Gladiators 41 Pirates 49

PLYMOUTH ATKINS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT GLADIATORS 41

POOLE PIRATES 49

The Atkins Financial Management Gladiators take an eight point deficit into next month’s 2^nd leg of this Knock Out Cup encounter with local rivals, Poole.

Once again, it was the home side who went behind early on in the match, providing only two heat winners in the first ten races.

The tie looked done and dusted for the Pirates in Heat 10 when Gladiators’ guest, Richard Lawson fell and was excluded from the re-run leaving Poole to secure a 5-1 and open up a 16 point lead.

But, as in the first two home matches of the season, the Gladiators staged a comeback with Bjarne Pedersen heading home the previously unbeaten Rory Schlein in Heat 11. The race looked to be heading for a 5-1 for Plymouth with Bowtell impressively following his skipper but Schlein pulled a hard move on the Gladiators’ reserve coming out of the final bend which incurred the wrath of the home supporters.

Lawson and Pedersen then gained 5-1s in both Heat 13 and 15 to reduce the deficit and keep the tie alive for the second leg at Wimborne Road, scheduled for 21^st July.

Encouragingly for the Gladiators, both Zach Cook and Dillon Ruml notched up their highest scores for the season so far.

Scorers:

PLYMOUTH – 41: B.Pedersen 12+1 (2,2,3,2′,3), R.Lawson 10+1 (2,3,FD,3,2′), Z.Cook 7+1 (1,2,1′,3), A.Bowtell 5 (3,FD,1,1,0,0), D.Ruml 5+1 (0,1′,2,2), L.Ruddick 1+1 (0,1′,0), S.Goret 1 (0,0,1)

POOLE – 49: S.Worrall 12 (3,3,3,2,1), R.Schlein 9 (3,3,2,1,0), S.Nielsen 8+2 (2′,1,2′,3), D.King 7+1 (3,1′,3,0), B.Cook 5+1 (2,2,0,1′), D.Hume 4+2 (1′,0,2′,1), Z.Keleher 4 (1,0,3,0)

Image credit: Blumonkey Media.