It was another tight tussle at Plymouth’s Coliseum stadium as the Warriors pushed their hosts all the way in this very entertaining league encounter that eventually saw the home side emerge victorious by just two points.
Although still a little dusty, the newly re-laid track served up some good action as the Gladiators looked to cover the injury absence of Nathan Stoneman. This allowed home riders Ben Wilson, Richard Andrews and in-form Adam Extance extra rides and it was the home side that got off to the perfect start when heat one leader Georgie Wood suffered mechanical issues gifting Extance and Wilson a maximum 5-1 start.
Warriors battled back and their persistence kept them in close touch with Plymouth until another Wilson/Extance 5-1 in heat 10 opened the gap to eight points allowing the visitors to introduce Ben Morley as a tactical substitute to join Georgie Wood. The move paid off with a Warrior 5-1 bringing the point’s difference back to just four, however the Gladiators managed to get the first man home in the next three heats and Adam Sheppard’s gift point in heat fourteen sealed a home team victory with a race to spare. Heat fifteen went the way of Morley and Wood with another maximum and a valuable league point has been secured.
Warrior’s team manager on the night Kevin Shepherd was full of praise for his charges as he said, “That’s two nail biters we’ve had here and both times I have been really proud of the way the boys have ridden. OK, one or two things didn’t quite go our way tonight but that’s speedway and I think we have put on a good show for the Plymouth crowd tonight. We can take heart from this as we prepare to welcome Kent Kings to Smallbrook next Thursday”.