Wolves' speedway give up their title

Poole 53 Wolves 41 (Poole win 97.5 - 85.5 on aggregate)

Right, it's time to concentrate on the cup.

Wolves' reign as Elite League title holders ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

They were always up against it last night, starting on level terms against a team that finished well clear at the head of the table and which hasn't been pushed closer at home than 10 points all season.

What the visitors needed at Wimborne Road was to keep the scores tight early on and hope that the Pirates' collective nerve would begin to fray.

What they got turned out to be very different. Talisman Fredrik Lindgren hit the shale after first bend bunching in the opening heat and, although he got gingerly to his feet for the re-run, he could make no impression on the home pair.

Two further Poole advantages followed and after just three races the Parrys International Wolves trailed by 10 points with their challenge all but over.

Indeed, the only visitor to beat an opponent in those opening three heats was double-up reserve Matt Wethers, who won a stern pass and repass battle with former world champion Gary Havelock for second place in heat two.

The defeat means no third consecutive title medal for Adam Skornicki, a loanee at Poole during their victorious 2008 campaign and a leading figure in Wolves' triumph last year.

Skornicki it was who raised the flag in heat four, doing very well to take the win by twice closing the door firmly on the charging Davey Watt while Ludvig Lindgren relegated Havelock to fourth.

But there was heartbreak for the Polish star two races later, when Chris Holder passed him before Darcy Ward got up right on the line to deny him second spot.

And his night took a bigger turn for the worse in the ninth when he tangled with Artur Mroczka on the entrance to the third turn while trying to slip through on the inside.

Skornicki's disqualification and the subsequent 5-1 in the rerun left Wolves 15 points behind and in no doubt as to their fate.

There was no lack of spirit in the visitors' camp - non-riding double-up reserve Joe Haines was in the pits to lend a hand and had a piece of duct tape with the message 'fuel and oil boy' stuck on his T-shirt by the mechanics - but that was not enough against a rampant home side.

Wolves did have their occasional moments. Nicolai Klindt took a fine heat seven win over Watt while skipper Tai Woffinden, on a double-point tactical, got past Leon Madsen for third.

On a night with at least some passing before the track slicked off totally, both Proctor and the elder Lindgren eased their way past Mroczka in the fifth.

The Wolves top gun also delivered with a win in his heat 11 tactical outing, though pushed all the way by Leon Madsen.

But the home side's big guns were all firing, world under-21 champion Ward particularly impressive with Chris Holder giving excellent backing while Bjarne Pedersen dominated from the tapes.

A total of just five heat wins tells its own story on a night when Poole wrapped up their place in the final with three races to spare, although Klindt and Fredrik Lindgren's last heat 5-1 dented the maximum hopes of Pedersen and Ward.

However, despite last night's disappointment, Wolves have over-achieved to take second spot in the table again after the demands of the points limit pushed them to shed legendary leader Peter Karlsson in the close season.

Their campaign is by no means over. On Thursday they take an eight-point lead to Coventry in a bid to reach the Knockout Cup semi-finals.

The record books still beckon.

By Tim Hamblin