Express & Star

Faultless Fredrik leads Wolves to victory

Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren struck a faultless maximum to lead Wolverhampton to a sublime 48-42 victory over local rivals Coventry.

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Peter Adams' side ended the Bees' unbeaten away record, continuing their own fine start to the season to edge a blockbuster Midlands derby at Monmore Green.

As they have done on so many occasions over the years, Lindgren and skipper Peter Karlsson led Wolves to victory, prevailing in a tense last-heat decider.

It was a scintillating night of Elite League action which saw Wolves further enhance their growing reputation and add three more points to their tally.

No 1 Lindgren evoked memories of his Monmore Green dominance, racing past Hans Andersen in heat one to give the host an early lead.

He then masterfully sliced underneath Joonas Kylmakorpi to again give Wolves a narrow advantage in heat seven.

The sides continued to trade blows before Karlsson gave them breathing space with a tapes-to-flag win in heat eight.

The sides were still separated by only four points when Lindgren next appeared after they had traded 5-1s, yet the Swede blasted around the outside on a tight opening lap to lead another heat advantage.

Another fine triumph in heat 13 only yielded a shared heat as partner Jacob Thorssell was relegated to the back – but it was nonetheless enough to keep Wolves in the driving seat heading into a tense finale.

As the rain began to fall, inspirational veteran Karlsson held his nerve to prevail over Danny King for second place and prevent what would have been a disastrous Coventry 5-1 in the penultimate heat.

Heat 15 eventually took place in heavy rain, with Karlsson and Lindgren wrapping up a brilliant win.

Whilst the stunning Lindgren and classy Karlsson had spearheaded Wolves, they received plenty of support in what was another strong all-around team effort against an in-form Bees side.

Polish hot-shot Tobiasz Musielak prevailed in a breathtaking heat-three battle with Great Britain stars Chris Harris and Danny King, as shows encouraging improvement in his debut British campaign.

In-form American Ricky Wells put in a solid showing in the No.2 spot – dusting himself down from an awkward heat one tumble to notch some important points in the No.2 spot.

Wolves will be back in action when they travel to Swindon on Thursday.

Wolves: Fredrik Lindgren 15, Peter Karlsson 13+1, Ricky Wells 6, Josh Bates 6, Tobiasz Musielak 4, Lewis Blackbird 3+2, Jacob Thorssell 1.

Coventry: Hans Andersen 9+1, Jason Garrity 8+1, Joonas Kylmakorpi 8, Stuart Robson 7+1, Harris 5+1, Danny King 4+1, Dan Greenwood 1.

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