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MELLGREN POINTS THE WAY
Friday July 05, 2013
A magnificent paid 17 haul from Anders Mellgren sparked the Silver Ski Rockets to their first away match point in the Premier League in a narrow 48-45 defeat at Plymouth.
Mellgren’s contribution could be measured not just by his tally but also by its timing, which focused on two key moments. The first came when the Swede delivered 6 points from a Tactical win in Heat 10 that was augmented by Tyson Nelson’s third lap pass of Todd Kurtz for the 8-1 that brought the Rockets back from a difficult 32-22 score-line to a 33-30 one. Then, after suffering his only defeat of the night to Cory Gathercole, Mellgren rebounded with a 5-1 alongside guest Nicolai Klindt in the final heat as Rye snared the match point their efforts deserved.
Klindt blew a little hot and cold in the No.1 position, although clearly his three race wins outweighed his two ducks. Jason Bunyan contributed a further heat win in an 8+1 haul, while Pontus Aspgren enjoyed a solid debut for the side with 6 points.
It proved a long evening, however, for the two Rye House reserves, who managed a solitary point between them.
As team manager John Sampford said afterwards, “The night belonged to Anders, although the rest of the top five played their parts. It was a struggle tonight for the bottom end, although you couldn’t fault the boys for their efforts.
“It is obviously disappointing to lose a fairly tight match, but at the end of the day an away point is an away point, and it gives us something positive to take back home ahead of next week’s battles.â€
Sampford was referring here to the three-matches-in-three-days schedule that the Rockets face next week. The first stop is Redcar next Thursday (July 11th) for the first leg of what looks like a season-defining Knock-Out Cup Semi-Final tie. The road trip continues to Scunthorpe the following evening in the League, before the Rockets return to Hertfordshire next Saturday (July 13th @ 7pm) to face World Cup star Craig Cook and the Edinburgh Monarchs.
Somerset’s Premier League pairs Champion Josh Grajczonek will be the guest at No.1 for all three fixtures.
Rye House scorers:
Nicolai Klindt (guest) 9 (5 rides)
Jason Bunyan 8+1 (4)
Anders Mellgren 16+1 (5 rides, inc 6 as a TR)
Tyson Nelson 5+1 (4)
Pontus Aspgren 6 (4)
Kasper Lykke 1 (4)
Simon Lambert 0 (4)
Plymouth scorers:
Dakota North (guest) 8+1 (6 rides)
Todd Kurtz 7 (5)
Mikkel Bech R/R
Cory Gathercole 10+2 (5)
Mark Lemon 14 (6)
Simon Nielsen 5+2 (4)
Jake Anderson 4 (4)
Match Points: Plymouth 2 Rye House 1
Photos courtesy of Westcountryseen
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