It was agony at Arlington on Saturday as the Kent SLYDE KIngs went down to a record defeat to local rivals Eastbourne Eagles.
A dead rubber of a fixture this may have been (neither team being able to progress from the National Trophy Southern Group) – but it was not expected that two sides so evenly matched on Monday last (when the Kings won in a last heat decider) would play out such a grossly one-sided fixture this time.
An opening salvo of six maximum heat wins by the hosts totally ended the match as any kind of contest and the recovery by the visitors was only slight in truth because it ended with all 15 heat winners going the way of the Eagles – an engine failure for skipper Luke Bowen when leading in the final race and then Georgie Wood overhauling Jack Thomas to deny the visitors any kind of consolation on the last lap just completed an evening of misery for Chris Hunt’s charges.
For the rampant Eagles, their Kentish-born trio (adding some insult to injury) of Wood, Charley Powell & Mark Baseby were all unbeaten by opposition riders.
The SLYDE Kings are next in home action on Monday week (25/6) against Coventry Bees. Please note there is MO HOME MEETING at Central Park Stadium this Monday (18/6).
The Kings’ Alex Spooner & Jacob Clouting will be part of the Kent Crayford Kestrels’ side engaged in double header Southern Development League action at Iwade on Sunday though – that meeting at the training track facility at Raspberry Hill Lane (off Old Ferry Rd), Iwade, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8SN starts at 1pm. Admission is £7; with youngsters aged 15 and under free.
Eastbourne Eagles 68
George Wood 3 3 3 ,3 3 15 [M]
Jason Edwards 2′ 2′ 3,1 1 9+2
Mark Baseby 3 3 3 3, 12 [M]
Charley Powell 2′ 2′ 2′ 2′ 8+4 [PM]
Tom Brennan 3 3 3 1, 10
Kelsey Dugard 3 1 1 1 3 9
Charlie Brooks 2′ 2′ 1 5+2
Kent SLYDE Kings 21
Luke Bowen 1 R 2 2 EF 5
Anders Rowe 0 1 2 0 3
Jack Thomas 1 2 2 2 2 9
Taylor Hampshire 0 0 0 1 1
Nathan Stoneman 0 FX 1 0 1
Jacob Clouting FX F 0 0 0
Alex Spooner 1 1 0 0 2
Heat Results
1 Wood, Edwards, Bowen, Rowe 59.7 (5-1)
2 Dugard, Brooks, Spooner, Clouting (fell exc.) 62.0 (10-2)
3 Baseby, Powell, Thomas, Hampshire 61.3 (15-3)
4 Brennan, Brooks, Spooner, Stoneman 58.5 (20-4)
5 Baseby, Powell, Rowe, Bowen (fell rem. ret.) 60.3 (25-5)
6 (rerun twice) Wood, Edwards, Clouting (fell), Stoneman (fell exc.) 60.1 (30-5)
7 Brennan, Thomas, Dugard, Hampshire 59.7 (34-7)
8 Edwards, Rowe, Brooks, Spooner 61.0 (38-9)
9 Baseby, Powell, Stoneman, Clouting 61.8 (43-10)
10 Wood, Thomas, Edwards, Hampshire 59.4 (47-12)
11 Brennan, Bowen, Dugard Rowe 59.6 (51-14)
12 Baseby Thomas Dugard, Clouting 59.8 (55-16)
13 Wood, Bowen, Brennan, Stoneman 59.5 (59-18)
14 Dugard, Powell, Hampshire, Spooner (64-19)
15 Wood, Thomas, Edwards, Bowen (EF) 59.9 (68-21)
TAGS: Kent Kings