Main Man Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 VIKINGS MISS OUT ON CHANCE TO REACH MDL PLAY-OFF FINALS. The Coventry-Mercia Vikings , sponsored by CITY GEARBOXES (COVENTRY) Ltd , have just missed out on a second successive Midland Development League play-off Final. Chasing a victory over table-topping Milton Keynes Knights , the Vikings had the worst possible start to the meeting when initially Andy Braithwaite was disqualified for a tape offence and was handicapped 15 metres . Then in the re-run No. 1 Dan Greenwood , captaining the side in the absence of Martin Knuckey , fell going into the pits bend with MK Knights guest Jack Kingston crashing heavily into the fence and sustaining a suspected broken collarbone. The Knights replaced Kingston with Shaun Tedham in the second re-staging and he and Adam Sheppard gave MK the best possible start with a 5-1. They then followed this up with a 4-2 with another Tedham victory leaving the home side 9-3 down and staring defeat in the face. Then in heat 3 skipper Greenwood rode a great captain’s race shepherding home Lee Geary for a vital 5-1 to bring the scores to 8-10. Andy Braithwaite recovered from his first race problems to take the win in heat 4 with Cam Hoskins outwitting Adam Shepherd to pass him on the last bend and get his side a much needed 4-2 to level it all up at 12 apiece. Dan Greenwood again showed great maturity and played the captain’s role to almost perfection allowing Andy Braithwaite to hold the lead whilst he held off a determined Ryan Terry-Daley. A maximum 5-1 looked on the cards to strengthen their chances of a win but Braithwaite went into the last bend first and came out of it third as he ran out of steam and the advantage was down to two instead of what should have been four at 16-14. Lee Geary and Cam Hoskins knew the task ahead of them to get at least a drawn heat to secure the win but Hoskins race was over on the first bend with a snapped chain. Shaun Tedham got the better of Geary with an outside burst coming out of bend two and as hard as the home man chased him it was all in vain and the 2-4 meant the honours were shared at 18 apiece. Although maintaining the unbeaten home record this second home draw of the season meant that the Vikings hopes of pipping Belle Vue to the Final were all over but third place in the 2012 MDL was assured. Those two draws were ironically against the two teams who have finished above them. Team bosses Kelvin Lapworth and Laurence Rogers were gracious in defeat despite their disappointment , “ Congratulations to MK Knights and Belle Vue on making the Final. Naturally we , the riders and our team sponsor City Gearboxes (Coventry) Ltd all are disappointed we have done the best we could have. We must thank the riders who have graced our colours in 2012 for their efforts and continue our planning for 2013. A big thank you to all our sponsors for their valued support this season especially Gary Drinkwater at City Gearboxes and the Nunaeton Speedway Supporters Club.” The Vikings travel again to Manchester on Wednesday for what will be the fifth attempt at staging the clash with the Belle Vue Colts. You have to feel for the riders and team manager Laurence Rogers who have had two wasted journeys there in the last two weeks and hopefully the sun will shine there for a meeting that will proceed without incident so that the Vikings can conclude their fixtures. CITY GEARBOXES Mercia Vikings 18 Dan Greenwood F/x 2’ 3 5+1 Andy Braithwaite 1 3 1 5 Cam Hoskins 0 1 R 1 Lee Geary 2 3 2 7 MK Knights 18 Jack Kingston f/n n n 0 Adam Sheppard 2’ 0 0 0 2+1 Ryan Terry-Daley 1 1 2 1 5 Shaun Tedham 3 3 2 3 11 Ht 1 : Tedham Sheppard Braithwaite (15m) Greenwood (f/x) Kingston (f/n) 1-5 1-5 68.2 2 : Tedham Geary Terry-Daley Hoskins 2-4 3-9 65.9 3 : Geary Greenwood Terry-Daley Sheppard 5-1 8-10 66.3 4 : Braithwaite Tedham Hoskins Sheppard 4-2 12-12 65.0 5 : Greenwood Terry-Daley Braithwaite Sheppard 4-2 16-14 67.2 6 : Tedham Geary Terry-Daley Hoskins (ret) 2-4 18-18 64.7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedibee Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 VIKINGS MISS OUT ON CHANCE TO REACH MDL PLAY-OFF FINALS. The Coventry-Mercia Vikings , sponsored by CITY GEARBOXES (COVENTRY) Ltd , have just missed out on a second successive Midland Development League play-off Final. Chasing a victory over table-topping Milton Keynes Knights , the Vikings had the worst possible start to the meeting when initially Andy Braithwaite was disqualified for a tape offence and was handicapped 15 metres . Then in the re-run No. 1 Dan Greenwood , captaining the side in the absence of Martin Knuckey , fell going into the pits bend with MK Knights guest Jack Kingston crashing heavily into the fence and sustaining a suspected broken collarbone. The Knights replaced Kingston with Shaun Tedham in the second re-staging and he and Adam Sheppard gave MK the best possible start with a 5-1. They then followed this up with a 4-2 with another Tedham victory leaving the home side 9-3 down and staring defeat in the face. Then in heat 3 skipper Greenwood rode a great captain’s race shepherding home Lee Geary for a vital 5-1 to bring the scores to 8-10. Andy Braithwaite recovered from his first race problems to take the win in heat 4 with Cam Hoskins outwitting Adam Shepherd to pass him on the last bend and get his side a much needed 4-2 to level it all up at 12 apiece. Dan Greenwood again showed great maturity and played the captain’s role to almost perfection allowing Andy Braithwaite to hold the lead whilst he held off a determined Ryan Terry-Daley. A maximum 5-1 looked on the cards to strengthen their chances of a win but Braithwaite went into the last bend first and came out of it third as he ran out of steam and the advantage was down to two instead of what should have been four at 16-14. Lee Geary and Cam Hoskins knew the task ahead of them to get at least a drawn heat to secure the win but Hoskins race was over on the first bend with a snapped chain. Shaun Tedham got the better of Geary with an outside burst coming out of bend two and as hard as the home man chased him it was all in vain and the 2-4 meant the honours were shared at 18 apiece. Although maintaining the unbeaten home record this second home draw of the season meant that the Vikings hopes of pipping Belle Vue to the Final were all over but third place in the 2012 MDL was assured. Those two draws were ironically against the two teams who have finished above them. Team bosses Kelvin Lapworth and Laurence Rogers were gracious in defeat despite their disappointment , “ Congratulations to MK Knights and Belle Vue on making the Final. Naturally we , the riders and our team sponsor City Gearboxes (Coventry) Ltd all are disappointed we have done the best we could have. We must thank the riders who have graced our colours in 2012 for their efforts and continue our planning for 2013. A big thank you to all our sponsors for their valued support this season especially Gary Drinkwater at City Gearboxes and the Nunaeton Speedway Supporters Club.” The Vikings travel again to Manchester on Wednesday for what will be the fifth attempt at staging the clash with the Belle Vue Colts. You have to feel for the riders and team manager Laurence Rogers who have had two wasted journeys there in the last two weeks and hopefully the sun will shine there for a meeting that will proceed without incident so that the Vikings can conclude their fixtures. CITY GEARBOXES Mercia Vikings 18 Dan Greenwood F/x 2’ 3 5+1 Andy Braithwaite 1 3 1 5 Cam Hoskins 0 1 R 1 Lee Geary 2 3 2 7 MK Knights 18 Jack Kingston f/n n n 0 Adam Sheppard 2’ 0 0 0 2+1 Ryan Terry-Daley 1 1 2 1 5 Shaun Tedham 3 3 2 3 11 Ht 1 : Tedham Sheppard Braithwaite (15m) Greenwood (f/x) Kingston (f/n) 1-5 1-5 68.2 2 : Tedham Geary Terry-Daley Hoskins 2-4 3-9 65.9 3 : Geary Greenwood Terry-Daley Sheppard 5-1 8-10 66.3 4 : Braithwaite Tedham Hoskins Sheppard 4-2 12-12 65.0 5 : Greenwood Terry-Daley Braithwaite Sheppard 4-2 16-14 67.2 6 : Tedham Geary Terry-Daley Hoskins (ret) 2-4 18-18 64.7 FFS shepherding home Lee Geary . come on mate credit where it 's due . Lee won that with no Help from Dan Greenwood , why can't you just say it like it was . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Man Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 agreed but Dan held off Terry-Daley who was pressing for 2nd and let Lee ride his own race and get the vital 3 points but the 5-1 was all important to the scorelines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 Am sorry to say Jack Kingston's injury confirmed as a broken collar-bone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Man Posted September 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 here's to wishing young Jack a swift recovery so he is back on a bike asap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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