Thomas: It will be tough without Nermark

John Walsh reports

Last updated 10:50, Thursday, 12 June 2008

Workington Comets 53 Isle of Wight Islanders 38: Isle of Wight team manager Dave Pavitt was looking to hold Workington to 15 points or less in the first leg of the Premier League Knockout Cup.

Video: watch highlights of the meeting

Comets' John Branney (blue helmet) and Kauko Nieminen (red) take the lead in heat 12

In the end it was right on the maximum figure he feels comfortable with pulling back in the second leg a week on Tuesday.

But in truth Workington’s management – owner Keith Denham and team manager Ian Thomas – would be looking for considerably more than that to take to the island.

Daniel Nermark won’t be riding in the second leg because of Swedish League commitments and Workington can only replace him with a Conference League rider, in this particular case Weymouth’s Jay Herne.

How much they will miss Nermark was underlined on Saturday as the Swede came up with another five-ride maximum and his points would have been invaluable in the return.

Thomas said: “If we were going to the island with Dan, and if Joe Haines had ridden in the first leg, I would have been confident of seeing the job through. It is going to be desperately difficult to do it now.”

But Haines, who thought he had broken his arm last Wednesday, is ready to make a dramatic return in mid-week at Birmingham. He will practice on Tuesday and if everything feels fine he will ride against the Brummies the following night.

For quite a way through this quarter-final first leg tie, the Comets looked as though they would be happy to win – never mind fashion a reasonable lead.

After nine races Workington only led 28-25 and the prospect of a semi-final berth seemed to be rapidly disappearing.

But a fine 5-1 – their second of the night – from Nermark and new Finn Tomi Reima put Workington on course for a big finish. They had heat advantages in five of the last six races to give themselves just a squeak of a chance with a 15-point advantage. If Nermark was the architect, scoring those 15 points himself, there was an important supporting cast led by senior rider Carl Stonehewer.

Out for two weeks, bruised and battered from rib damage, Stoney wasn’t sure how he was going to feel but he responded superbly with a paid maximum in his first four rides – three straight wins and a second behind Nermark.

He was sent out again with the Swede in the final race of the night and probably produced his best ride, which was deserving of better than third.

He turned the clock back in exciting fashion just losing out on a thrilling duel with Cory Gathercole behind the winner Nermark.

“I enjoyed that, but I was a bit disappointed to lose out on a paid maximum. I was having a good scrap with Gathercole and thought I might just have nicked it.

“The main thing, however, had been to get through the meeting unscathed and none the worse for my efforts. I wasn’t going to make a decision on riding at Glasgow until after Saturday night and I felt OK,” said Stoney.

Finnish recruit Reima looks a solid addition to the line-up. As on his debut he struggled in his first ride but then bounced back to seven points and two bonus with some gritty, enthusiastic riding which has already endeared him to the Derwent Park faithful.

His fellow-countryman, club skipper Kauko Nieminen wasn’t firing on all cylinders but he still managed two wins and nine points, important contributions on a night when Workington needed everything they could get.

None were more important than John Branney’s win in the penultimate race when he held-off the tactical substitute Glen Phillips who had left Charles Wright on the track with a determined inside pass on the pits bend of lap two.

Branney hadn’t been having the best of meetings but he produced a typically committed effort into that final outing and won well.

Match Facts

Workington 53: Daniel Nermark 15; Tomi Reima 7; Kauko Nieminen 9; rider replacement for Joe Haines; Carl Stone-hewer 12; Charles Wright 4; John Branney 6.

Isle of Wight 38: Jason Bunyan 5, rider replacement for Paul Fry; Glen Phillips 8; Cory Gathercole 8; Krzysztof Stojanowski 10; Andrew Bargh 3; James Holder 5.