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TAI Woffinden romped to his first maximum of the season as Wolverhampton edged out Elite League title hopefuls Eastbourne 49-41 in another Monmore thriller on Monday.Woffinden scored 15 and Swedish Grand Prix star Freddie Lindgren was paid for the lot with 14+1 from his five rides.Boss Peter Adams said: “The best time to go eight points up I guess is when they can’t come back at you, so Heat 15 was perfect!“I’m very pleased and the priority now is to ensure we keep a proud record at home which has seen us lose only one league meeting in three years. We have to beat Birmingham and Belle Vue in the next two weeks to ensure that happens.”
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PETERBOROUGH and Coventry shared the points from their home and away clashes on Bank Holiday Monday as both picked up three Elite League points on their own circuits.Both are looking for away wins to boost their play-off chances but the Panthers prevailed 54-40 at the Showground with the Bees winning the return 49-41 at Brandon.Panthers boss Trevor Swales was unhappy with the Heat 13 disqualification of Nicki Pedersen in the away fixture, but admitted it had been an opportunity missed against a patched-up Coventry side.Swales said: “I must admit I’m at a loss now what to do because we’ve certainly given away four points tonight. It’s so frustrating that we are so close yet so far.”
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RYE House skipper Chris Neath scored a 15-point maximum as the Rockets pulled off a remarkable recovery to defeat Newcastle at Hoddesdon.The Diamonds surged into a 25-17 lead after seven heats, but the home side achieved an incredible 21-point swing in the second half of the meeting to win 51-38 in a meeting which contained several incidents.Neath said: “At one point we were looking, if not dead and buried, then on the brink. Fortunately, we knuckled down and really got going in the end.“My bikes had seven rides and seven wins today! To be honest, it was my spare bike that Steve (Boxall) and Nelson used, which shows that all my bikes are going well this year.”Elsewhere in Monday’s Premier League action, Scunthorpe defeated Edinburgh 50-41 and Workington edged out Berwick 47-46.
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RECENT Scunthorpe Saints signing John Oliver looks to be out for the rest of the season after suffering leg and back injuries in a crash on Monday.Oliver was collected by a stray bike on the fourth turn after a collision between Lewis Blackbird and Jason Garrity in the National League clash between the Saints and Mildenhall.The 24-year-old, recently released by Premier League Leicester, had been unbeaten to that point in the Saints’ 51-39 win over their fellow play-off hopefuls.Top-scorer Lee Smethills (14) said: “I have been underperforming, I admit that, but four race wins today will certainly help, just a shame I messed up in Heat 15. I’ll now build on today ready for the play-offs.”
(FIXTURES)
TUESDAY AUGUST 30:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Buxton 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Peterborough 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Newport v Redcar 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Hackney 8pm DAVEY WATT TESTIMONIAL: Poole 7.30
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v King’s Lynn 7.30, Swindon v Coventry 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Newport 7.30, Sheffield v Ipswich 7.45 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Dudley 7.30 PHIL MORRIS FAREWELL: Birmingham 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Eastbourne 8pm, Lakeside v Birmingham 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.30, Somerset v Leicester 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Belle Vue 7.30, Stoke v Buxton 7.30
