Travel sickness strikes again

Coventry 52 Wolves 41

The Elite League's latest Midland derby saw more misery on the road for Wolves as they went down 52-41 to Coventry last night.

Brandon has never been a particularly happy hunting ground for Wolves in recent years, but this was a poor showing from the side as they were outgated and outraced by the Bees.

There were a few bright spots for the travellers, including a six-point tactical ride victory for Peter Karlsson in heat five, an unexpected 5-1 for Karlsson and David Howe in heat 11 and an improvement in form for Magnus Karlsson, but there was little in the way of entertainment, with many heats being decided once the riders reached the back straight for the first time.

The Karlsson brothers were the side's only consistent fast starters throughout the meeting, with Magnus clearly unaffected by failing to join his brother in the Swedish Championship Final from the semi-final on Wednesday.

Impressive

In his opening ride in heat three he blasted clear and looked set to hold off Rory Schlein for victory, but the Australian swept by with half a lap to go to steal it. He found success in the penultimate race, however, when he held off ex-Wolf Steve Johnston.

Magnus's form was particularly impressive after his main engine – which had only completed one previous race – blew up during the pre-meeting parade.

Fredrik Lindgren's run of success came to an end, and he looked a different rider to the one who scored 15-point maximums in his previous two meetings. An engine failure in the final race restricted him to six points, and he left the stadium a silent and disconsolate figure.

Billy Hamill endured another poor night, and seemed unable to find a reason for his low score on his former home track.

The veteran American was also the night's lone faller in heat 10, although referee Chris Durno adjudged that he had been knocked off by Oliver Allen – sparking memories for some of the pair's clash at Brandon earlier in the season.

The difference between the two sides is clear from one look at the scorechart, and more specifically the reserve berths.

Home reserves and Coventry track specialists Billy Janniro and Martin Smolinski chalked up an impressive 10 points between them, while only once did a Wolves reserve manage to beat an opponent.

Chris Kerr guested for the injured Kenneth Hansen but was totally ineffective, while William Lawson scratched together two points, one coming when Janniro clipped the air fence in heat 12 and fell back.

Wolves will be looking to improve tonight when they visit Sussex to take on the Eastbourne Eagles. Ex-Wolf Nicki Pedersen leads the Eagles into battle, but the Arlington track's tight shape should suit Wolves better than Brandon.

by Dave Goddard