Astley & Tyldesley travelled to Sheffield for the Northern K.O. Cup on Saturday. A & T comfortably won their semi-final, ahead of Heckmondwike and Hull, with Stoke non starters, to qualify for the final. Tomasz Wlodarczyk and Darek Kurkowski both raced unbeaten.

Northern K.O. Cup Semi-Final 1 result:

Astley & Tyldesley 56 Heckmondwike 47 Hull 41 Stoke 0.

A & T: Tomasz Wlodarczyk 16, Darek Kurkowski 16, Remi Burchardt 15, Mike Hack 9.

Heckmondwike: Dave Murphy 13, James Carter 12, Darren Kent 12, Richard Bowkett 10.

Hull: Andy Angell 12, Chris Woodward 11, Anthony Dalton 10, Adam Stephenson 8.

Referee - Mick Knowles (Sheffield).

In the final, A & T won the opening three races to take an early lead. Back came the holders Sheffield to take a 2 points lead at the halfway stage. This was extended to 4 points, before a crucial heat 12. Four times, Wlodarczyk gated across from grid 3 to take the lead, but each time the race was stopped. At the fifth attempt, Sheffield's Pawel Kozlowski got away from grid 1 to inflict Tomasz's (pictured) only defeat of the day. A & T staged a late rally, but it wasn't enough as Sheffield held on to win by 2 points, and win the Cup for the third successive year. Once again, it was a narrow defeat for A & T, runners-up in this event three times in the last four years. Skipper Tomasz Wlodarczyk was in magnificent form, with great support from Darek Kurkowski and Remi Burchardt, but the lack of a competitive fourth rider proved to be A & T's undoing.

Northern K.O. Cup Final result:

Sheffield 48 Astley & Tyldesley 46 Heckmondwike 38 Stockport 27.

Sheffield: Pawel Kozlowski 13, Jono Birks 13, Dariusz Pilas 12, Chris Turner 10.

A & T: Tomasz Wlodarczyk 15, Darek Kurkowski 13, Remi Burchardt 13, Mike Hack 5.

Heckmondwike: Darren Kent 11, Dave Murphy 10, James Carter 10, Richard Bowkett 6, Mark Dilcock 1.

Stockport: Terry Norman 13, Trevor Hulton 5, Jeff Radcliffe 5, Chris Eaton 2, Derek Garnett 2.