Post by bottesfordbullets on Aug 19, 2015 23:30:07 GMT
The Bottesford Bullets crashed out of the KO Cup this week losing 86-94 on aggregate to the London Jets.
After winning the home leg 49-41 the Bullets fancied their chances of progression but another disappointing away meeting saw them surrender their 8 point lead in only the first 4 heats, sliding to a 53-37 reverse.
Only Martin Greer, in the form of his life at present, and Hamish Hamilton, really got to grips with the Jet's track. The most telling statistic being the number of race wins the Lincolnshire outfit managed, a lowly 3.
Added to this the away team also ran a last place in 9 heats.
Despite the obvious disappointment, Team Manager Paul Duff remained bullish and optimistic. "I am a little disappointed in our away form, that's the second time in as many weeks we have failed to hit 40 points away from home, our record at the Bullet Arena is decent and we seem to be able to put meetings to bed, but I'm concentrating on improving our away form.and removing those zeroes is the way forward "
The Bullets suffered a 52-38 loss at Westwood the previous week,and whilst the performance was more solid, the two youngsters Will Stone and Luke Patryk struggled in particular. Duff was keen to point out that he stands by his septet "We do have a young side and perhaps thats why we are a little bit hit and miss at the moment, particularly away from home, young Will and Luke have found it a little tough going but I believe in them, Will has started to bang in the scores at home, averaging 8.00 around the pacy Bullet Arena, it's away that he has struggled a little. Luke is low on confidence but he has real ability, he has been putting in the laps at home to get his gating and track craft up to speed, and I've earmarked him for some coaching to get his season off and running. Zoltan Slepukhin is another who's feeling a bit off the pace too, it was always a tough ask coming in on an assessed 7 points, though he lived up to the billing in the pre-season challenges and does well early on in a meeting, he seems to suffer a little in his final race or two when up against bona fide Heat Leaders, in the latter stages. That apart though, Zoltan isn't far off where he should be and is a very quick learner and I reckon he'll be banging in the big scores soon and has spent a lot of hours servicing his best engine"
One man who is revelling in a change of fortunes is the young Scotsman, Hamish Hamilton, who is really enjoying life in his new surroundings. "Hamish has settled in well and seems to be enjoying his racing again, for this week's home match I have switched him and Will Stone, to get us off to a solid start in Heat 1 and take the pressure off Will a little, the way things are going, young Lewie Carr will liekly step into the main body of the team when the new averages come out, this should Will a reserve berth and a chance to build his confidence, if Luke improves with some coaching, I may keep Hamish at 2 and with Martin Greer heading for the No.1 race jacket I may put Zoltan at 3 or 5, we'll see how things go from here in." said Duff.
This week the Bullets host the Stone Cross Stars, weeking a morale boosting home win. Stone Cross have a solid septet and are led by the highly rated Ben Harris. Harris is many people's Riders Champion Elect and ihas started the season in scintillating form. Duff was keen to look to his own assets though, " Harris is without doubt a class act and has been ably supported so far by Stefab Botezatu, however I feel we have the solidity to take the racing to the Stars and give Harris and co plenty to think about, Hamish will ride at 2 this week to give Zoltan some support, leaving Mike Cartwright at 3 with Will Stone at 4, where his experience should be a boost for Will, Carts is great round the Arena and should offer Will support. I also really beleive in our reserve duo this week and tip them to have a real go at the Star's second string, in fact they could even steal places from the Stone Cross top three.There's sure to be a decent crowd with the weather set fair, so get those backsides, trackside"
After winning the home leg 49-41 the Bullets fancied their chances of progression but another disappointing away meeting saw them surrender their 8 point lead in only the first 4 heats, sliding to a 53-37 reverse.
Only Martin Greer, in the form of his life at present, and Hamish Hamilton, really got to grips with the Jet's track. The most telling statistic being the number of race wins the Lincolnshire outfit managed, a lowly 3.
Added to this the away team also ran a last place in 9 heats.
Despite the obvious disappointment, Team Manager Paul Duff remained bullish and optimistic. "I am a little disappointed in our away form, that's the second time in as many weeks we have failed to hit 40 points away from home, our record at the Bullet Arena is decent and we seem to be able to put meetings to bed, but I'm concentrating on improving our away form.and removing those zeroes is the way forward "
The Bullets suffered a 52-38 loss at Westwood the previous week,and whilst the performance was more solid, the two youngsters Will Stone and Luke Patryk struggled in particular. Duff was keen to point out that he stands by his septet "We do have a young side and perhaps thats why we are a little bit hit and miss at the moment, particularly away from home, young Will and Luke have found it a little tough going but I believe in them, Will has started to bang in the scores at home, averaging 8.00 around the pacy Bullet Arena, it's away that he has struggled a little. Luke is low on confidence but he has real ability, he has been putting in the laps at home to get his gating and track craft up to speed, and I've earmarked him for some coaching to get his season off and running. Zoltan Slepukhin is another who's feeling a bit off the pace too, it was always a tough ask coming in on an assessed 7 points, though he lived up to the billing in the pre-season challenges and does well early on in a meeting, he seems to suffer a little in his final race or two when up against bona fide Heat Leaders, in the latter stages. That apart though, Zoltan isn't far off where he should be and is a very quick learner and I reckon he'll be banging in the big scores soon and has spent a lot of hours servicing his best engine"
One man who is revelling in a change of fortunes is the young Scotsman, Hamish Hamilton, who is really enjoying life in his new surroundings. "Hamish has settled in well and seems to be enjoying his racing again, for this week's home match I have switched him and Will Stone, to get us off to a solid start in Heat 1 and take the pressure off Will a little, the way things are going, young Lewie Carr will liekly step into the main body of the team when the new averages come out, this should Will a reserve berth and a chance to build his confidence, if Luke improves with some coaching, I may keep Hamish at 2 and with Martin Greer heading for the No.1 race jacket I may put Zoltan at 3 or 5, we'll see how things go from here in." said Duff.
This week the Bullets host the Stone Cross Stars, weeking a morale boosting home win. Stone Cross have a solid septet and are led by the highly rated Ben Harris. Harris is many people's Riders Champion Elect and ihas started the season in scintillating form. Duff was keen to look to his own assets though, " Harris is without doubt a class act and has been ably supported so far by Stefab Botezatu, however I feel we have the solidity to take the racing to the Stars and give Harris and co plenty to think about, Hamish will ride at 2 this week to give Zoltan some support, leaving Mike Cartwright at 3 with Will Stone at 4, where his experience should be a boost for Will, Carts is great round the Arena and should offer Will support. I also really beleive in our reserve duo this week and tip them to have a real go at the Star's second string, in fact they could even steal places from the Stone Cross top three.There's sure to be a decent crowd with the weather set fair, so get those backsides, trackside"