AFTER an eventful couple of
days on their northern tour
which saw them lose Luke Bowen
to injury and end up beaten in
both meetings in heartbreaking
fashion, Rockets at least made
the journey home less painful by
finally grabbing their first away
match point of the season at
Glasgow.
There were just three of the 2009
starting Rockets in the side � skip-
per Chris Neath, Tommy Allen and
Andrew Silver.
Already without Robert Mear
(Jason Lyons deputised) and Joe
Haines (rider-replacement), they
were forced to draft in Sheffield's
Joel Parsons for Bowen, who
injured his shoulder at Berwick the
previous night, while Linus
Sundstrom was a late withdrawal
with back problems and was
replaced by Sheffield's Richard
Hall as a guest.
It was Neath who led the Rockets'
charge, dropping only two points in
his first five rides to finish with
paid 13, while Lyons enjoyed a far
happier meeting than at Berwick to
claim 11.
Former Rocket Parsons worked
overtime to finish with paid 13
from his seven outings.
The Rockets made a slow start,
conceding 5-1s in two of the first
four races to fall behind 16-8, before
clawing their way back into con-
tention.
Rusty Harrison's fall in Heat 5
helped Lyons and Allen secure a 4-
2, and Neath and Parsons enjoyed
the same result over James Grieves
and Mitchell Davey in Heat 7.
Parsons won a Heat 8 that was re-
run after early leader Allen had
fallen after seemingly close contact
from his team-mate, to keep the
Rockets four behind at 26-24.
But the gap became six points
when guest Hall was unable to
catch winner Harrison in a close
finish to the next race.
Rockets delivered a 4-2 in Heat 11
after Lyons had driven inside
Grieves on the third lap to cinch
the win, then Neath and Parsons
levelled the score at 36-36 with a 5-1
in the next race.
Glasgow swiftly moved ahead
again, as Grieves and Parker fin-
ished in front of the hard chasing
Lyons in Heat 13, while Robert
Ksiezak held off Neath to take the
chequered flag in the next race, to
make it 44-40 going into the final
heat.
Rockets were unable to produce
the 5-1 needed to snatch a last-gasp
draw.
Lyons made an electric gate in
the decider, and although Parker
sneaked past him on the last
straight to complete an unbeaten
afternoon, his two points were
enough to ensure at least a match
point for the Rockets by losing by
six points or less.
Rye House scorers: Jason Lyons (guest) 11
(from five rides); T Allen 2+1 (3); C Neath
12+1 (6); R Hall (guest) 6 (4); J Parsons
(guest) 10+3 (7); A Silver 1 (3).
www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk June 12, 2009 MERCURY 63
Rye House Rockets speedway reports round-up and all the latest team news
Bowen
blow for
tourists
THE Rockets saw an away
match point disappear yet
again in Heat 15 as they lost
51-42 at Berwick on Saturday
night.
The visitors entered the final
race at 46-4 and, as at
Edinburgh, needed a drawn
result to claim a point.
Unfortunately, Sundstrum
was left on the wrong end of a
Bandits 5-1 after Neath had
fallen in the first attempt to
stage the race.
Rockets could perhaps have
guessed what was to unfold
when guest Jason Lyons
romped home in Heat 1 only
to have his victory taken away
from him because of the
absence of a dirt deflector on
his bike.
Although the former Grand
Prix star recovered to win his
next outing and added a fur-
ther two points in Heat 11, he
was caught out by the deep
track in his finale and failed
to last the distance.
It was also a bad night for
Bowen, who had impressed at
Edinburgh the previous
evening.
The Harlow racer reared on
the second bend of Heat 6 and
collided heavily with
Sundstrom, suffering a shoul-
der muscle injury in the
process.
The injury ruled Bowen out of
the remainder of the match.
Fortunately for Rockets,
Neath enjoyed perhaps his
best ever visit to the Borders,
winning four of his six races.
His only blips came when he
was penalised 15 metres for
tapes-touching in Heat 7 and
fell in the finale, but his six
point tactical ride in Heat 12
brought the Rockets back to
within five and set up the
Heat 15 drama.
Sundstrom also played his
part, with a win and 11 paid
points from his first ever visit
to Berwick, while Silver regis-
tered two wins, although the
veteran rider tired over the
course of seven rides on the
big, pacy circuit.
Rye House scorers: J Lyons (guest) 5
(4); T Allen 2 (4); C Neath 15 (6, inc 6
as a TR); L Sundstrom 10+1 (6); L
Bowen 1 (3); A Silver 9 (7).
Injury-ravaged Rye
get their away point
MAXIMUM MAN: Lee Strudwick hit a hot streak against Scunthorpe at
Hoddesdon on Saturday Photo: PMVQ294Q-28
Strudwick streaks
to Cobras' maximumLEE Strudwick's second career
maximum in Rye House colours
provided the main talking point of an
emphatic victory against a young
Saints outfit.
Strudwick finished second in the
Cobras' averages last year, and
having dropped down to a reserve
position under the latest team
averages, looks to be on the
rebound.
The 20-year-old received plenty of
support from his team-mates too,
with five other Cobras paid for at
least two wins and three heading
into double figure totals.
Six unanswered 5-1s effectively gave
the Cobras their winning margin,
although a closer outcome certainly
looked in prospect in the early
stages.
The only difference between the
teams over the first five races came
via a maximum from Strudwick and
Ben Morley in Heat 2, but once
Daniels Halsey and Blake outpaced
Scott Richardson for a similar result
in Heat 6, the blitz came thick and
fast.
Further maximums followed in four
of the next six races to give Rockets
a 49-27 lead, with the last secured by
Jamie Courtney and Morley.
It was all too much for a Saints team
fielding three 15-year olds and one
16-year-old.
Kart Raceway Cobra scorers: D
Halsey 9+1 (4); D Blake 9+2 (5); J
Courtney 13 (5); T Heath 1+1 (4); R
Smith 8+1 (4); L Strudwick 11+1 (4);
B Morley 6+3 (4).
It's a knockout for Rockets
Silver's night to savour
ROCKETS turn their
attention away from
the league to the
Knockout Cup in their
latest set of fixtures.
A first round aggregate
win over Birmingham
has set the Rockets up
for quarter-final action
against the defending
champions the Somerset
Rebels.
The Rockets aim to have
both Linus Sundstrom
and Luke Bowen back in
the saddle. Sundstrom
aggravated an earlier
back injury when in col-
lision with Bowen at
Berwick on Saturday
night,
The Swede has been
receiving treatment
from his chiropractor
and, although still in
some discomfort, plans
to return for the tie.
Bowen is also hopeful
his injury will have
cleared up.
The first leg is sched-
uled for the Oak Tree
Arena tonight and the
decider the next night at
Hoddesdon (7pm start).
The Southern Track
Riders Amateur
Speedway Club returns
to Rye House on Sunday
for an individual cham-
pionship round, starting
at midday.
Glasgow ........................ 48
Rye House Rockets ....... 42
Berwick .................. 51
Rye House Rockets . 42
(Premier League)
(Premier League)
ROCKETS left Edinburgh having
yet again come within a final
race of that elusive first travel-
ling point.
A brave recovery from 12 points
down had seen them enter the
nominated heat at 46-40 and need-
ing a share of the spoils to achieve
their mission.
It wasn't to be, however, as the
home side finished with a 4-2 after
Matthew Wethers had withstood
tremendous pressure from Neath,
and Sundstrom lost out in his duel
with Monarchs guest Jason Lyons
for third.
The Rockets were level 12-12 at
Heat 4 following victories by Silver
and Bowen, and could well have
led at that point.
The League champions took a grip
in the middle of the fixture.
Successive 5-1s pushed them eight
points clear at Heat 6, and a third
maximum advantage in Heat 10
appeared to have taken the match
out of Rockets reach at 36-24
However, a 5-3 from the tactically-
nominated Lemon and Silver in
Heat 11 was followed by a 4-2 in the
next race, won by Neath from
Tully, with Bowen producing a
tremendous race to keep Aaron
Summers at the back.
The Monarchs replied with a 4-2 of
their own in Heat 13, only for
Rockets to respond with a comfort-
able 5-1 from Silver and Neath in
the penultimate race.
That set up the decider, where
Neath and Sundstrom came so
close to completing the job.
Overall, it was a night to remem-
ber for Silver, who departed with
two wins and 12 paid points, while
reserve partner Bowen maintained
his own excellent recent form with
a win and a paid eight tally.
Sundstrom's first-ever visit to
Armadale netted a race success
and nine points.
Skipper Neath rebounded from the
nightmare start of a tapes exclu-
sion and a second bend slip, when
second, to produce a similar score.
Rye House scorers: M Lemon (guest) 6 (4, inc
4 as a TR); T Allen 2+1 (4); C Neath 8+1 (6);
L Sundstrom 9 (6); L Bowen 7+1 (5); A Silver
10+2 (6).
Edinburgh ...................... 50
Rye House Rockets ........ 42
(Premier League)
Kart Raceway Cobras ...... 57
Scunthorpe ...................... 37
(National League)
PREMIER LEAGUE
Up to & incl Sunday June 5
P W D L F A Pt
Workington.... 8 5 0 3 336 304 10
King's Lynn ... 4 3 0 1 214 157 11
RYE HOUSE... 7 3 0 4 336 304 10
Somerset....... 7 3 0 4 322 320 10
Stoke............. 4 3 0 1 190 173 8
Scunthorpe.... 7 3 0 4 314 330 8
Berwick......... 5 3 0 2 211 249 8
Edinburgh 4 2 0 2 185 181 7
Birmingham... 4 2 0 2 195 180 6
Redcar........... 4 2 0 2 178 194 6
Newcastle...... 3 2 0 1 141 133 5
Newport ........ 2 2 0 0 91 88 2
Glasgow........ 3 2 0 1 130 140 2
Sheffield ........ 4 0 0 0 141 133 5

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