Kent SLYDE Kings took a hugely significant step towards the Travel Plus National League championship play offs on Friday night with a club record ninth away win of the season at the splendid National Speedway Stadium in Manchester – defeating the hosts Belle Vue Colts by 50 points to 40.
Leading the way with a career best away total of 16 points in the TPNL on his first appearance at the track in the Gorton area of Manchester, was James Shanes – though his prodigious total was not achieved without the expense of some bumps and bruises in a feisty affair.
Ultimately it was to be the visitors’ excellent start to the match which was to see them home and hosed with four vital TPNL points – forging ahead to an eight point lead after just three heats.
The depleted Kent side needed good performances this time by the Guests and that was certainly the case in the opening stanza of this one with Rob Branford winning his opening two rides and Ben Hopwood being involved in two 5-1s in his first two outings. Those maximums in heats three and seven followed on from a superb effort by the reserve pairing of Jack Thomas and Danno Verge in heat two and by the halfway point of proceedings that ten point gap which was ultimately to be the winning margin had been established.
The second half of the match was memorable for less good reasons, with some less than savoury antics from Belle Vue’s own stand-in at number one. No-one could accuse Nathan Greaves of not caring as he deputised for the missing Dan Bewley but having overstepped the mark in trying to take Shanes out to the fence in heat six, the angry reaction of Kent’s Boy Wizard of Balance seemed to send Greaves into a downward spiral which brought back memories of when the youngster was giving a one year suspended ban for his role in an altercation the season before last.
When the two GB Under 21 stars met again in heat 10, for reasons best known to Greaves he decided to inflame matters by gesturing to Shanes after winning. Clearly the King’s Lynn man was wound up now and it was almost a case of Greaves-ious Bodily Harm in a hugely protracted heat 13. In the first rerun (after initially stopped for an unsatisfactory start) Greaves ploughed into Branford sending both the Aussie and Shanes to the deck. Then with tempers now at breaking point Greaves clashed heavily with Shanes again in the third rerun – not enough though to dislodge the Masters champion from his path to race victory and with it, the match win for his side. Branford who had fallen somewhat prey to the Guest jinx by this time adding just two points to his overall total in his last three rides, was fronted up by both Belle Vue man, Greaves and Lee Payne in an unfortunate pit gate melee.
Mercifully the Colts management took a sensible decision to pull Greaves from heat 15 where Belle Vue top scorer Matt Williamson inflicted only Shanes’ second defeat of the night and ensured it ended 50-40.
Kent have now taken TPNL match points in every one of their away matches this term – it’s certainly been a case of awayday success that has placed the club now on the very cusp of play off qualification.
It’s a return though to home comforts next for the Kent SLYDE Kings with the visit of near neighbours and the side immediately below them in current TPNL standings, Eastbourne on Bank Holiday Monday (29/8) – the Eagles land at Central Park at the earlier start-time of 3pm.
Image courtesy of Ian Charles
TAGS: Kent Kings