Club CH slip to defeat.
Club Cradley slipped to a narrow defeat at the hands of Arena Essex juniors in their first meeting of the season.
The lead changed hands three times in an incident packed eight-heat match in which the Arena Essex emerged 26-22 victors after a last heat decider.
Club Cradley slipped to a narrow defeat at the hands of Arena Essex juniors in their first meeting of the season.
The lead changed hands three times in an incident packed eight-heat match in which the Arena Essex emerged 26-22 victors after a last heat decider.
Matt Read had kept the Heathens hopes alive after stepping in as a late replacement for Charly Kirtland who blew the engine in her only bike before the start. Read went on to score 11 from four rides, beaten only in the crucial final heat by Paul Knott.
In the first heat, the home side's Mark Thompson was injured in an innocent looking fall while in a 5-1 position behind Chris Mills, which reduced the Hammers to three riders. Club CH took the lead in the next and hung on thanks to successive wins by Read. After conceding a 5-1 in the fourth, David Nix joined Read for a Heathens maximum in heat five, to the rapturous cheers of the travelling fans.
The two-point lead was reversed once more, before a drawn heat set up the final race climax.
The Cradley pair gated in the 5-1 position they required to snatch victory but Nix was eventually passed by both home riders and Read lost out on his maximum with a last corner mistake.
Scorers:
JUNIOR HAMMERS: Paul Knott 11+1, Chris Mills 8+1, Matt Etherington
7+1, Mark Thompson 0.
CLUB CRADLEY HEATH: Matt Read 11, David Nix
5+1, Gordon Meakins 4, David Hartley 2+2.
