Wolves speedway suffer derby defeat

Having trailed for much of the meeting, the visitors appeared to have timed a late surge to perfection when Ty Proctor brilliantly shepherded home youngster Joe Jacobs for a huge 5-1 in the penultimate race of the night, writes Rich Jones.

That set up a nervy last-heat decider with the two sides level – yet the unstoppable Danny King flew from the tapes for the Brummies to complete a 15-point maximum.

Behind him, Piotr Pawlicki fought hammer and tongs in a bid to help partner Ricky Wells work his way into third.

But former Wolves man Daniel Nermark held his nerve to condemn his former club to a frustrating defeat.

Despite an encouraging display, the Monmore men will no doubt feel this was an opportunity missed.

In another tight clash, Wolves were again hurt by the disappointing form of world champion Tai Woffinden as he failed to record a race win on a tough night.

Woffinden is frequently superb at Perry Barr – he dropped just four points in 10 races from the two league matches at the venue last season – and the skipper was frustrated by his performance and the result.

"It was a tough night, and I personally struggled after making a mistake with the set-up," he said.

"A few of the boys had some issues and it was a shame we couldn't come away with a win.

"At least we came away with a point for our efforts, and now we've just got to look at pushing forward."

With Woffinden struggling, Wolves lacked the big hitter required to outdo their neighbours. Polish ace Piotr Pawlicki took some time to get to grips with the Perry Barr circuit before going on to impress for the away team, while he received solid support from Ricky Wells.

The duo combined for a pivotal maximum in heat 10 to help hoist their side back into the meeting, with both bravely blasting their way past Wolves old-boys Nermark and Adam Skornicki on a tight first lap.

Down at reserve Joe Jacobs also impressed, recording two excellent race wins while partner Ashley Morris made a useful contribution.

Australian Ty Proctor also recovered from a disappointing opening ride.

But Jacob Thorssell, who has endured some nightmare meetings at the circuit, proved largely ineffective with the exception of a classy heat four victory.

With Wolves accounting for just five race winners they simply lacked the cutting edge needed.

Birmingham: Danny King 15, Daniel Nermark 10, Paul Starke 8+2, Adam Skornicki 7, Nico Covatti 3, Ben Barker 2, Simon Lambert 1.

Wolves: Piotr Pawlicki 9+1, Ricky Wells 8+1, Joe Jacobs 7+1, Tai Woffinden 6+1, Ty Proctor 6+1, Ashley Morris 4+1, Jacob Thorssell 4.