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Astley & Tyldesley visited Stoke for a Northern League match, on a
bright but windy day. A & T had plenty of riders missing on holiday,
but welcomed the inclusion of Przemek Binkowski and Tomasz Szwajorek for
their second appearances of the season.
Stoke moved into a 7 point lead after heat 2, when Dariusz Pilas was
harshly excluded after clashing with Andy Franks. A & T immediately
hit back with the first of three 7-3 heat wins to the Remi Burchardt /
Darek Kurkowski pairing. However, a 7-3 heat win to Stoke, after Franks
slowed up the race and Leighton Bates appeared to take a short cut past
Szwajorek, put the home side 7 points ahead again after heat 5. A &
T fired in two successive 7-3 heat wins, to Kurkowski / Burchardt and
then to Binkowski / Szwajorek to take the lead for the first time after
heat 8. A 6-4 heat win to Pilas / Joe Allen gave A & T a 3 points
interval lead. Lance Bates / Franks took a 7-3 in heat 10 to restore
Stoke's lead, but this was immediately cancelled out by Kurkowski /
Burchardt. Heat 12 was a controversial race, as Errol Thaw fell off on
the straight and the following Roy Heslop took a heavy fall after
colliding with Thaw's bike. The referee allowed the race to continue
before stopping it and excluding Heslop as the cause of the stoppage.
Pilas won the re-run. Binkowski led heat 13, before Simon Munden jumped
across the inside to take the win, with no action from the referee.
Stoke levelled the scores with a 6-4 to Munden / Leighton Bates in heat
16. With tension mounting, it was A & T who kept their composure and
sealed the match with two successive 6-4 heat wins, to Pilas / Kurkowski
and then to Burchardt / Szwajorek.
A & T can feel justly proud of a magnificent performance, which
should have resulted in a much more convincing win, but for several poor
refereeing decisions, which all favoured the home team. Burchardt and
Kurkowski lost once each, as did Pilas, after his exclusion in heat 2.
Stoke made good use of Franks at reserve and he too lost only once. Both
sides gave it their all in what was a really good, highly competitive
match. This was Stoke's first defeat of the season and comments made by
some of their riders and supporters at the end of the match left a sour
taste.
Northern League match result
Stoke 87 Astley & Tyldesley 91
Stoke: Simon Munden 17, Andy Franks 15 (4), Errol Thaw 14 (1), Richard
Harrison 14, Leighton Bates 13, Lance Bates 8, Dave Hancock 3, Kelvin
Williams 3.
A & T: Darek Kurkowski 17 (1), Remi Burchardt 16 (3), Przemek
Binkowski 15 (1), Dariusz Pilas 15, Tomasz Szwajorek 10 (1), Mick
Knowles 10, Joe Allen 8 (2), Roy Heslop 0.
Referee - Lewis Bates.
A & T ran out easy winners in the Combination match. Stoke conceded
16 penalty points after using an ineligible rider, Richard Harrison.
Mike Hack, Mick Knowles and Joe Allen all lost only to Harrison, who
raced unbeaten. There were solid performances from the rest of the A
& T team. Stoke used a reserve rider, as well as fielding an
ineligible rider, which is contrary to league rules.
Northern Combination League match result
Stoke 'B' 51 Astley & Tyldesley 'B' 85
Stoke: Richard Harrison 16, Dave Hancock 11, Kev Burton 6, Matt Bailey 5
(1), Jim Simpson 5, Callum Booth 4, Kelvin Williams 4.
A & T: Mike Hack 14 (1), Mick Knowles 14 (1), Joe Allen 13 (1), Andy
Knowles 11 (1), Ben Keen 10 (1), Joel Partington 7 (1).
Referee - Lewis Bates.
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