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| |  | BIRMINGHAM’S time in senior speedway came to an end with a creditable performance in a 53-37 defeat at Leicester.
The meeting brought the curtain down on the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership season for the Curtis Sport Brummies, who staged their final meeting at Perry Barr on Monday.
And whilst it goes down as an 11th successive defeat, the final score in no way reflected the closeness of the contest with the Lions only pulling clear with two 5-1s in the last two races.
Once again the top Birmingham riders showed a liking for the Hydroscand Arena, where they had registered a shock 45-44 victory in May.
They did drop eight points down in the early stages with the home reserves taking a 5-1 in Heat 2, but Matej Zagar got the Brummies on the board with a fine ride to win Heat 4, and they gained a 4-2 as home man Sam Masters fell on the last bend.
The visitors then secured what will go down as their final 5-1 thanks to a great effort by Jonas Jeppesen to overcome Ryan Douglas from the back in Heat 5, teaming up with race leader Tobiasz Musielak.
Zagar then achieved the notable feat of a win over home skipper Max Fricke in Heat 8, and after Keynan Rew had worked hard to split Drew Kemp and Masters in Heat 7, Jeppesen won a ding-dong scrap with Luke Becker in Heat 8 to leave the Brummies just two points adrift.
The next two races gave the Lions some breathing space as Zagar lost his unbeaten tag to Douglas in Heat 9, and a 5-1 from Fricke and Becker over Rew and Paco Castagna in Heat 10 made it 34-26.
Brummies kept on fighting and managed to share the next three races, although a tactical substitute outing for Zagar in Heat 12 was frustrated by a fast start from Douglas.
Two 5-1s were required from the last two races to snatch an unlikely draw, but those hopes were ended by Kemp and Kyle Howarth who secured a 5-1 for Leicester in Heat 14.
The last race was one of the best of the night, with Musielak looking set to end the season with a win only to be overtaken first by Douglas and then by Fricke as the home side ended with a somewhat flattering 16-point margin.
Birmingham have just one more match left prior to closure as the Ductair Bulls visit Kent in the National Development Trophy on Sunday September 7.
The club would also like to thank Leicester for the respect they showed during an emotional week, including the nice touch of inviting the Birmingham riders out to say their farewells on the post-meeting parade.
LEICESTER 53: Ryan Douglas 13, Max Fricke 12+2, Drew Kemp 9, Luke Becker 7+1, Kyle Howarth 4+1, Joe Thompson 4+1, Sam Masters 4.
BIRMINGHAM 37: Matej Zagar 10+2, Tobiasz Musielak 10, Keynan Rew 7, Jonas Jeppesen 6+2, Sam Hagon 2, Paco Castagna 1, Simon Lambert 1.
Leicester win the aggregate point
Photto credit: RICHARD BOETTCHER
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