The highs and lows of speedway were captured at The Andrew Younie Smallbrook Stadium tonight. Just seven days ago the ‘Wightlink’ Warriors were celebrating a league win over highly rated Belle Vue. Tonight it just did not happen for the home side that were beaten 43-47 by a slightly better balanced Plymouth Devils outfit.
The crucial difference was clear from the scorecard where experienced visiting reserve Richard Andrews delivered an influential night’s racing to tilt the scales in his side’s favour after the Warriors had a four point lead mid-match. For the Warriors, Ben Morley was again top scorer and he got good support from Scott Campos. Skipper Ben Hopwood and Jamie Sealey also made some telling passes but with the Devils cannily using Andrews to good advantage and top man Adam Roynon in great form, Warriors came up short and will need to reflect on a couple of slight mistakes that may well have made the difference between this loss and a narrow win.
After the meeting Warriors Team Manager Jackie Vatcher said, “That was not the result we forecast. One or two of our riders did not deliver at the level we expect and need. That said I was pleased to see Jamie (Sealey) and Danno (Verge) really getting stuck in - we will need full commitment from everyone as we head off to Eastbourne on Saturday for the KO Cup clash.”
Scorers:
Warriors - Ben Morley 13, Danno Verge 5+1, Scott Campos 9+1, Chris Widman 4, Ben Hopwood 8+1, Jamie Sealey 3+1, Adam Portwood 1.
Devils - Adam Roynon 14, Ryan Terry-Daley 3, Henry Atkins 5, Bradley Andrews 6+3, James Cockle 8+1, Richard Andrews 10+1, Macauley Leek 1.
Report by ROB DYER.
Images by SPORTOGRAPHY
All the footage from the Isle of Wight 'Warriors' vs Plymouth 'Devils' National Trophy meeting is available to purchase on DVD from T2TV Media for £10 inc p&p. CLICK HERE