Thursday 6 May 2004
PEBLEY BEACH SWINDON ROBINS 56
WOLVERHAMPTON PARRYS INTERNATIONAL WOLVES 38
Knock-Out Cup 1st Round, 2nd Leg
Swindon won 99-88 on aggregate
SWINDON
| Leigh Adams | 2* | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | 12(1) |
| David Ruud | 3 | 2* | 3 | 1* | 1 | 0 | - | 10(2) |
| Steve Johnston | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2* | 1 | - | 12(1) |
| Andy Smith | 1 | 2* | 1* | 3 | 1 | - | - | 8(2) |
| Charlie Gjedde R/R | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Steve Masters | 1 | R | 2* | 3 | - | - | - | 6(1) |
| Olly Allen | 3 | 0 | 2* | 3 | - | - | - | 8(1) |
WOLVERHAMPTON
| David Howe | 0 | 1 | 1 | R | - | - | - | 2 |
| Daniel Nermark R/R | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Adam Skornicki | 0 | 2* | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | 3(1) |
| Sam Ermolenko | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | 15 |
| Mikael Max | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2* | - | - | 14(1) |
| James Grieves | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3 |
| Eric Carrillo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 |
| Ht 1: Ruud, Adams, Grieves, Howe, 67.21 | (5-1) |
| Ht 2: Allen, Grieves, Masters, Carrillo, 67.68 | (9-3) |
| Ht 3: Johnston, Ermolenko, Smith, Skornicki, 67.17 | (13-5) |
| Ht 4: Max, Adams, Carrillo, Allen, 66.09 | (15-9) |
| Ht 5: Johnston, Smith, Howe, Grieves, 66.95 | (20-10) |
| Ht 6: Adams, Ruud, Max, Grieves, 66.43 | (25-11) |
| Ht 7: Ermolenko, Skornicki, Johnston, Masters (ret), 67.27 | (26-16) |
| Ht 8: Ruud, Allen, Ermolenko (TR), Carrillo, 67.11 | (31-18) |
| Ht 9: Max (TR), Johnston, Smith, Grieves, 66.36 | (34-24) |
| Ht 10: Ermolenko, Adams, Ruud, Skornicki, 66.49 | (37-27) |
| Ht 11: Smith, Masters, Howe, Carrillo, 67.83 | (42-28) |
| Ht 12: Allen, Johnston, Skornicki, Grieves, 67.80 | (47-29) |
| Ht 13: Adams, Max, Ruud, Howe (ret), 66.33 | (51-31) |
| Ht 14: Masters, Ermolenko, Smith, Carrillo, 68.80 | (55-33) |
|
Ht 15: (Nominated) Ermolenko (g), Max (y), Johnston (r), Ruud (b), 67.48 |
(56-38) |
Programme changes:-
Ht 1: R/R Grieves
Ht 4: R/R Adams
Ht 5: R/R Grieves
Ht 7: R/R Johnston
Ht 8: R/R TR Ermolenko (Double points)
Ht 9: TR Max (Double points)
Ht 11: R/R Smith; R/R Carrillo
Ht 13: R/R Ruud
Second-half:-
| Race 1: James Purchase (r), Nathan Irwin (b), 73.83 (2 Riders Only) |
| Race 2: (Demo) Kyle Hughes (r), 74.58 |
| Race 3: (Not Re-Run) Sam Martin (b; f,ns), Marc Andrews (r; f,ex), No Time |
|
Race 4: (Re-Run) James Purchase (r), Jordan Frampton (g), Nathan Irwin (b), 74.24 (3 Riders Only) |
| Race 5: (Demo) Kyle Hughes (r; ret), No Time |
|
Race 6: Nathan Irwin (y), Jordan Frampton (g), Sam Martin (b), Marc Andrews (r; ret), 73.37 |
It was a case of third time lucky, as the wet weather finally abated and allowed the Pebley Beach Robins to run their long overdue Knock-Out Cup tie versus Wolverhampton. If that was cause for celebration in itself, then considering Swindon were minus the services of broken ankle victim Charlie Gjedde, the performances of those present was a joy to behold, as the boys in Red and White sailed into the next round. Indeed, this was a mighty performance from the homesters, with all six team members playing a full and vital part in overturning a seven-point first leg deficit to win 99-88 on aggregate. Such was the spirit and determination that the Robins could even afford the luxury of allowing Wolves a last heat consolation ‘fiver’ from their star duo of Sam Ermolenko and Mikael Max.
Swindon looked like they meant business right from the start, with David Ruud and Leigh Adams providing a classic example of team riding as they romped to maximum points over James Grieves and a distant David Howe. The Pebley Beach Robins extended their lead in the second heat, as Olly Allen took victory from Grieves after swooping around the field on the first turn, while Steve Masters cleverly nipped inside Eric Carrillo to pick up the odd point. Heat three saw Steve Johnston at his devastating best, as he stalked the quick-starting Ermolenko before getting the drive on a wide line to blast ahead off the fourth turn of lap three. Meanwhile, with Andy Smith filling third position in typical full-blooded fashion, Swindon moved into a 13-5 lead.
Wolverhampton hit back with a 4-2, which saw Max defeat an ever-probing Adams, while Carrillo got the better of Allen behind. Two magical maximums on the trot then put Swindon in command, only for the visitors to respond with a full-house of their own through Ermolenko and Skornicki in heat seven. Shrewd Wolves boss Peter Adams brought in Ermolenko for a rider replacement outing in the next race and also nominated the American great for a tactical ride to boot! Riding out of their skins, the move was nullified by some great work from Ruud and Allen though, who kept ‘Sudden Sam’ at bay to supply the Robins with a 5-2 advantage.
Wolves responded with a further tactical ride for Max and the speedy Swede made no mistake to win, with Johno and Smudger filling the minor scoring positions. That brought the sides to within ten-points at 34-24, so there was still plenty to play for as far as the aggregate situation was concerned. Swindon were to take a grip on proceedings, however, and following a shared heat ten, they let reeled off successive 5-1s courtesy of the Smith/Masters and Allen/Johnston partnerships. Adams was clinical in defeating Max in heat thirteen, and with Ruud in third position after Howe had pulled up on the last lap, the Robins were assured of advancing through. Lionel wrapped up a super night personally by leading Ermolenko home in the penultimate race, while Smith was busy taking his paid tally into double figures.
Hearty congratulations to Messrs Adams, Ruud, Johnston, Smith, Masters and Allen – heroes all on a wonderful night for the Pebley Beach Robins!