Gladiators Dominant On Home Shale
Despite a spirited performance from the Warriors, the home side Gladiators put their track knowledge to good use as they powered to an almost faultless performance in round 2 of the Silver Ski Holidays Fours at Plymouth last night.
Led by David Wallinger and Richard Andrews who both completed the meeting unbeaten, and with Ben Wilson showing no signs of wear after his crash the night before on the Island, they managed to stay in scoring positions throughout and finished the evening dropping only 4 points in total.
The Warriors put up a great effort, again with all riders staying within scoring positions throughout avoiding last places. Ben Morley once again led by example with two wins and two second places, whilst young 15 year old guest Jordan Palin, Danno Verge and Connor King battled hard constantly.
It was a different story for both the Kings and Stars, as track conditions seemed to concern a number of their riders following incidents in heats 3 and 4. Heat 3 saw Luke Bowen lose control giving following rider Dan Gilkes little time to react, with the collision resulting in both riders withdrawing from the meeting, the former with a suspected wrist injury. After a short delay whilst meeting referee Wayne Jarvis conversed with riders and management of all four teams, it was decided to continue the meeting after extensive track work. A further withdrawal from Jack Thomas before he had even arrived at the tapes for his first ride saw many of the remaining heats raced with only 3 riders, spoiling what was hoped would be a closely fought battle between the teams as seen the night before on the Island.
Kevin Shepherd, Warriors Team Manager on the night said, "The guys really did put up a great performance, showing maturity beyond their years in difficult conditions. They were determined not only to complete the meeting, but give it their all on track. The Warrior fans can be very proud of our boys tonight, as I am."
RESULTS & SCORES:
Plymouth ‘Gladiators’ 44 – David Wallinger 12 max, Richard Andrews 12 max, Ben Wilson 11, Adam Extance 9.
Isle of Wight ‘Wightlink Warriors’ 27 – Ben Morley 10, Jordan Palin 6, Connor King 6, Danno Verge 5.
Kent ‘Kings’ 14 – Anders Rowe 6, Jordan Jenkins 6, Dan Gilkes 2, Jack Thomas 0.
Breem Contruction ‘Stars’ 9 – Danyon Hume 4, Ryan Terry-Daley 3, Kris Andrews 2, Luke Bowen 0.
The Warriors attention now shifts to Tuesday evening's National League meeting, where the team travel North to Leicester to take on the Lion Cubs.