Two former Workington riders top-scored when their clubs clashed last night in the BSN Series.
Plymouth held on for a 46-44 win over Poole despite a dramatic late comeback by the visitors.
The Pirates were already confirmed as group winners and trailed by 16 points after Heat 10, before reeling off three 5-1’s and a 4-2 to slash the gap to two.
However, Poole skipper Steve Worrall was disqualified from Heat 15 after a clash with Ben Barker, with the 3-3 outcome confirming a narrow Gladiators victory.
Home skipper the ex-Comet Kyle Howarth (13+1) and Paul Starke (12+2) led the way, whilst former Workington star Richard Lawson racked up 15 points from six rides for the Pirates.
Starke said: “It was close and we nearly threw it away, but we had enough of a cushion that we could allow that to happen, and we got there in the end.”
Poole promoter Dan Ford said: “The boys dug deep and took us into Heat 15 with a chance still of winning the meeting. But then obviously we had that incident with Stevie who was adjudged to be at fault. We felt that was somewhat harsh, but I guess I can see it from both points of view.”
Lawson, meanwhile has been booked by Redcar for their trip to Birmingham tonight in the BSN Series as he stands in as a guest for the injured Erik Riss.
