Wolves lose to Eastbourne at home

Eastbourne 63 Wolves 29

You know a team is struggling when both of its riders are disqualified from the same race – one of them twice.

Wolves crashed to a 34-point defeat against play-off bound Eastbourne, their biggest loss of the season.

It was the first time they have leaked 60 points this year and their first defeat by such a margin since an identical scoreline at the same venue last year in the Knockout Cup.

Wolves reached their nadir in heat 12. Already running rider-replacement, their over-stretched reserves finished up with seven outings apiece after Ty Proctor dropped out injured.

With Eastbourne's match against Coventry to fit in immediately afterwards, referee Mick Bates was rightly cracking on and in the heat of battle Joe Haines went to the tapes in the wrong helmet colour and Henning Bager didn't appear at all!

Both were disqualified under the two-minute time allowance but, curiously, only Haines was then allowed to start off the 15-metre handicap.

He then fell but got back on in the hope of taking a point, only to be thwarted by a buckled front wheel which saw him lapped – and disqualified again.

Wolves were on the back foot right from the opening heat, when home captain Cameron Woodward's first bend nudge into Proctor prompted a domino effect that put the latter in the fence along with Freddie Lindgren and Bjarne Pedersen.

Proctor came off worse, his knee ballooning to such an extent that he withdrew after two rides and is a doubt for tonight's Monmore Green derby with Birmingham.

The visitors managed only two heat winners, captain Peter Karlsson duly delivering on his double-point tactical ride and Tai Woffinden showing superb reflexes in heat seven to get a 'lift' under control in the first corner and move incisively to the front.

There was some good action with Lindgren and Joonas Kylmakorpi swopping places no fewer than five times in heat 13, before the Swede prevailed in their struggle for second place.

But the Eagles were dominant and all their riders, bar Timo Lahti, posted double-figure scores, so they will go into the post-season action with confidence.

Wolves, in contrast, completed their away league fixtures without a win.

By Tim Hamblin