Last updated at 11:44, Saturday, 04 August 2012

Scunthorpe Scorpions 49 Workington Comets 40: Workington Comets came away empty-handed from their Premier League clash at Scunthorpe after a remarkable final heat.

Rene Bach

They had trailed 44-40 going into the race, chasing a share of the spoils or a valuable bonus point.

But Rene Bach came off after a brush with the fence and Adam Roynon had engine failure in an agonising final tilt at the Scorpions lead.

It left Workington with nothing to show for their efforts as they finished nine points behind their hosts.

Team manager Tony Jackson said: “It was heart breaking because we certainly deserved something from the meeting. A 5-0 was not what we expected from the last race of the night.”

New recruit Nick Morris and Josh Auty proved to be the match-winners for the Scorpions as they each bagged 13 points from the meeting.

Workington, by comparison, hadn’t anyone to score as well although there were solid contributions throughout the order.

The Comets had only five race winners yet stayed in touch throughout as there was never more than six points between the two sides until the fateful final heat.

Workington had to make a late change at guest where Stefan Nielsen replaced Joe Haines in the reserve slot and like Ashley Morris he scored four and a bonus point.

That compared favourably with former Comet Gary Irving, who also picked up four and a bonus from his appearances as a Scorpion.

Adam Roynon continued his good run of form by scoring eight points and a bonus, the best total from a Comets rider and his score-chart was only made a negative one by his final race engine failure.

Bach, Richard Lawson and Tero Aarnio all scored seven for a Workington side which had been desperate to make-up for Thursday’s disappointment at Redcar.

The Comets go into tonight’s home clash with Sheffield needing maximum points to maintain their challenge in the Premier League.

Workington only led briefly against the Scorpions, a 5-1 in the reserves, edging them in front 7-5 but after that it was very closely contested. A six-point advantage was as good as it got for the Scorpions after a 4-2 in heat nine but the Comets were just unable to hang on for a bonus because of the disastrous final race.

Workington entertain Sheffield at Derwent Park tonight (7pm) as they bid to claw back some of the deficit at the top.

They are still very much in contention for the play-offs where they will be a serious threat.

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49: Nick Morris 13+1, Josh Auty 13, Ashley Birks 6+1, Michael Palm Toft 6+1, Gary Irving 4+2, David Howe 4, Thomas Jorgensen 3

WORKINGTON COMETS 40: Adam Roynon 8+1, Rene Bach 7+1, Tero Aarnio 7+1, Richard Lawson 7, Ashley Morris 4+1, Stefan Nielsen 4+1, Kenny Ingalls 3+1

First published at 10:49, Saturday, 04 August 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk