Post by Mr X on Apr 10, 2003 17:56:26 GMT
Tuesday 8 April 2003… Trelawny Tigers 48 Wolves 42… League Cup.
Trelawny Tigers
Emiliano Sanchez R 0 3 0 3
Pavel Ondrasik 3 1 3 1 8
Matej Zagar 3 3 3 3 1 13
Steve Masters 2* 1 1 1 5 + 1
Chris Harris 3 3 2 3 3 14
Simon Phillips 2 0 2* Fx 0 4 + 1
Tom Brown 0 1 Tx 0 1
Wolves
Sam Ermolenko 2 2 1 1* 2* 0 8 + 2
Wayne Carter 1* 0 0 1 + 1
Adam Skornicki 0 2 0 1* 3 + 1
Oliver Allen 1 1* 2 3 7 + 1
Peter Karlsson 2 3 2 3 2 2 14
Graham Jones 3 2* 0 2 7 + 1
Rob Finlow 1 0 1 2
On the long trip down to Cornwall, I looked at the fine weather out of the window, and though “Well at least I will see one Wolves away win this season.” The thought that such a strong Wolves line up could actually lose this meeting never really entered my head… but this competition is quickly becoming an embarrassment for us. Aren’t we supposed to be Elite League champions after all?
Heat 1 - Pavel Ondrasik ; Sam Ermolenko ; Wayne Carter ; Emiliano Sanchez(R) ; (3-3)(3-3)
A sign of things to come… a poor start from the Wolves duo, and the home side are set for an easy 5-1 when “Shagger’s” bike fails on the last lap. Apparently, he’s very popular with the Cornish ladies!
Heat 2 - Graham Jones ; Simon Phillips ; Rob Finlow ; Tom Brown ; (2-4)(5-7)
Terrific start from Jonah who wins easily. Rob battles well against the home riders and deserves his point.
Heat 3 - Matej Zagar ; Steve Masters ; Oliver Allen ; Adam Skornicki ; (5-1)(10-8)
Oh dear… here we go again. Terrific ride from Zagar who wins easily. Masters easily holds off Olly, with Adam well adrift at the back.
Heat 4 - Chris Harris ; Peter Karlsson ; Tom Brown ; Rob Finlow ; (4-2)(14-10)
Hard first bend from the home skipper who takes Peter wide, and Harris is very quick once he hits the front.
Heat 5 - Matej Zagar ; Sam Ermolenko ; Steve Masters ; Wayne Carter ; (4-2)(18-12)
The home pair are quickest away again, but Sam finds some grip around the outside and passes Masters. Masters’ bike stops as he crosses the line… Wayne is nowhere.
Heat 6 - Peter Karlsson ; Graham Jones ; Pavel Ondrasik ; Emiliano Sanchez ; (1-5)(19-17)
We make a start at last! Jonah can certainly gate better than most of our “first team”. Easy win for Peter, Jonah isn’t as quick but uses his experience to hold Ondrasik out.
Heat 7 - Chris Harris ; Adam Skornicki ; Oliver Allen ; Simon Phillips ; (3-3)(22-20)
Another impressive win from Cornishman Harris, who looks a fine prospect.
Heat 8 - Pavel Ondrasik ; Simon Phillips ; Rob Finlow ; Wayne Carter ; Tom Brown (Tapes) (5-1)(27-21)
A surprise not to see Jonah in this one… Trelawny open up a 6 point lead, Rob takes the fight to the home pair, but Wayne is again very poor at the back.
Heat 9 - Matej Zagar ; Peter Karlsson ; Steve Masters ; Graham Jones ; (4-2)(31-23)
Masters gates from Peter, Zagar passes them both around the outside on the back straight! This guy looks like a GP superstar… PK holds a tight line and cuts inside Masters on the second lap.
Heat 10 - Emiliano Sanchez ; Oliver Allen ; Pavel Ondrasik ; Adam Skornicki ; (4-2)(35-25)
The match slips out of reach here… Peter and Jonah got a 5-1 over this pairing earlier, but Adam is nowhere again, and Olly only just holds out Ondrasik to prevent the 1-5.
Heat 11 - Peter Karlsson ; Chris Harris ; Sam Ermolenko ; Simon Phillips(Fx) ; (2-4)(37-29)
Peter comes in as tactical sub, and Wolves are on a 5-1 when Phillips falls at the back, making no attempt to leave the track. In the rerun, Peter is away again, but Harris easily beats Sam.
Heat 12 - Matej Zagar ; Graham Jones ; Adam Skornicki ; Tom Brown ; (3-3)(40-32)
A fourth consecutive win for the sensational Zagar, Adam makes hard work of beating Tom Brown at the back.
Heat 13 - Chris Harris ; Peter Karlsson ; Sam Ermolenko ; Emiliano Sanchez ; (3-3)(43-35)
Harris makes a superb start from gate 4 and there is no chance he will be caught. Trelawny have a least a draw.
Heat 14 - Oliver Allen ; Sam Ermolenko ; Steve Masters ; Simon Phillips ; (1-5)(44-40)
Ermolenko in as T/S and he keeps the match alive with some fine team riding with Olly Allen. But we still need another 5-1 for a draw…
Heat 15 - Chris Harris ; Peter Karlsson ; Matej Zagar ; Sam Ermolenko ; (4-2)(48-42)
A Wolves 5-1 is never on the cards. Peter gates but Chris Harris superbly passes him on the inside of lap 2. Sam slides off (as he does) in a vain attempt to pass Zagar for third.
Trelawny fully deserved their victory, which was certainly no fluke. Even the home fans expected an easy Wolves win, but we never looked likely to get it.
Wolves
Sam was a big disappointment, you would expect him to be a big scorer against PL opposition but he looked very ordinary. Kept the match alive with a good ride in Heat 14 but never looked likely to challenge the Trelawny stars.
Wayne was very poor, and was easily beaten by home reserve Simon Phillips in heat 8. Maybe the lack of regular racing showed here, but we expected a lot more.
Adam was simply awful… hard to believe it was the same rider who beat Tony Rickardsson at Monmore the night before. Poor gating and never looked comfortable.
Oliver was also disappointing despite his score. As the only Wolf with experience of the track, he took too long to adapt.
Peter was the best Wolf by a long way, but you’d expect him to go through the card, so two wins from six rides is surprising…
Graham can certainly still gate, showing no signs of missing seven years of racing! He is a superb choice as rider coach of the junior team, but must be in danger of joining a PL team full time on this form.
Rob battled well on an unfamiliar track, and should be happy with his efforts.
For Trelawny, Chris Harris was their best rider and looks a good prospect. The locals reckon it could be his final season with the Tigers before a full time EL career. But the match winner was the mightily impressive Matej Zagar, the young Slovenian rider. He looks a star of the future without a doubt, and is one name to look out for. Hopefully CVS and Peter Adams will be keeping tabs on his progress, as he certainly rode the small track superbly.
Five Star Ratings
Weather: **** No danger of rain, but as always in the Clay pit, bitterly, bitterly cold.
Track Conditions: **** A tiny track, several times under 54 seconds, but very well prepared with lots of dirt down.
Attendance: *** This track is such an outpost, literally miles from anywhere, if you haven’t got a car then forget it. But they have obviously found a level they can survive at and more power to them. The locals are always very friendly.
Entertainment Value: **** The home fans loved it… and could hardly believe it.
Wolves Performance: * In a word… awful. At this rate it will be a long, hard season.
Man of the Match: Graham Jones – any chance he could give the other guys’ gating lessons?
Referee (Ronnie Allan): ***** Couldn’t award heat 11 as all riders hadn’t completed one lap.
A final word on Trelawny… it really is an amazing track. The warnings in the programme state “Keep off the cliffs and keep away from the pool”. Apparently they have to provide a life belt for the pool which is reputed to be 100 feet deep in the centre, and is just below the 3rd and 4th bend (but well fenced off). We spoke to another Wolves fan who had travelled by train. When he phoned the speedway to ask how he could get from the station, the Promoter (the wonderfully named Godfrey Spargo) offered to pick him up from the station and take him to the track himself. And he was taking him home, somehow I couldn’t see that happening in football, could you?
Mark Rowe.
Trelawny Tigers
Emiliano Sanchez R 0 3 0 3
Pavel Ondrasik 3 1 3 1 8
Matej Zagar 3 3 3 3 1 13
Steve Masters 2* 1 1 1 5 + 1
Chris Harris 3 3 2 3 3 14
Simon Phillips 2 0 2* Fx 0 4 + 1
Tom Brown 0 1 Tx 0 1
Wolves
Sam Ermolenko 2 2 1 1* 2* 0 8 + 2
Wayne Carter 1* 0 0 1 + 1
Adam Skornicki 0 2 0 1* 3 + 1
Oliver Allen 1 1* 2 3 7 + 1
Peter Karlsson 2 3 2 3 2 2 14
Graham Jones 3 2* 0 2 7 + 1
Rob Finlow 1 0 1 2
On the long trip down to Cornwall, I looked at the fine weather out of the window, and though “Well at least I will see one Wolves away win this season.” The thought that such a strong Wolves line up could actually lose this meeting never really entered my head… but this competition is quickly becoming an embarrassment for us. Aren’t we supposed to be Elite League champions after all?
Heat 1 - Pavel Ondrasik ; Sam Ermolenko ; Wayne Carter ; Emiliano Sanchez(R) ; (3-3)(3-3)
A sign of things to come… a poor start from the Wolves duo, and the home side are set for an easy 5-1 when “Shagger’s” bike fails on the last lap. Apparently, he’s very popular with the Cornish ladies!
Heat 2 - Graham Jones ; Simon Phillips ; Rob Finlow ; Tom Brown ; (2-4)(5-7)
Terrific start from Jonah who wins easily. Rob battles well against the home riders and deserves his point.
Heat 3 - Matej Zagar ; Steve Masters ; Oliver Allen ; Adam Skornicki ; (5-1)(10-8)
Oh dear… here we go again. Terrific ride from Zagar who wins easily. Masters easily holds off Olly, with Adam well adrift at the back.
Heat 4 - Chris Harris ; Peter Karlsson ; Tom Brown ; Rob Finlow ; (4-2)(14-10)
Hard first bend from the home skipper who takes Peter wide, and Harris is very quick once he hits the front.
Heat 5 - Matej Zagar ; Sam Ermolenko ; Steve Masters ; Wayne Carter ; (4-2)(18-12)
The home pair are quickest away again, but Sam finds some grip around the outside and passes Masters. Masters’ bike stops as he crosses the line… Wayne is nowhere.
Heat 6 - Peter Karlsson ; Graham Jones ; Pavel Ondrasik ; Emiliano Sanchez ; (1-5)(19-17)
We make a start at last! Jonah can certainly gate better than most of our “first team”. Easy win for Peter, Jonah isn’t as quick but uses his experience to hold Ondrasik out.
Heat 7 - Chris Harris ; Adam Skornicki ; Oliver Allen ; Simon Phillips ; (3-3)(22-20)
Another impressive win from Cornishman Harris, who looks a fine prospect.
Heat 8 - Pavel Ondrasik ; Simon Phillips ; Rob Finlow ; Wayne Carter ; Tom Brown (Tapes) (5-1)(27-21)
A surprise not to see Jonah in this one… Trelawny open up a 6 point lead, Rob takes the fight to the home pair, but Wayne is again very poor at the back.
Heat 9 - Matej Zagar ; Peter Karlsson ; Steve Masters ; Graham Jones ; (4-2)(31-23)
Masters gates from Peter, Zagar passes them both around the outside on the back straight! This guy looks like a GP superstar… PK holds a tight line and cuts inside Masters on the second lap.
Heat 10 - Emiliano Sanchez ; Oliver Allen ; Pavel Ondrasik ; Adam Skornicki ; (4-2)(35-25)
The match slips out of reach here… Peter and Jonah got a 5-1 over this pairing earlier, but Adam is nowhere again, and Olly only just holds out Ondrasik to prevent the 1-5.
Heat 11 - Peter Karlsson ; Chris Harris ; Sam Ermolenko ; Simon Phillips(Fx) ; (2-4)(37-29)
Peter comes in as tactical sub, and Wolves are on a 5-1 when Phillips falls at the back, making no attempt to leave the track. In the rerun, Peter is away again, but Harris easily beats Sam.
Heat 12 - Matej Zagar ; Graham Jones ; Adam Skornicki ; Tom Brown ; (3-3)(40-32)
A fourth consecutive win for the sensational Zagar, Adam makes hard work of beating Tom Brown at the back.
Heat 13 - Chris Harris ; Peter Karlsson ; Sam Ermolenko ; Emiliano Sanchez ; (3-3)(43-35)
Harris makes a superb start from gate 4 and there is no chance he will be caught. Trelawny have a least a draw.
Heat 14 - Oliver Allen ; Sam Ermolenko ; Steve Masters ; Simon Phillips ; (1-5)(44-40)
Ermolenko in as T/S and he keeps the match alive with some fine team riding with Olly Allen. But we still need another 5-1 for a draw…
Heat 15 - Chris Harris ; Peter Karlsson ; Matej Zagar ; Sam Ermolenko ; (4-2)(48-42)
A Wolves 5-1 is never on the cards. Peter gates but Chris Harris superbly passes him on the inside of lap 2. Sam slides off (as he does) in a vain attempt to pass Zagar for third.
Trelawny fully deserved their victory, which was certainly no fluke. Even the home fans expected an easy Wolves win, but we never looked likely to get it.
Wolves
Sam was a big disappointment, you would expect him to be a big scorer against PL opposition but he looked very ordinary. Kept the match alive with a good ride in Heat 14 but never looked likely to challenge the Trelawny stars.
Wayne was very poor, and was easily beaten by home reserve Simon Phillips in heat 8. Maybe the lack of regular racing showed here, but we expected a lot more.
Adam was simply awful… hard to believe it was the same rider who beat Tony Rickardsson at Monmore the night before. Poor gating and never looked comfortable.
Oliver was also disappointing despite his score. As the only Wolf with experience of the track, he took too long to adapt.
Peter was the best Wolf by a long way, but you’d expect him to go through the card, so two wins from six rides is surprising…
Graham can certainly still gate, showing no signs of missing seven years of racing! He is a superb choice as rider coach of the junior team, but must be in danger of joining a PL team full time on this form.
Rob battled well on an unfamiliar track, and should be happy with his efforts.
For Trelawny, Chris Harris was their best rider and looks a good prospect. The locals reckon it could be his final season with the Tigers before a full time EL career. But the match winner was the mightily impressive Matej Zagar, the young Slovenian rider. He looks a star of the future without a doubt, and is one name to look out for. Hopefully CVS and Peter Adams will be keeping tabs on his progress, as he certainly rode the small track superbly.
Five Star Ratings
Weather: **** No danger of rain, but as always in the Clay pit, bitterly, bitterly cold.
Track Conditions: **** A tiny track, several times under 54 seconds, but very well prepared with lots of dirt down.
Attendance: *** This track is such an outpost, literally miles from anywhere, if you haven’t got a car then forget it. But they have obviously found a level they can survive at and more power to them. The locals are always very friendly.
Entertainment Value: **** The home fans loved it… and could hardly believe it.
Wolves Performance: * In a word… awful. At this rate it will be a long, hard season.
Man of the Match: Graham Jones – any chance he could give the other guys’ gating lessons?
Referee (Ronnie Allan): ***** Couldn’t award heat 11 as all riders hadn’t completed one lap.
A final word on Trelawny… it really is an amazing track. The warnings in the programme state “Keep off the cliffs and keep away from the pool”. Apparently they have to provide a life belt for the pool which is reputed to be 100 feet deep in the centre, and is just below the 3rd and 4th bend (but well fenced off). We spoke to another Wolves fan who had travelled by train. When he phoned the speedway to ask how he could get from the station, the Promoter (the wonderfully named Godfrey Spargo) offered to pick him up from the station and take him to the track himself. And he was taking him home, somehow I couldn’t see that happening in football, could you?
Mark Rowe.