Workington Comets’ spirited resurgence came to a shuddering halt when they crashed 51-39 at home to Redcar Bears.
After Wednesday’s superb effort to earn the aggregate point at champions Poole this was a massive anti-climax.
Looking to follow up their good home wins against Poole and Scunthorpe with a third successive post-suspension win at Northside they were outridden on their home track.
The Comets had too many riders not fully firing, with nobody managing to score double figures.
Running nine lasts and having only five heat wins told its own story and they were always chasing the Bears after the visitors raced to a 5-1 in the opening race.
Former Comet Charles Wright (12 + 1) and the dependable Danny King (12) led the Bears charge, with solid backing from their two Edinburgh guests Jonatan Grahn (8 + 2) and Paco Castagna (6 + 2).
Jye Etheridge and Antti Vuolas both scored nine for the Comets – the Finn without a race win and his Australian team-mate with two heat victories.
Two of the heroes of the mid-week effort at Poole – Fraser Bowes (5) and Jacob Hook (3) – couldn’t match those performances, while Tate Zischke returning from injury only managed 3 + 1.
There was probably an indication it wasn’t going to be the Comets’ night when reserve Vinnie Foord got locked in the pits toilets when the door jammed ahead of his second race.
Foord rode despite a nasty facial injury picked up at Poole when he badly bit his tongue after a crashing fall.
Wright and Grahn repeated their opening heat 5-1 with the same in heat five and a third of the way through the meeting the Comets knew it was going to be tough.
A 3-3 wasn’t what they needed in heat six and when Edwards and Castagna raced to the Bears’ third 5-1 in heat seven it was looking very ominous.
Then another Redcar 5-1 from ex-Comet Ace Pijper and Grahn gave the Bears a 14-point advantage, and one they weren’t going to squander.
The Bears were generally quicker and slicker on their gating but the Comets did, at least show signs of rallying in heats nine and 10.
A 4-2, with Etheridge out in front and Zischke third was followed by a 5-1 from Bowes and Troy Batchelor.
A 4-2 for the Bears was countered by a 5-1 from Batchelor and Zischke which left the Comets trailing by six with three heats to go.
But any thoughts of a dramatic come-back were ended when the Bears grabbed a 4-2 in heat 13, leaving Workington two 5-1s to draw.
That didn’t happen as two 4-2s to the visitors saw them comfortably home and well set to go on and gain the aggregate point in the return.
After their fine efforts after the two-week suspension ended, this was a big disappointment for management, riders and fans alike.
Denham doesn’t want to dwell to much on the defeat – as the team have to regroup turn their attention to an influx of upcoming fixtures, namely Scunthorpe on Friday, August 1, and Plymouth on Saturday, August 2.
He said: “It obviously a disappointing result considering the last few meetings we’ve had, but Redcar were the better side and they were just better out of the gate. We started to get back in the meeting but the damage was done by then, but it’s done now and we have plenty coming up to focus on.
“This is just a bump in the road. The lads have shown their quality recently — now it’s about bouncing back and focusing on a busy weekend ahead.
“We have a busy schedule of meetings coming up and I’m sure the boys will be wanting to put this behind them, prove that this was just a blip and continue the form we have shown over recent weeks.
“We are already focusing to Scunthorpe and Plymouth next weekend, and there’s no doubt that if we continue how we were last Saturday against Scunthorpe and Wednesday at Poole we can make the trip worthwhile with some more league points on the board.”
- Workington Comets 39: Troy Batchelor 7+2; Fraser Bowes 5; Tate Zischke 3+1; Jye Etheridge 9; Antti Vuolas 9; Jacob Hook 3; Vinnie Foord 3+1.
- Redcar Bears 51: Charles Wright 12+1; Jonatan Grahn 8+2; Jason Edwards 6; Paco Castagna 6+2; Danny King 12; Jody Scott 3; Ace Pijper 4.
