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RAIDERS REPELLED BY BRUMMIES
Sunday July 31, 2016
The BMR Raiders found the going equally tough in the second part of Sunday’s double header at Rye House, going down 54-36 to runaway league leaders Birmingham in Travel Plus National League action.
The Raiders needed a positive start to have the opportunity to spring a surprise, but Brummie 5-1s from the first two races, and from three of the opening five heats, left them playing a game of catch-up from 10-20 that could really only end one way.
Rye’s big three of Rob Branford, Luke Priest and Ben Morley helped to keep the Raiders competitive in between times, scoring 28 points between them and keeping the deficit to 10 (at 34-44) at Heat 13, only for the visitors to bookend their strong start with maximums from the final two races for their ultimate eighteen point winning margin.
Rye House Team Manager Peter Schroeck admitted afterwards, that “We knew it was going to be really tough, but those early 5-1s really did sink us.
“Double headers can work either for or against you, and on this occasion it was the latter. Ben (Morley) and Rob (Branford) threw everything at it in the Somerset match, and you could tell that they were not quite as sharp against Birmingham because of the number of rides they were having.
“But Matt (Saul) picked up a few points, so it wasn’t all bad tonight. Just very tough in a match against really strong opposition where you really need everything to be going your way in order to be in with a shout.â€
BMR Raiders:
Robert Branford 11, Luke Priest 10, Ben Morley 7+1, Matt Saul 3+1, Sam Woods 2, Connor Locke 2, Macauley Leek 1
Birmingham:
Jack Smith 13+3, Tom Bacon 13+2, Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 9+2, Liam Carr (guest) 8, Darryl Ritchings 7+1, Danyon Hume 4, Tom Perry R/R
Match Points: Rye House 0 Birmingham 4
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