It was the clash of the last two Premier League champions withScunthorpethe latest visitors to a rather wet Ashfield. It had rained for the previous 5 hours but the track was made raceable with the Tigers confident of taking 3 points against a Scorpions side that had struggled thus far in 2013.
Glasgow45: Screen 14, Bager 7+2, Wright 9, Ringwood 2+1, Grieves 0, Horwood 8, Jacobs 5
Scunthorpe 45: Auty 6+1, Jorgensen 6+1, Palm Toft 6+2, Birks 10, Howe 9+2, Douglas 1+1, Blackbird 7+1
Heat 1: Its Jorgensen who is the surprise leader with Joe S and Henning behind him but not for long as Auty passes Henning on the third bend and that’s the way it ends. Despite the difficult conditions the winning time is 59.8. 2-4
Heat 2: Tigers were looking to fight back in the reserves race and although Joe J won the re-run after being warned for moving, Harley was at the back, having fallen on the third bend 5-7
Heat 3: It looked like a 5-1 for the home duo as Joey and James W led the visitors but the third bend struck again and Joey falls gifting the Scorpions a 3-3.
8-10
Heat 4:Scunthorpeshowed they meant business with Howe and Blackbird quickest away but Joe J and James J get passed him. Not to be outdone though Blackbird re-passes James going into the second lap. 10-14
Heat 5: Thomas Jorgensen goes through the tapes and eventually it’s decided that he will go off the handicap. Both Tigers gate but Auty passes Joey and it stays that way . 14-16
Heat 6: Joe S leads the way and Henning gets by Howe on the fourth bend, first time round and Tigers take the lead for the first time. 19-17
Heat 7: The lead doesn’t last long as bothScunthorperiders gate and with James G struggling at the back, Birks and Palm Toft take a comfortable 5-1 over Harley. 20-22
Heat 8: Henning shows he is back on form with a victory in a crucial heat 8, Joe J falls on the first corner andScunthorpetake the minor positions to maintain the lead. 23-25
Heat 9: David Howe isn’t known for his gating but he takes this one, inflicting James W first defeat of the day, crucially Joey comes third to keep it close. 26-28
Heat 10: The Screen machine is away again, whilst behind him Henning has to overtake Palm Toft on the fourth bend and then fend him off for the remainder of the race. Birks brings up the rear. 31-29
Heat 11: Tigers opt to keep James G in a heat which looks ominous for the Tigers but its Harley who makes the start to take a vital win, over Jorgensen and Auty, James again struggling at the back. 34-32
Heat 12: Harley is out again after Joe J is excluded for again moving at the start. It looks like Tigers are going to stretch their lead to 6 but Palm Toft passes James W down the back straight and Tigers have to settle for a 4-2. 38-34
Heat 13: Again manager Sean Courtney elects not to change anything and again it’s Joe S who takes the victory. Howe and Auty are next as the 3-3 keeps them in it. 41-37
Heat 14: Disaster for Tigers as Blackbird gates and Birks goes from third to first on the 4th bend to take the 5-1 and level the scores. 42-42
Heat 15: Despite Henning’s unbeaten run Tigers opt to give James W the nod to partner Joe S with Howe and Birks for the visitors. Joe again wins a vital heat 15 but James w can make no impression on the Scorpions who draw the heat and the match. 45-45
Tigers probably had this down as a 3 pointer so will be disappointed to only pick up the one. Possibly a lack of experience caused falls when in scoring positions which proved costly plus James G’s uncharacteristic 0.Scunthorpefor their part probably will be kicking themselves for not taking full advantage of his problems, although Auty had a poor day on a track he normally does well on. Henning’s move to no2 seemed to work and he was unbeaten in his last 3. Unlucky not to get the pick for the nominated race.
Despite the conditions, it was an entertaining meeting with a draw probably a fair result.
(report by Derek Watson)