Dudley V Isle Of Wight (at Birmingham) (nl)

[Brummie Kev]

There will be Live Radio Commentary once again by BBC WM.

 

Link Below, coverage starts at 7pm

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_wm/

Edited July 21, 2010 by Brummie Kev

[21st century heathen]

Have sent you a text 21st....

 

Thanks

 

 

I beg to differ so I'll PM you my number again.

[youngy105]

Updates

[rhidassa]

Good to listen to it on the radio, though some heats the commentator hasn't seemed entirely enthusiastic. He seems a bit more into it now, though! Do like the service... but where's the webcam? I wanna watch, too

[scribbler]

Interesting that James Sarjeant scored 7 + 2 ...

[czechhero]

Not a bad meeting overall, a bit gate and go at times, but Tommy P and Micky D provided some entertainment, as did Ash Morris at times. Sarje was well worth his 7+2, shame he missd the gate horribly in his 4th ride though (Likewise Dyer in heat 15 to spoil his max). IOW were very poor though, shame really.

[Brummie Kev]

Not the best meeting to be honest, I thought the Islanders were dreadful only Nick Simmons, Danny Warwick and Dean Felton after his first outing did anything. Expected more from Brendan Johnson whilst Tom Hill and Ricky Scarboro seemed to have difficulty riding the track let alone racing the Heathens.

 

It was a terrific performance from the Heathens, Tom Perry was pure entertainment when he missed the gate both in Heat 9 and Heat 12. Smart and Armstong were both outstanding as you would expect, disapointed in Jake thought he would go well tonight although had a good last race. Both the Heathens reserves, Ashley Morris and James Sarjeant did well. Pleased for James afer being dropped by the Heathens Managment.

 

Lastly and by no means least, what a showing from Micky Dyer. The kid seems to have real talent and really attractive riding style, really is good to watch. Think he may be in the Premier League next season and I pray to god its with the Brummies. Awesome.

 

Excellent Crowd once again, just a pity it was men against boys.

[spin king]

Nice to Sarj getting a chance and scoring well, if Heathens are not going to use him on a regular basis then maybe another National League team will.

[greyhoundp]

Excellent all round team performance from the Heathens; they all scored well, a rather dissapointing showing from the Islanders, except from Simmo and Danny, i must admit i expected more from Bren, they really need another heat leader as a minimum, but also from Simmo when he was on a tactical but i would guess from the most recent signing at No2 they are on a strict budget. There were a few good races mention must be made of young Mr Perry, and Simmo when he was on a tactical, and took the win on the line, For the Heathens they all rode well except for Jake who though giving 100% still appears either lacking in confidence, or down on power or a combination of both, rather scary for the other NL teams to think there is still improvement to come from this team, and Ben Taylor is still out with his season long injury, but where could he fit in ?? it was apparent from the applause who is the crowds favourite step forward Armo, i am glad i dont have to make the decision when Ben is fit and ready to race again, yes James could do a very good job for another NL team, ie Weymouth, the Islanders to name but two teams.

There was a good sprinkling of Brummie fans in the crowd, which was again excellent, and i would put it at minimum of easily 1000 + The inside stand appeared pretty full, the first bend stands had little room available, all around bends 1 & 2 there were spectators, and the terracing was i would estimate at least half full, with plenty space available around the exit of the 4th bend where i stood. yes most Premier, and some Elite League teams would be envious of the crowd figures that the heathens are getting.

Edited July 21, 2010 by greyhoundp

[zlata prilba]

Well impressed with Micky Dyer tonight looks a real hot prospect

[willp]

IN-FORM Dudley Heathens moved into the National League play-off zone with a thoroughly convincing win over the Isle of Wight at Perry Barr.

 

Heathens were rampant from the word go as they hammered home 5-1s in the first two races, with James Sarjeant keen to impress on his return to the team as a guest.

 

The Islanders' sole resistance came from an early race win by Danny Warwick and a good effort by Nick Simmons to win Heat 5 for double-points - but three 5-1s to the Heathens put them in total control and set for an emphatic win.

 

Jon Armstrong was unbeaten from four rides whilst Tom Perry and Micky Dyer put in some superb overtaking moves to delight the large crowd - with the Islander's late response being a last-heat 5-1 to deny maximums for Dyer and skipper Lee Smart.

 

DUDLEY: Lee Smart 12, Jon Armstrong 11+1, Micky Dyer 10+3, Tom Perry 9+1, James Sarjeant 7+2, Jake Anderson 6, Ashley Morris 5+2.

 

ISLE OF WIGHT: Nick Simmons 12+1, Danny Warwick 10, Dean Felton 6+1, Brendan Johnson 2+1, Ben Hopwood 2, Tom Hill 1, Ricky Scarboro 0.

[21st century heathen]

Note for anyone keeping note of scores from Updates. I text one result wrong. I got Johnson and Felton the wrong way around in heat 12. Updates shows them having scored 3 and 5+2 respectively. It should be 2+1 and 6+1. I blame Sandie entirely as I missed it and copied her programme.

 

------------------------------------------

 

Terrific performance by our boys. I was being entirely genuine when I said I had a slight concern over how the Heathens' riders would adjust, particularly in the earlier heats. And it was true to an extent. Jake and 'Fred' had their best rides in the second half of the meeting, but all the other lads started the meeting in stunning style. It's hard to pick out anyone as MOTM but if I was pushed for one name I'd give it James. In his time as a Heathen he averaged 2.71 (Dudley website) but last night he looked a different rider and looked very good. True that he messed up his last ride completely which is disappointing. But after being dropped he seems to have taken it very professionally and has grabbed this chance with both hands rather than having a strop and turning it down, as may have been the case with some riders. I sincerely hope one or two NL Promoters/Team Managers have spotted this performance and consider giving James a chance. He'll give you 100% effort, that was always clear when he was riding for us, and now his professional approach is clear as is the raw talent and potential to score points. It just needs little things to fall into place for him and I think he could score consistently decent points. Well done James.

 

Smarty - Looked fast, smooth and unbeatable for most of the meeting. He made a fast start to heat and recorded what was announced as a new NL track record. He missed the start badly in heat 10 but went from 3rd to 1st in the second half of the first lap to cruise to another win. He also missed the start badly to heat 15. The track was more slick and dusty by then so it would have been interesting to see if he could have caught and passed the visitors. It was not to be though as an engine failure robbed us of a potentially good race. It was a bit disappointing to end that way by that's life. I just hope this isn't the start of a run of bike problems, as it wouldn't be the first time for Lee. That's 4 for the season so they are beginning to add up a little.

 

Dyer - Superb. I love watching him ride already. As I said prior to the meeting if he ends up with B'ham the fans will love watching him. As confirmed by a couple of comments by Brummies fans, he has a great style. He made a couple of great starts and also showed he could muscle his way through if needed too. Great ride in heat 10 to dive under Warwick going into the last lap. Another to end on a disappointing note though with a poor start to heat 15, and he never got near the IOW pairing.

 

Perry - Well, what can we say about 'Fred' that hasn't been said before. From unknown 3-point reserve with no speedway experience to a guy that can go out and score 9+1 in the main body of the team in four months. His home average with bonus points is nearly 9, which is staggering and shows that with a bit of experience on a track he can quickly improve. I would expect his second visit to tracks around the league to reflect this and his points tally to generally improve quickly on the road too. Back to last night though and once again 'Fred' provided some of the best action. He stole 2nd place on the line in his first ride, went from 4th to 1st in his third ride and from 3rd to 1st in his fourth ride. Had James not come back in and done so well my MOTM would have gone to 'Fred'. I'm already looking forward to more good racing from him on Tuesday next week.

 

Anderson - Probably the only real disappointment of the night came from Jake. I don't know what's happened to the stunning form he showed when he first came into the team but he seems to have levelled off as roughly a 7-point middle order man rather than the heat leader it initially looked he could be. It started well but he made mistakes under pressure in his first ride and slipped from 1st to last. His middle two rides were distinctly average but he did end on a high with a heat win. So good on ya Jake for bouncing back well.

 

Armstrong - Continued he superb form of late. He seems to be well and truly back to his best now and is proving to be a very important rider for us. He put a nice forceful move on Warwick in a race that was sadly stopped and restarted due to a faller. It looked as though he'd done enough to see off Warwick but I'd have been interested to see if Warwick could have put him back under pressure and how Jon would have reacted to it. Great night for him and ended up being the only unbeaten rider. If he can transfer his best form to Monmore we're going to look very very strong in the latter part of the year.

 

Morris - Terrific start to the meeting with two confident looking rides to take 4+2 from his first two. His night ended with relatively a poor ride but the difference looked largely to be the fact that he missed it and couldn't quite do enough from the back. He was on the pace and working very hard though so good form and a solid score from Ash. A great ride in the rerun of heat 7 when moving Warwick out on the first turn and leaving him room but few options was good to see. If he can make good starts and be right in the mix like this more often the point are going to start to flow very nicely.

 

Sarjeant - Already covered above. Couldn't be happier to see him finally pick up the point his effort deserves. Well done again James.

 

Simmons - The good, the bad, and the indifferent from Nick. He won't be happy to be 5-1'd twice, particularly in heat 1 moreso than heat 13 I would think. A decent enough 2nd place thrown into the mix with a paid win in his last ride. But without doubt his best was saved for when it was most important (on paper at least - not that it mattered in the end). He went from 3rd to 1st when on a tactical in what must be described as the visitors' best ride of the night. Decent enough night on the whole, but support was lacking.

 

Scarboro - Was never really in the meeting to be honest. There's nothing I can add. Sorry.

 

Johnson - Improved as the night went on and was more in the mix by the end. Poor score but 'getting there' might be a good way to describe it.

 

Warwick - Provided the only real resistance to the Heathens apart from Simmons. Top and tailed his night with heat wins, was well in the race with Armstrong in heat 7 when it was stopped and typically the rerun didn't go so well, and was generally there or thereabouts for the visitors. A good night for him as he scored in every ride.

 

Hopwood - Frankly I thought he was very poor and I expected so much more. Only scored by beating his reserve team mate twice and fell when last on the tactical ride. Very poor on the night.

 

Felton - Looked outclassed by the Heathens early on but came good in the end. He beat Anderson, Morris and Sarjeant in his last three rides. Solid effort and free from blame for the heavy defeat.

 

Hill - Looked out of his depth if I'm honest. Another that was never really in the meeting so comments are hard to make. Just a point gained and that was by beating his equally poor team mate Scarboro.

 

 

 

[Sandie]

Note for anyone keeping note of scores from Updates. I text one result wrong. I got Johnson and Felton the wrong way around in heat 12. Updates shows them having scored 3 and 5+2 respectively. It should be 2+1 and 6+1. I blame Sandie entirely as I missed it and copied her programme.

 

Well, you should know better!

I always get my programme wrong and copy yours normally. Serves you right! LOL