Wolves are beaten to Midlands Bowl

Wolves 38 Coventry 52 (Coventry win Midland Bowl 109-76)

Freddie Lindgren won the first race of Wolves' season back at Birmingham in March and now the last at Monmore Green.

It's just the seven months in the middle before last night that didn't go so well.

Both teams looked to boost their line-ups for the Midland Bowl clashes – a move that looked good on paper but became a classic imbalance on track.

Coventry pulled in assets Rory Schlein – the new Elite Riders Champion – and Chris Harris, enervated by his 2012 deal with the Bees, still finding room to borrow Monmore man Nicolai Klindt.

Wolves drafted in Adam Skornicki but nothing went right for the hero of the 2009 title-winning side.

With Tai Woffinden still sidelined by his respiratory problems, there was a gaping hole where the home team's middle order was meant to be.

The gap was plugged valiantly by Ty Proctor, the man giving most backing to Lindgren and stalwart Peter Karlsson.

Wolves, eight points down after just five races, worked their way back into the match with the help of retirements for Klindt – who found himself in deeper and deeper going as he tried to get round Karlsson and eventually came to a halt by the fence – and Stuart Robson.

But when Proctor, who had spearheaded a heat eight 5-1, failed to beat the time allowance two races later you sensed that Wolves' moment had passed.

Coventry, with Schlein and Harris in fine fettle, duly closed out the match in the most forthright fashion imaginable with three successive maximum heat wins.

The latter had produced the ride of the night in heat four, getting the better of a two-lap tussle with Ricky Wells before chasing down Karlsson and powering smoothly up the inside out of the turn four exit.

Wolves looked like signing off with a consolation Lindgren and Karlsson 5-1 in the last, the pair covering every one of the repeated threats offered by Harris.

But even that was to be denied them, as the Coventry star managed to split the pairing off the final turn. It was – as it has been all season – a question of so near, yet so far.

By Tim Hamblin