Tigers tamed: Eastbourne Eagles leave it late to defeat Glasgow

A late comeback was sealed with three league points as Richard Lawson and Tom Brennan rode home for a 5-1 in heat 15 to give the Eagles a 47-43 win over Glasgow.

With 11 heats gone, the HG Aerospace Eagles were losing 37-29 and it looked as if all the good work of securing an away win on Friday at Redcar would be undone.

The tide turned in heat 12. Richard Lawson came in a tactical substitute and went on to secure a tapes to flag victory. Edward Kennett battled into second place and the deficit was halved.

Lawson won heat 13 but with Lewi Kerr last, the gap remained four and Glasgow’s hopes of hanging on grew.

Tom Brennan and Drew Kemp squared things with a 5-1 in heat 14 and then Lawson was at it again in the decider. He rode the hardest of first corners and nipped off into the lead with Tom Brennan finding plenty of room to move through into second.

Former Eagle Ulrich Ostergaard, who top scored for Glasgow, tried everything he knew but the two Eagles were not going to be denied and took the chequered flag for a match-winning 5-1.

This was the third last-heat decider this year at Arlington Against Edinburgh, the Eagles were denied victory when Kyle Newman’s bike packed up and against Poole, in the opening match of the season, a last heat 5-1 secured a 45-44 Eagles win.

Lawson said Eastbourne did not make a great start and the found themselves having to use a tactical substitute at home.

“We didn’t drop our heads and we re-grouped. It is nice when it goes to the wire and you pull in off. The pressure is not always ideal but we have come through a good meeting. We are good side and everyone has a good set-up and we should be winning by a bit more,” Lawson said.

The meeting was sponsored by Tiger’s Big Build, with the aim of raising awareness and funds for the young Hailsham childs cause, with both sets of riders posing for a meeting picture ahead of the clash. A poster signed by all of the riders will be available for auction shortly.

Scorers: Eastbourne: Richard Lawson 13+3 (6), Kyle Newman 8 (4), Edward Kennett 4+3 (4), Tom Brennan 11+1 (5), Lewi Kerr, 5 (4), Jason Edwards 2+1 (3), Drew Kemp 4+1 (4). Glasgow: Craig Cook 9+2 (5), Broc Nicol 7, Ricky Wells 8 (4) , Sam Jensen 1 (4), Ulrich Ostergaard 11 (5), Connor Bailey 0 (3), Justin Sedgmen 7+2 (5).

In the second half event, the Eastbourne MSDL Seagulls, Powered by Save Thurrock Hammers Speedway, took a 21-15 victory over the Birmingham Bulls. With a two point lead going into the last heat, Skipper Nick Laurence and Josh Warren teamed up to deliver a match winning 5-1.

Eli Meadows scored three valuable points in his first main meeting at Arlington.

James Jessop suffered a shoulder injury in his first ride, after colliding with two Birmingham riders who had fallen ahead of him on the second bend. We send James our best wishes.

The Seagulls MSDL Team Manager Mark Sexton commented: “After months of waiting, it was great to actually see the team on track and taking a well deserved victory sets us up nicely for the rest of the season. Losing James (Jessop) in his first ride meant that Nick, Eli and Josh had to take an extra ride each which tested men and machines but they rose to the occasion brilliantly and, Jacob Fellows aside, had the measure of the three other Bulls.

Josh really stood out and showed the benefits of having got some NDL laps under his belt. Nick scored important points when it mattered most and I was very happy with Eli’s paid 5 points in his first team meeting at Arlington. There’s definitely more to come from all of them and we’re definitely looking forward to our next meeting.”

Scorers: Eastbourne Seagulls Powered by Save Thurrock Hammers Speedway: Nick Laurence 9, Eli Meadows 3, James Jessop 0, Josh Warren 9. Birmingham Bulls: Jamie Sealey 1, Bailey Fellows 5, Stephen Whitehouse 0, Jacob Fellows 9