Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2015 9:28:37 GMT
The Pride
Official Media Outlet of the Charlemont Chargers Speedway Team
15/10/2015 at ALL SAINTS STADIUM - ATTENDANCE 816
SIM SPEEDWAY 2015/16 - ACADEMY LEAGUE - KO CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st Leg
16/10/2015 at THE WEST MIDLANDS ARENA - ATTENDANCE 774
SIM SPEEDWAY 2015/16 - ACADEMY LEAGUE - KO CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd Leg
Charlemont Chargers are through to the Grand Final of the 2015 Acadmey League Knock Out Cup after a closely contested meeting with local rivals Rowley Raptors. A huge crowd at The All Saints Stadium saw the chargers take a 10 point lead to second leg of the Black Country Derby after a fine display from stand in captian Chris Williams. Williams scored 13 points and really showed his class supporting his team to a great first leg victory. He was stepping into the role of injured Neil Johnson who was also in attdance on crutches folloing his broken ankle the previous week against the bullets.
The meeting was very tight till heat 8 where the home side were just two point ahead after the teams shared heats and 4-2s to keep the away side happy with the first leg progress. However just before the interval the home side were brought together ontrack by manager Steven Hunt and gave an inspired team talk infront of The Prides faithful. Heat 9 and the home really put the hammer down and a solid 5-1 by Wayne Douglas and Ewald Dirtl pushed the lead to six points. The meeting was held at six points through heats 10-14 as both sides scored 4-2s and 3-3s to keep the scoreline steady. The final heat of the night saw an amazing heat of speedway where fans favorite Chris Williams romped to victory and a final corner move from the impressive guest Matt Courage scored a 4-2 to give the Chargers a 10 point lead going into the following nights second leg.
Onto the second leg and both sides lined up as the previous, with Matt Courage still in for injured Johnson. The meeting was set up for a tight finish with just 10 points in it. But the Chargers had sights on the final, the first 4 heats saw the home side eat just two points into the chargers lead but the meeting really got intresting in heat 5 when Gary Turner and John Stroud scored a simple 5-1 when they saw Matt Courage fall infront of them in the lead of a 3-3 and the home team cheered in delight as the home side scored the first 5-1 of the night and got the scores back within 4 points. Matt Courage was appluadded by the home support as in good sportsman ship he cleared the track quickly after falling un injured.
Another 5-1 in heat 7 for the Raptors brought the scores level on the night, this time Peter Taylor & Bennie Freeburn showed home to ride the West Midlands Arena and team rode brilliant to keep both of the hard charging Chargers Ewald Dirtl and Wayne Douglas at bay and bring the aggragate scores level on the night. The momentum really was with the home side and they had already done the hard work in bringing the scores back to a level playing field with 8 heats to go.
A mini meeting then to decide who goes through to the final, 8 heats, winner takes the glory and once again the home side looked to have more desire with home track advantage and another 5-1 in heat 10 after two drawn heats put the away side into the lead for the first time in the two legs. However Heat 10 saw the interval arrive and it was time for the managers to shine. Steven Hunt looked to have put the fire back into his team and in heat 11 his boys Ray France and Matt Courage reverted thier earlyier defeat and really got the away side cheering them home with the scores back level it was down to the final four heats.
Heat 11 saw a 3-3, heat 12 saw a 3-3 and then the vital points that were needed for the victory were scored, Chris Williams and Matt Courage were split by Riku Uljas and with Williams riding a great line throughout the race to hold off Uljas and Courage also doing the same to Peter Taylor the Chargers came home on a 2-4 and that was where the meeting was won as the 14 and 15 were both won by an away rider to finish the job with two 3-3s.
Manager Comments
'What can I say, the boys did good. First season in exsistance and were in our first final. I didnt think it was going to happen Rowley came at us and brought it level too quickly and then were the one chasing which is not always ideal. The side was fantastic and the crowd was fantastic at both meetings and the racing was fantastic, both side should be proud of what happened yesterday and tonight as it was a true indication of the reason why this league was started.'
'I must say a special thankyou to Matt Courage who has stepped in a scored well at number one, He is going to ride in our next fixture aswell because Neil is not quite ready to come back yet and to be honest its just rewards for his perfomance. Im sure Ill look out for him next season if available to give him a ride beacuse he rides the bike like an animal and hes just great to watch.'
'Other performances to highlight, Chris Williams has stepped up and shown how much depth we have at 1-5 he did the main body of scoring and put us in with a chance late on, Ray France has been amazing, many doubted him being put in the main body of the team but he has shown his worth and pushed on for the side.'
'Braves in the final, be a great meeting that will...'
CHARLEMONT CHARGERS - 50
1. Matt Courage (G).......... 1* 3 2 3 1 - 10+1
2. Ray France................ 2 1 3 0 - - 6
3. Ewald Dirtl............... 0 2 2* 2 - - 6+1
4. Wayne Douglas............. 3 1* 3 3 2* - 10+1
5. Chris Williams............ 3 3 3 1 3 - 13
6. Ian Lennon................ 2 1 0 1* 1 - 5+1
7. Lewis Drager.............. 0 0 0 - - - 0
ROWLEY RAPTORS - 40
1. Riku Uljas................ 3 3 2 2 0 - 10
2. Micky Zane................ X 0 2 1* - - 3+1
3. Gary Turner............... 2 2 1 3 1 - 9
4. John Stroud............... 1* 0 3 2 - - 6+1
5. Peter Taylor.............. 2 2 0 0 - - 4
6. Bennie Freeburn........... 3 0 1 - - - 4
7. Ronan Cave................ 1 1* 1* 0 0 - 3+2
No. Results CH RO CH RO
1: Riku Uljas, Ray France, Matt Courage (G), Micky Zane (X)..... 3 3 3 3
2: Bennie Freeburn, Ian Lennon, Ronan Cave, Lewis Drager........ 2 4 5 7
3: Wayne Douglas, Gary Turner, John Stroud, Ewald Dirtl......... 3 3 8 10
4: Chris Williams, Peter Taylor, Ronan Cave, Lewis Drager....... 3 3 11 13
5: Riku Uljas, Ewald Dirtl, Wayne Douglas, Micky Zane........... 3 3 14 16
6: Matt Courage (G), Peter Taylor, Ray France, Bennie Freeburn.. 4 2 18 18
7: Chris Williams, Gary Turner, Ian Lennon, John Stroud......... 4 2 22 20
8: Ray France, Micky Zane, Ronan Cave, Lewis Drager............. 3 3 25 23
9: Wayne Douglas, Ewald Dirtl, Bennie Freeburn, Peter Taylor.... 5 1 30 24
10: John Stroud, Matt Courage (G), Gary Turner, Ray France....... 2 4 32 28
11: Chris Williams, Riku Uljas, Micky Zane, Ian Lennon........... 3 3 35 31
12: Gary Turner, Ewald Dirtl, Ian Lennon, Ronan Cave............. 3 3 38 34
13: Matt Courage (G), Riku Uljas, Chris Williams, Peter Taylor... 4 2 42 36
14: Wayne Douglas, John Stroud, Ian Lennon, Ronan Cave........... 4 2 46 38
15: Chris Williams, Gary Turner, Matt Courage (G), Riku Uljas.... 4 2 50 40
CHANGES
CHARLEMONT CHARGERS
Heat 12 - Ian Lennon in as a reserve replacement for Lewis Drager
ROWLEY RAPTORS
Heat 12 - Ronan Cave in as a reserve replacement for Bennie Freeburn
**STARMAN** Wayne Douglas (Charlemont Chargers)
ROWLEY RAPTORS - 49 (89)
1. Riku Uljas................ 2 2 3 2 1* - 10+1
2. Micky Zane................ 1* 1* 2 2* - - 6+3
3. Gary Turner............... 3 3 R 3 2 - 11
4. John Stroud............... 0 2* 3 1* - - 6+2
5. Peter Taylor.............. 3 3 1 0 - - 7
6. Bennie Freeburn........... 3 2* 0 0 2 - 7+1
7. Ronan Cave................ 1 0 1* - - - 2+1
CHARLEMONT CHARGERS - 41 (91)
1. Matt Courage (G).......... 3 Fx 1* 2* 1 0 7+2
2. Ray France................ 0 1 3 - - - 4
3. Ewald Dirtl............... 1* 1 0 2 - - 4+1
4. Wayne Douglas............. 2 0 1 3 - - 6
5. Chris Williams............ 2 3 3 2 3 3 16
6. Ian Lennon................ 2 0 1* 0 - - 3+1
7. Lewis Drager.............. 0 1* R - - - 1+1
No. Results RO CH RO CH
1: Matt Courage (G), Riku Uljas, Micky Zane, Ray France............ 3 3 3 3
2: Bennie Freeburn, Ian Lennon, Ronan Cave, Lewis Drager........... 4 2 7 5
3: Gary Turner, Wayne Douglas, Ewald Dirtl, John Stroud............ 3 3 10 8
4: Peter Taylor, Chris Williams, Lewis Drager, Ronan Cave.......... 3 3 13 11
5: Gary Turner, John Stroud, Ray France, Matt Courage (G)(Fx)...... 5 1 18 12
6: Chris Williams, Riku Uljas, Micky Zane, Ian Lennon.............. 3 3 21 15
7: Peter Taylor, Bennie Freeburn, Ewald Dirtl, Wayne Douglas....... 5 1 26 16
8: Chris Williams, Micky Zane, Ronan Cave, Lewis Drager (R)........ 3 3 29 19
9: John Stroud, Chris Williams, Matt Courage (G), Gary Turner (R).. 3 3 32 22
10: Riku Uljas, Micky Zane, Wayne Douglas, Ewald Dirtl.............. 5 1 37 23
11: Ray France, Matt Courage, Peter Taylor, Bennie Freeburn......... 1 5 38 28
12: Gary Turner, Ewald Dirtl, Ian Lennon, Bennie Freeburn........... 3 3 41 31
13: Chris Williams, Riku Uljas, Matt Courage, Peter Taylor.......... 2 4 43 35
14: Wayne Douglas, Bennie Freeburn, John Stroud, Ian Lennon......... 3 3 46 38
15: Chris Williams, Gary Turner, Riku Uljas, Matt Courage........... 3 3 49 41
CHANGES
ROWLEY RAPTORS
Heat 12 - Bennie Freeburn in as a reserve replacement for Ronan Cave
CHARLEMONT CHARGERS
Heat 8 - Chris Williams in as a tactical substitute for Rick France
Heat 9 - Matt Courage in as a tactical substitute for Ian Lennon
Heat 14 - Ian Lennon in as a reserve replacement for Lewis Drager
**STARMAN** Chris Williams (Charlemont Chargers)