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ROCKETS BEDEVILLED!
Sunday May 26, 2013
The Silver Ski Rockets’ League Cup programme, which began in an initial wave of optimism back on Good Friday, ultimately dissipated into frustration as the team fell to a 40-49 home defeat in its final group match against Plymouth.
If there is one positive to be had from the wear and tear of matches on four successive days it is the sharpness that it brings to starting technique. So it certainly proved here as the fixture-laden Devils gave a clear lesson in gating on a warm, dry circuit that too often left the race-rusty Rockets chasing from the back.
Make no mistake about it. Having looked out of sorts when Rye won convincingly at the St Boniface Arena in April, the Devon side was well worth its victory here. It was only its second in official competition this season and its first ever at Premier Level at Rye House, but was achieved through an all-round team performance that was topped off by anchoring hauls from well-chosen guest Ricky Wells and the evergreen Mark Lemon and bottomed out by excellent reserve showings from Jake Anderson and Todd Kurtz.
The Rockets, in contrast, appeared ultimately too dependent on Olly Allen (12) and Tyson Nelson (8) as their primary go-to guys. Nelson was certainly the most exciting rider on show, with his always-on-the-edge style particularly in evidence when he nearly passed both Mark Lemon and Todd Kurtz in a single bend in Heat 4 before eventually getting past Kurtz a lap later and getting to within a couple of bike lengths of winner Lemon at the chequered flag.
Robert Mear also enjoyed positive moments in his first match in Rye colours for some 3 ½ years, most particularly the 5-1 he secured with Anders Mellgren in Heat 3 that briefly handed Rye a 6 point advantage and his solo race win in Heat 14.
It proved a difficult afternoon elsewhere, however. Mellgren was unable to reproduce the form he showed in his opening success, while Kasper Lykke failed to add further points to his Heat 2 victory. Jason Bunyan and Simon Lambert, meanwhile, were clearly finding their way back from injury. Lambert managed just a point in his second meeting back from a broken ankle while Bunyan did not fully settle in his return match until his last ride, when he partnered Allen to an epic 5-1 over the hard-chasing Chris Schramm.
The Rye House captain admitted afterwards that “I was always going to start off slowly; I’ve just not been able to practice this week because of weather so it was a case of going straight back into racing. It’s the first time that I’ve got my leg over a bike since Easter Monday, and you could tell it early on. But it felt fine, and I managed to pull one out at the end.
“If I had managed to get a practice in, I could have shaken things out of my system before now, but it wasn’t to be. As I say, though, I’m feeling good again, so it’s onwards and upwards from here.â€
If there was one consolation for the Rockets, it came in the fact that this defeat did not directly impact on their hopes of progress in the competition. Ipswich had already wrapped up top spot in the Southern group by beating the Devils on Thursday and will now join Newcastle, Edinburgh and Sheffield in the competition’s Semi Finals. The Rockets have finished third in the group with 8 points, behind the Witches (12) and Somerset (10) and ahead of Plymouth on race points.
Their focus now will be to prepare for the main League programme. After a near miss for an away point in their rain-halted opener at Redcar, their next two fixtures take them to Somerset (Friday June 7th) and then back to home turf to face the Devils once again (Saturday, June 8th).
Rye House scorers:
Olly Allen 12 (5 rides)
Jason Bunyan 3+1 (4)
Anders Mellgren 6 (4)
Robert Mear 7+1 (4)
Tyson Nelson 8 (5)
Kasper Lykke 3 (4)
Simon Lambert 1 (4)
Plymouth scorers:
Ricky Wells (guest) 13 (5 rides)
Ricky Kling R/R
Chris Schramm 2+1 (3)
Cory Gathercole 6+2 (5)
Mark Lemon 12+2 (6)
Jake Anderson 8+2 (6)
Todd Kurtz 8 (6)
Match Points: Rye House 0 Plymouth 4
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