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| |  | BIRMINGHAM enjoyed their first away win of the season at Oxford on Tuesday - and it was debutant Justin Sedgmen who held his nerve to claim the victory.
The Curtis Sport Brummies produced, without doubt, their best performance of the season so far to beat the Cheetahs 48-42 and register back-to-back league wins.
And it was Sedgmen who stunned the Championship newcomers in his first meeting of the year, dropping just one point from five rides and taking the chequered flag in the all-important last heat decider in what was a simply scintillating display.
Vice-captain James Shanes registered his best score of the season so far, starting and ending with a race win, just as he did against Scunthorpe last time out.
No.1 Claus Vissing and guest Tom Brennan both came up with a race victory each, with the latter claiming a third place in that last heat decider.
Stefan Nielsen contributed two solid victories with teenage reserve James Pearson scoring in each of his outings to claim a personal best in his short British Speedway career so far.
And while club captain Ashley Morris endured a frustrating night at the office, team manager Laurence Rogers was proud of the way his side acquitted themselves at Sandy Lane.
"I've got a smile a mile wide right now," he said.
"The boys battled hard all the way through and it's great to win.
"Sedgy was unbelievable, he was fantastic and I'm sure he'd have taken that before his debut!
"We said on track walk that everyone needed to up it a little bit and I think they did just that - it was a really good team effort and we're all delighted."
Brummies were on the receiving end of a 5-1 in the opener but found themselves level by Heat Four.
They edged in front with their first 5-1 in Heat Five before the hosts responded with a maximum of their own in the very next race.
Exactly the same happened again in Heats Eight and Nine respectively before the Brummies showed some real resilience by claiming five of the last six race winners.
They looked on course to seal it in the penultimate race with Shanes and Pearson on a 5-1, but when home man Cameron Heeps came down, and stayed down on the deck, a re-run was forced.
A 4-2 meant the hosts could snatch a draw in the decider, but Sedgmen rounded off a dream debut with his fourth triumph of the night.
The two sides meet again at Perry Barr on Wednesday night (May 18, 7.30) with the Brummies looking to close in on the top six with a hat-trick of victories.
CHAMPIONSHIP
OXFORD 42: Scott Nicholls 12+1, Nick Morris 8, Kyle Newman 6+2, Dillon Ruml 6+1, Jack Thomas 5+2, Cameron Heeps 5, Nathan Stoneman 0.
BIRMINGHAM 48: Justin Sedgmen 14, James Shanes 8+1, Tom Brennan 8, Claus Vissing 6+1, Stefan Nielsen 6, James Pearson 5+1, Ashley Morris 1+1.
Championship points: Oxford 0 Birmingham 3.
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