Injury-hit Heathens end with a victory

The Heathens were forced to take on the Potters with only five riders having seen Ellis Perks (hand) and Tyler Govier (ankle) both crash out of their clash with Coventry earlier in the day.

Although they drafted in Darryl Ritchings as a guest, they were unable to find a replacement for Govier at short notice.

And when Michael Neale was forced to pull out due to a lack of equipment following an earlier crash they were reduced to just four riders.

Matt Williamson and Arron Mogridge plus guesting duo Ben Morley and Ritchings nonetheless fought tirelessly to give them a five-point lead before a power failure saw the meeting called to a halt after 13 heats.

Earlier, Cradley pulled off a last-gasp 5-1 to secure a consolation league point from their 48-44 defeat at Coventry.

Skipper Williamson combined with star guest Ben Morley in the final race after keeping them in the hunt two heats earlier. Williamson was in stunning form, notching 16 points.

COVENTRY 48: Darryl Ritchings 11, Martin Knuckey 9, Conor Dwyer 7+2, Rob Shuttleworth 7, Mark Baseby 6+3, Danny Ayres 5+1, Jamie Halder 3.

He said: "We wanted to win the match obviously but to lose both Ellis and Tyler to injury during the meeting and Mike Neale suffering bike problems we pulled together in those two heats and got the job done.

"Ben did a great job at number one for us on a tricky track that didn't have much dirt on and gating was so important today."

It was the first meeting of two in a day for the Heathens with a trip to Stoke the same evening.