Hammers sunk in play-off first leg

THERE was to be no fairytale story in this, the first leg of the play-off Grand Final, as top of the table Poole Pirates produced a workmanlike performance in taking the opening honours.

The Dorset side produced a polished performance that will make them odds-on favourites to take another Elite League crown, racing into an early lead and then holding firm over the latter half of the meeting to round out winners.

For the Hammers it was an evening when the toll of injuries appeared to finally take effect and the challenge of seeing off a stronger team was a task too great on the night.

It was Chris Holder who got his side off to the perfect start in heat one when he rocketed from the gate ahead of Andreas Jonsson and Leigh Lanham, who both had to work hard to slip inside Magnus Zetterstrom to prevent an opening reverse.

Pirates struck gold in heat two when their reserve pairing of Daniel Davidsson and Freddie Eriksson scored a comfortable 5-1. That early blow was intensified in the next race when Adam Skornicki and Bjarne Pedersen stunned the home crowd by taking another maximum to put the Pirates eight points up after just three races.

A Hammers 4-2 had looked on the cards in heat four, Tomasz Jedrzejak making the most of a fast start to find fresh air at the head of the race. But Davey Watt rode a persistent inside line to reel in the Pole and eventually snatch victory on the line, much to Hammers' frustration.

The first home victory of the night came in heat five when Jonas Davidsson - how good to see this guy back on a bike after his horrific smash in Sweden back in August - pulled clear, leaving Lanham to chase down Zetterstrom. The Hammers skipper overhauled his opponent to bring back the home side's first heat advantage - was this the turning point for the Essex men ? Again Lanham searched for the answer, dicing with Watt as Jonsson pulled clear in heat six. The Poole man performed a perfectly executed cut back to glide through, preventing the Hammers from securing that elusive 5-1.

The next two heats were literal hammer blows and arguably the turning point as far as the overall result was concerned. First up was Pedersen, who weaved further magic to overtake Jedrzejak on the final lap and join fast trapping Skornicki for a 5-1. Then came the massive blow of a Zetterstrom/Davidsson 5-1 after Jonsson had been nominated for a tactical ride but was unable to make any ground up from his fifteen metre deficit.

Jonsson quickly recovered, teaming up with Davidsson to sweep past Watt and immediately extract revenge of the maximum variety. Poole looked set for their own reply immediately afterwards but Jonsson and Skornicki scrapped around for the third placing in heat ten as Poole's Polish star - unbeaten at this point - tumbled out on the final corner.

A run of shared races followed, Jedrzejak starting the sequence with a fine win over Holder. The battle of the Davidsson brothers in heat twelve was won by Jonas, who was second behind Pedersen alongside race partner Kling. No further damage but no much needed heat advantage either.

With the home side on the verge of defeat, Jonsson produced a fantastic display of team riding to push round Jedrzejak and ride to a 5-1 over Holder and Watt. That result left Poole four points to the good and the home side with a slim chance of securing an unlikely win - if the scores from the next two heats went their way.

Sadly for the home team, Poole completed the job in the penultimate race. Skornicki took another tapes to flag victory and Daniel Davidsson moved in to secure what was a match-winning third place ahead of Kling.