Bridger's Plea for Praise

Lewis Bridger made a public appeal to the celebrating Poole fans for them to appreciate the efforts he made when scurrying off the track after falling in the penultimate heat of a nerve-tingling tense evening. Bridger, who was part of the Coventry side that piled agony on the Dorset club in the Elite league play-offs a fortnight ago, was guesting for his parent side Eastbourne in the KO Cup final and realised on parade that he is not the 'most popular ride' amongst the Poole supporters.
With the cup final still delicately poised Bridger hit the air fence near the pit entrance in heat 14 as the Pirate pairing of Leon Madsen and Darcy Ward were on a heat advantage. The Hastings born 20 year old quickly scurried towards the centre green and was safely ensconced on the in-field when the red lights came on.
Bridger said "I would like to feel I have some appreciation from the Poole fans for what I did in that heat. I could have done as other rides have in the past and deliberately stayed down but that's not how I play things and I would like to think the Poole fans recognise that".
Poole bos Matt Ford said afterwards "Indeed you have to pay Lewis credit for his actions, we have seen other riders fall, look up and check the positions of the other riders and then make a decision, but Lewis was clearly intent on clearing the track as quickly as possible and I am sure that if the referee had not of stopped the heat then the Poole fans would have given Lewis an arousing round of applause, but as it happened his efforts were in vain. I guess our fans frustrations were more with the referee than with Lewis."
The three man re-run saw Eagles skipper Cameron Woodward storm to a tapes to flag victory that took the cup tie into a last heat decider with just one point between the two trophy-hunting sides, Chris Holder and Bjarne Pedersen settling matters with a 5-1 over the pairing of Matej Zagar and Joonas Kylmakorpi, the same two riders that had elevated the Eagles back into real contention with a heat 13 maximum heat advantage.

Cup Claimed in Last Heat of Season

Poole's rollercoaster month of October went right to the final race of the season before they could secure the rights to the title of Knockout Cup champions. A dramatic, nail-biting, edge of the seat second final produced top class speedway racing with both South Coast sides desperate to lift the silverware, leaving Poole team manager Neil Middleditch admitting "It was a great meeting to watch wasn't it, but the fans really helped us. The boys wanted it a lot and they had that little bit extra with the support from the fans. I am so pleased for the boys and the fans that we finally got some silverware in what has been an absolutely great year to be involved with the club"
After Middleditch's boys  had written off their first leg deficit within the first four heats of the second leg the partisan Poole crowd were hoping to roar their heroes home for the consolation success to the league agony witnessed a fortnight previous, but Eastbourne skilfully deployed the use of the tacticals that kept the aggregate scores in close order. Their first use of the black and white helmet came in heat 8 when Joonas Kylmakorpi was nominated. For much of the race he tracked his guest partner Lewis Bridger and with the chequered flag beckoning it looked as though maybe the tactics had been misread. But Bridger eased off the power just enough to allow Kylmakorpi to draw alongside and cross the line by the narrowest of margins ahead. That resulted in a maximum 8-1 that restored the advantage to the Eagles and the Pirates had to dig deep again .
Danish duo Leon Madsen and Bjarne Pedersen responded in the best possible, ironically against the Bridger Kylmakorpi pairing, with a 5-1 from heat 9 and Australian combo of Chris Holder and Darcy Ward proved that anything the Danes can do they can achieve to. That swung the tie back in Poole's favour by one point on aggregate and an absolute sensational ride from Leon Madsen to win heat 11 from Matej Zagar extended the Pirates lead both on the night and in the tie.
Trailing by 13 points on the evening's score the Eagles were able to utilise the tactical rule again and Lewis Bridger was chosen in heat 12. The fervent Poole crowd were on their feet as Pedersen and Doyle kept the youngster at bay for the early stages but in trying to control the heat the Pirates knocked the speed off a fraction too much allowing Bridger to dive through the inside. Pedersen superbly fought back to restrict the visitors to just a shared heat but then Kylmakorpi and Zagar turned the pressure valves up as they banked a 5-1 over Holder and Watt, only the second time this season the Pirates have conceded a 5-1 in heat 13.
With just a point separating the sides once again Poole looked set to try and seal the tie as Ward and Madsen were setting up a 4-2 but Bridger misjudged the pit turn and fell. To his credit the Eagles guest scurried clear of the track but referee Paul Carrington stopped the race and awarded a re-run. Sole Eagle Cameron Woodward took advantage of the 'get out of jail' card and made a flying start to outpace the Pirates and set up the heart-stopping finale.
Holder and Pedersen were invited to step up to the mark and they both produced splendid first turns to wrestle by that Kylmakorpi Zagar danger pairing to claim something from Poole's billiant season. Speaking afterwards Holder claimed "we put a lot of effort in to miss out in the league and we wanted this so much there was lot of pressure on but me and Bjarne stuck it out and we did it. We wanted to put on a good meeting tonight and I think that sure happened"
Poole 54 B.Pedersen 12+2(2,3,2',3,2'); C.Holder 11+0(3,1,3,1,3); L.Madsen 11+0(3,0,0,3,3); D.Ward 9+3(2',3,1,2',1'); D.Watt 7+0(3,3,1,0,);J.Doyle 4+1(1,2',0,0,1)
Eastbourne 41 J.Kylmakorpi 14; L.Bridger 9+1; C.Woodward 7; M.Zagar 6+1; S.Gustafsson 5+2; R.Kling 0
Poole win 95-90 on aggregate
A selection Jay Eastwood's photographs of the celebration is available here

Artur Ruled Out of Cup Final

As the Castle Cover Pirates prepare for their final showdown of the season on Wednesday night, when they look to make up an 8 point deficit to secure the Knockout Cup trophy against South Coast rivals Eastbourne their young Pole Artur Mroczka has returned to Poland suffering the ill-effects of a track crash from Sunday's first leg.
Mroczka who crashed during heat 7 has taken further medical advice after continuing to feel dazed and groggy.
Poole boss Matt Ford said, "Artur's fall was a big crash and although he was able to take his final compulsory ride in the meeting he was not 100% but we all believed that after a day or so rest he would be suitably recovered and refreshed to be able to ride on Wednesday. But he continued to feel 'not quite right' so we had him checked over and the medics have advised that as he was continuing to appear 'vague' and likely to be suffering the ill effects of the knock to the head that he doesn't risk the safety of himself or other riders. Riders aren't allowed to turn out if they have suffered concussion and so we will have to invoke the rider replacement option. It is a blow to us and to Artur as he was keen to sign off the season with a big performance. As I said before we learnt of this news I was hoping for a good display from him just as he has done on the previous occasions when Eastbourne have been in town. But he has now returned home for rest and further medical checks and we extend our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery."
This latest turnabout means that their will be no Polish representation for the second leg as both sides operate the rider replacement facility with Tomasz Jedrzejak out with a groin injury for the Eagles, who also have Lewis Bridger as a guest for injured Lukas Dryml.
Wednesday's Teams
Poole (from) - C.Holder, B.Pedersen, D.watt, D.Ward, L.Madsen, J.Doyle (R/R for A.Mroczka)
Eastbourne (from) - M.Zagar, J.Kylmakorpi, C.Woodward, S.Gustafsson, L.Bridger, R.Kling, (R/R for T.Jedrjezak)

Pieces of Eight for Pirates

South Coast Cup Clash

For the second time in three seasons the Castle Cover Pirates face a South Coast Cup Final as they are pitched against Sussex rivals Eastbourne Eagles in the last quest for a team trophy in 2010.
The brilliant Pirates, still in a degree of shock after having seen the league championship slip from their grasps in the play-off final against Coventry, will be in ultra-determined mood to revenge the Eagles for the 2008 cup final defeat.
The first leg takes place at Eastbourne on Sunday (24th) afternoon with a 5pm start with the return next Wednesday (27th) at Wimborne Road. One of the triumphant Coventry side will be on duty for the Eagles on Sunday as Lewis Bridger steps in to cover former Pirate Lukas Dryml's absence through injury. Whilst the Pirates are at full strength, their Sussex opponents will operate rider replacement for their Polish rider Tomasz Jedrzejak.
The Eagles are clinging to lightning striking twice as they look back at the 2008 cup competition which also saw them take care of Lakeside and Wolverhampton on the way to the final thay year and then denied the Pirates the silverware through a 22 point first leg home win and then an away draw in Dorset.
That is an ingredient that Matt Ford believes add something 'tasty' to this cup final claiming "Eastbourne have hit some form and it is going to be a tough tie for us that is sure. Just look at their recent performances, they went to Wolverhampton and ruined the Wolves' proud 2 year unbeaten home record. We came close to doing that in the play-offs of course, but they are the side that can claim they actually achieved it. We do have a score to settle with them after 2008 and we know the importance of making the second leg not too daunting in terms of playing 'catch-up'. It is imperative that we go to Arlington and battle for every point that is going and we will be going into Sunday's meeting with the view that we can return to Wimborne Road with an advantage of our own to kick off Wednesday night's second leg. My hope is that the fans of both sides come out in force for both sides. We have not been able to court enough interest to operate a coach on Sunday but I am hearing that many Poole fans are making the trip under their own steam."

Poole Boys Miss Out on ELRC Honours

Pirates Ease to Local Derby Cup Final

Lightning Leon Leads Pirates

After their heartbreaking league title loss the Poole Castle Cover Pirates responded in the most perfect of manners with a 7 point win at Peterborough in the first leg of the semi final stages of the Sky Sports Elite league knockout cup competition.
The history books will record that the Pirates effectively lost their way in the opening heats of the first leg of the league play off but they ensured they didnt fall into that trap this time around.
Storming to an early 8 point advantage with Leon Madsen in blistering form for the Pirates, it took a heat 8 5-1 from the home side after Darcy Ward had been forced too wide and left no option other than to drop his machine, a move resulting in his disqualification. Poole's other shining reserve Jason Doyle fought hard in the re-run but couldn't prevent the Polish combination of Krzysztof Buczkowski and Norbert Kosciuch from trimming that margin to just two points.
The Pirates though were determined to keep themselves in the driving seat of this tie and after Madsen and skipper Davey Watt had kept Rory Schlein at bay in a shared heat 9 behind Panthers skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen's opening points of the night, the Pirates gained a further two points when Madsen stormed to a heat 10 win and his compatriot Bjarne Pedersen rode a brilliant race to foil every move that the previously unbeaten Kenneth Bjerre attempted to make.
There were happy faces in the Poole camp during the interval as the belief in themselves came flooding back and that showed when racing resumed with the Pirates hammering in three consecutive 5-1 advantages to sew up the victory on the night. Chris Holder and Darcy Ward frustrated fellow Australian Troy Batchelor in heat 11 and the Poole reserves, Madsen and Doyle put plenty of distance between themselves and Rory Schlein in heat 12. A tactical ride for Kenneth Bjerre proved worthles, the hunger in the bellies of Holder and Watt far too great for the world number seven in heat 13.
The Panthers did gain some success when Iversen bore the black and white in heat 14, gaining a 7-2 over Pedersen and the fallen Jason Doyle, Iversen then going on to play his part in a closing 5-1 with Bjerre to close the meeting out with the Pirates holding a 7 point lead going into the second leg on Wednesday.
After the meeting Matt Ford was quick to praise his riders, especially Madsen - "The whole team were so down after what happened last Monday and for them to come out and produce a performance like this is testimony to their professionalism and the ability. We are not home and dry yet in this tie but we are in a strong position and with more performances
like Leon delivered tonight then we will continue to be a stern test for any side. He was just superb, stepping up to the plate and riding probably the best he has all season. When you look at performances such as these then you realise just how priviliged we are at Poole with this side. They all did their job tonight, they were hungry to show everyone that despite the immense disappointment of not being league champions they are still arguably the best in the Elite. Lets hope we get another good backing on Wednesday and show these lads just how highly we regard them"
Scorers
Peterborough 43 - N.Iversen 11+1, K.Bjerre 10, K.Buczkowski 6, T.Batchelor 6, R.Schlein 5, N.Kosciuch 4+2, D.North 1
Poole 50 - L.Madsen 14+2 (2',2',2,2,3,3); J.Doyle 9+1 (3,3,1,2',F); B.Pedersen 8+1 (3,1',1,2,1); C.Holder 8 (0,2,3,3,0); D.Ward 7+2 (2,1',2,FD,2'); D.Watt 4+3 (0.1',0,1',2')
Should the Pirates be successful in defending their 7 point advantage then they will meet Sussex neighbours Eastbourne in the final after the Eagles claimed a home and away double over Wolverhampton in the other semi final

Artur Misses Cup Trip

Poole Castle Cover Pirates will make the trek to the East of England Showground today for their KO Cup semi-final first leg meeting having to utilise the rider replacement facility after Polish star Artur Mroczka was taken ill.
Poole boss Matt Ford said, "Artur has been ruled out because of sickness and that leaves us short-handed tonight for this important cup fixture. We will operate rider replacement to cover which will put extra pressure on our reserves Leon and Jason as they and Darcy are the only riders eligible to take a ride., that makes it harder all round but I am sure the lads will be digging deep to get a result"
Should the Pirates see off Peterborough on aggregate after Wednesday night's second leg then they could well meet Sussex rivals Eastbourne in the final, a re-run of 2008. The Eagles gained a massive lead from their first leg on Sunday beating Wolverhampton 63-29 and so take a 34 point advantage into their second leg which is being held at Monmore Green tonight

Cup Concentration

Still suffering from the pain of having lost out on the coveted Sky Sports Elite league title, the Poole Castle Cover Pirates now have to pick themselves up and focus on a tough-looking semi-final tie in the KO Cup competition.
The Pirates travel to Peterborough on Monday (11th October) in the first leg of the semi-final stages of the knockout competition, a trip that has been rapidly re-arranged after last Thursday's postponement. Club owner Matt Ford said "The lads are still reeling after losing out to Coventry last Monday. Failing to win the league silverware hit them hard as they had done little wrong all year and they are determined to sign off their season with something in the trophy cabinet. Our record at the Showground this year has been relatively good and we will be going there looking for a result. I am sure though that Peterborough will be hoping to catch us on a down and this promises to be another tough week for us."
The Pirates will host the second leg at Wimborne Road on Wednesday with the prize for the aggregate winners being a cup final against the winners of either Wolverhampton or Eastbourne, the identity of which should be known by the time the Pirates ride their second leg.
Teams from
Peterborough - K.Bjerre, N.Iversen, T.Batchelor, R.Schlein, K.Buczkowski, N.Kosciuch, plus tbc
Poole - C.Holder, B.Pedersen, D.Watt, D.Ward, A.Mroczka, L.Madsen, J.Doyle

Holder Scrapes GP Top Eight

Despite a disappointing final round of the 2010 Grand Prix series in Bydgoszcz, Poland Chris Holder was able to secure an automatic place in the 2011 series but he had to endure watching a nail-biting semi-final before he could be assured that he could confront a second GP season.
Holder managed just six points from his heats which moved him on to 96 championship points but breathing down his neck was former World Champion Nicki Pedersen who had made the semi-final stages with a 12 point haul. Having started the meeting 12 points behind Holder, Pedersen had a possible 9 points still available to him by making the cut.
But a third place in the semi-final, won by wild card Janusz Kolodziej from the eventual night's winner Andreas Jonsson, left Pedersen outside the top 8 and Holder securing that final automatic place. Of the eight qualifiers Holder was the only rider to fall below the 100 point barrier, finishing 10 points shy of Kenneth Bjerre. Critically, Jonsson's second place in that semi-final after leading it for a lap before Kolodziej completed his last to first power drive, was to cost him the chance of a matching Holder's 96 points, as the Swede finished on 95 and will now have to hope that this final round victory will be enough to merit him a wild-card nomination.
Final Standings: 1. T.Gollob (166); 2. J.Hampel (137); 3. J.Crump (135); 4.R.Holta (109); 5.G.Hancock (107); 6. C.Harris (106); 7.K.Bjerre (106); 8. C.Holder (96);
9. A.Jonsson (95); 10. N.Pedersen (91); 11. F.Lindgren (87); 12.H.Andersen (86); 13. M.Zetterstrom (75); 14.T.Woffinden (49); 15. E.Sajfutdinov (15)

Pirates Finally Bee-ten

Ryder Cup Spirit to Spur on the Riders

Pirates Hope to Have the Winning Combination

The side that has dominated the Sky Sports Elite league championship race all season reach the final hurdle tomorrow (Monday October 4th) facing a 12 point deficit to the team, Coventry, that finished a staggering 26 points behind them after the regulatory 32 league matches.

Poole have led the championship race with an awesome one to seven that brushed their way past second placed Wolverhampton in the semi final stages of the play-offs, having surprised the majority of the speedway world in selecting Wolverhampton as their opponents in the first place. But on Monday night they will have to overcome a 12 point margin, inflicted essentially in the first five heats of the first leg, if the Castle Cover Pirates are to scoop the silverware that most big voices in the sport believe is rightfully theirs.

The Pirates are no strangers to the play-off scenarios and in loyal club servant Bjarne Pedersen they have one of the best performers at this level. Pedersen is unbeaten by an opponent and has reeled off TEN successive wins in play-off final meetings at Wimborne Road and scored double figures in his last EIGHT semi-final and final play-off meetings for the Pirates. He has also won, or been paid for a win (ie finished second to a teammate) in 32 of his last 42 rides for the Pirates, a success rate of 76%.

And it will be to the level and cool-headed former club skipper that the Pirates will be looking as they set about a Coventry side, reduced in numbers following the broken ankle injury sustained by Edward Kennett last Thursday.

Alongside the unflappable Bjarne Pedersen the Pirates will also be hoping that their present skipper Davey Watt will continue to shine as the club's talisman.

Each season that Watt has ridden for the Pirates they have gone on to win the silverware something that is not lost on Watt himself "Its nice to be thought of as the club's lucky mascot, Poole is a great club to ride for and when a rider is in those surroundings it can only help to develop a winning formula, but we have a big task on our hands against Coventry. Not an impossible one, but certainly a difficult one. They will know that they just have to keep restricting us to shared heats or countering any heat advantages we can muster. They don't have to win the meeting, we do and that means we need to be at our upmost best. We have been delivering the scores for most of the season, one more big push on Monday and we could have something to show for our efforts. That's the plan,"

Poole will be welcoming home the newly crowned World U21 champion, Darcy Ward, who successfully retained his title after a dramatic run-off to split a three way tie at the end of the three round series. Ward remained in Pardubice on Sunday where he was joined by Chris Holder and Davey Watt as competitors for the prestigious Golden Helmet. Those Aussie Pirates failed to qualify for the semi-final groups however despite gallant efforts from all three.

The Grand Final meeting gets underway at 7.30pm on Monday October 4th with the turnstiles opening at 6pm.
3-oct-10

Darcy Wards off Title Poachers

Darcy Ward sensationally defended his world U21 title with an awesome performance in the third and final round in Pardubice, Czech Republic on Saturday afternoon.
His first major meeting of a season-making weekend Ward celebrated his run-off victory but immediately turned his thoughts to Monday "I am stoked and over the moon to have retained the title it means a lot to me personally but now its all about that league title. I had a call from Matt (Ford) congratulating me which was real cool, I am now looking forward to see what present he has got me!."
Reflecting on the meeting itself Ward said "everything went well for me, gate 4 was where it nearly cost me but Chris (Holder) knew all about that here. Its where I dropped points to Bogdanovs and was glad I avoided it in the run-off. I knew once I had I just needed to make the start and go. What a great feeling!"
Ward went into the meeting needing to make up four championship points on leader Maxim Bogdanovs and with the Latvian running two third places in his final rides Ward, two wins and two seconds to his name was left needing to win heat 20 to level the championship with Bogdanovs and the in-form Pole Maciej Janowski, the sole two riders had beaten him, Janowski being top scorer on the day.
02-Oct-2010

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Bees Lose Kennett

Former Poole Pirate Edward Kennett has cruelly been ruled out of the concluding leg of the Sky Sports Elite League championship final on Monday after sustaining a fractured ankle.
Dorset based Kennett suffered the injury whilst riding for the Coventry Bees on Thursday night in their KO cup quarter final tie against Wolverhampton. A track incident involving his team-mate Ben Barker saw Kennett hit the deck on the third corner at Coventry and will now end the season in plaster.
His absence on Monday night (October 4th, 7.30pm) will mean that his programmed rides can be covered the other Bees riders with the sole exception of Krzysztof Kasprzak, including that of Wimborne Road big hitter Chris Harris.
Poole boss Matt Ford said "That is genuinely cruel luck indeed for Eddie as he is a reliable scorer for them but I don't think that they will necessary be weakened as they have excellent back-up for him under the rider replacement facility. I am still of the opinion that Coventry now go into the final countdown as the favourites for the title and we are going to have to put in a huge performance. Once again I think our chances could be boosted through the vocal backing of our supporters who genuinely have a big part to play and I would like to think that they will turn out in force to cheer us home. "
The stadium restaurant will be open on Monday night for meeting-side diners. To guarantee a table then bookings are being taken for restaurant only on 01202 677449.
2nd-October-2010

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Watt Rides in Russia - Pirate Trio due in Golden Helmet

Poole skipper Davey Watt scored 8 points and a semi-final third place on Friday when riding in the Anatoly Stepanov Memorial meeting in Togliatti. The event, in memory of fomer President of the Mega-Lada club who was assasinated two years ago, was won by ex-Pirate Ryan Sullivan, the final featuring three riders with Poole experience - Scott Nicholls (3rd), Magnus Zetterstrom (4th) with the silver medal being scooped by GP rider Rune Holta.
Along with Chris Holder and Dary Ward, Watt has also been listed in the 62nd Golden Helmet event in Pardubice, Czech Republic, on Sunday an event that headline bills a busy weekend at the venue which on Friday staged the Junior Ribbon event, won by World U21 championship leader Maxims Bogdanov and on Saturday hosts the final round of the World U21 championship that sees Darcy Ward needing to make up four point deficit if he is to successfully defend this title.
World U21 and Golden Helmet details can be followed on the Poole Speedway Twitter page - details
2-oct-10

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