Drury: We had no option.

Mildenhall Superior Exteriors Fen Tigers took a firm grip on progression to the next round of the KO Cup after beating Oxford by 16 points at West Row last Sunday. Fighting the odds has become something of the norm for the Fen Tigers and, once again, they had their backs to the wall even before a wheel had been turned.

The influential James Brundle was still feeling the effects of a wrist injury picked up the previous week and opted not to ride after leaving the decision as late as possible - and then replacement Lee Howard telephoned mid afternoon on race day to say his van had broken down.

"We had no option in the end to run with what we had which left us tracking just one rider in three races" explained general manager Graham Drury. "James was really knocked about and feels bad about what he sees as letting the side down. But no one else sees it that way and I'd rather he missed one meeting and get himself right than go in too early and do something daft because he's not fit."

"It's a shame about Lee Howard because it would have been a good chance for the lad. But he had transport problems and there was nothing he could do".

Oxford used rider replacement for Joe Cook and were well served by Chris Mills and Ricky Scarboro whilst the home side were quite compact. Matthew Wright was in double figures to mark his improvement in the sport, Ben Howe looked very stylish on his way to paid 14 from five rides and Scott James banged in a dozen from his five outings.

"I seem to have got some rhythm going in the CL but I'm not matching that when I get outings at a higher level" said the quietly spoken Australian. "It's good to be part of a professional outfit like Mildenhall and this is where I get my confidence. But I want to try more PL outings and I had hoped to be doing a bit better when I have been riding for Coventry in the BLC competition. Those are the sort of meetings that could get me noticed but it's just not happening for me".

Mildenhall hit Oxford hard early on and were 10 points up after just four races. But it was heat 10 before they increased the margin and they had Howe and Wright to thank for a heat 14 5-1 that gave them some breathing space for the return as Chris Mills got his fourth win of the night in the final race.

"I would have expected a bigger score had James been riding; but we've got 16 points to play with and it's up to us to finish the job off" said Drury who also paid tribute to the track staff after Howe recorded the fastest time of the season in heat 5. "I'm not sure yet when the return will be. We've asked several times but are still none the wiser".

A collection for the injured Ashley Johnson raised ?239.85. It's back to league action for Mildenhall this Sunday when they host Swindon who include former Fen Tiger Thomas Allen in their line up.