s youngsters, Mason Philliips and Adam Watson.
Poole and Coventry then traded heat advantages for the final four heats, with the scores finishing 111 – 86.
Andy Angell returned his best points haul in a Coventry shirt to date, and his pairing with quick-gating Myke Grimes worked well. Ben Higham once again demonstrated a cool head with another consistent performance.
Andy Angell (right) was back to his best for Coventry. Photo by Paul Devine.
Chris Parish and Jake Read equally enjoyed their best performances, both scoring particularly high in the bonus point count, while Dominik Rycharski looked back on the pace.
Dawid Bas was impressive for Poole and was well supported by Ganczarek and Wheeler, save his DNF. Poole’s home grown youngsters had their moments and battled hard but struggled against Coventry’s team work, the home side running last in only 4 races.
Post-match, Coventry skipper Myke Grimes said: “The team’s focus and desire before the match was up there with how we started the season.
“We had a tough run of matches, but today, the boys really came together and worked for each other again.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads, and with a bit of self-belief and team work we’re capable of doing damage to any team.”
Coventry 111
Andy Angell 15, Myke Grimes 17, Dominik Rycharski 18, Chris Parish 11+4, Jake Read 13+3, Ben Higham 15+3, Mike Baldock 7, Adam Watson 9+1, Mason Phillips 6
Poole 86
Dawid Bas 19, Ben Donohue 7, Matiej Ganczarek 14, Aaron Smith 5, Gavin Wheeler 12+1, Steve Harris 11, Jay Briggs 6+1, Will Bristowe 11, Ben Tinsdale 1