Wednesday August 16, 2023 |
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BIRMINGHAM and Coventry were locked in an enthralling West Midlands Challenge fixture at Perry Barr on Wednesday - with the visitors producing a stunning comeback to snatch victory in a last heat decider.
The Brummies and the Bees battled out a real meeting of two halves which saw the away side win 46-44.
Back-to-back 5-1s in Heats Two and Three saw the Curtis Sport Brummies open up an early eight point lead - and by Heat Eight that gap had been increased to 12.
But the move from Bees boss Martin Coleman to introduce Chris Harris as a tactical substitute in Heat Nine started the comeback for the visitors which saw them register six advantages in the final seven races to edge the decider.
Brummies CEO Nigel Tolley said: “Of course we’re disappointed to lose the meeting, particularly when you consider the position we found ourselves in.
“Thankfully it wasn’t a league meeting - but having said that I think one or two things would’ve been done differently had it been!
“I think both sets of riders deserve full credit for the show they put on; there was some decent racing and it turned out to be a really interesting meeting when at one point it looked like it could’ve been a walkover.
“It was great to see the turnout from the Coventry supporters and I was pleased they had something to cheer about.
“From a Brummies point of view, there are things we can take from this night still into the most important fixtures of our season.”
Brummies head to Redcar in the league on Friday (August 18, 7.30) before hosting Scunthorpe at Perry Barr next Wednesday (August 23, 7.30).
BIRMINGHAM 44: Justin Sedgmen 9, Josh Pickering 7+1, Alfie Bowtell 7+1, Paul Starke 7+1, Stefan Nielsen 6+1, Troy Batchelor 6, Sam Hagon 2+1.
COVENTRY BEES SELECT 46: Chris Harris 14, Kyle Howarth 10+1, Connor Mountain 7+1, Leon Flint 6+1, Lee Complin 6, Max Perry 3, Freddy Hodder 0.
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