There were late adjustments to both sides. Glasgow operated rider replacement for Michal Rajkowski whilst the change for Somerset was a little more controversial, in general terms rather than just applying to the meeting. Recently crowned PLRC Champion and Rebels no 1 Sam Masters explained to the crowd over the PA before the meeting that he had been banned for the remainder of the season for criticising a referee decision with other riders on facebook, the other riders involved apparently escaping censure. Plenty will be said on the matter elsewhere but it is a shame Tigers fans will be denied the opportunity to see the PLRC winner this season.
On to the meeting itself.
Somerset had drafted in former Tiger Kauko Nieminen to guest in place of Masters and he was involved in an excellent battle up front with Joe Screen in the opening heat. Joe had the advantage out of the gate and had to work very hard to cover inside and out as Nieminen tried, but failed, to find a way through. the two rider replacements were also involved in a cracking battle between Somerset's other guest, Kyle Newman and Theo Pijper. Theo had missed the gate but was quickly on Newman's tail and was also trying to find a passing line to get through. It looked as if Newman would hold on but Theo got his reward for never giving up by edging Newman out on a run in to the line off the final bend.
Heat 2 was from the gate, Davies getting the better of Theo with David unfortunately at the rear and no apparent passing lines.
The Somerset fans were unhappy when Glasgow got the benefit of a difficult decision in heat 3 when Nick Morris tried to find a way through after the home pairing had gated on a 5-1. Coming into the opening bends of lap 2, there was a coming together between Nick Morris and Rebel for the night Kyle Newman. The referee adjudged Newman to be at fault although the home fans disagreed but Newman was excluded from the re run. To add insult to injury in their eyes, although Cory Gathercole again led out of the gate for the Rebels, Richard Sweetman went for the only bit of drive off the final bend of the opening lap and past Gathercole, then going on to comfortably win the heat.
The pattern of heat advantages continued in heat 4, James Holder wining from the gate. Tigers had gated in the minor placing's but David Bellego drifted too wide on the unfamiliar track on lap two bend two, James Wright taking advantage to slip through into third place. Wright made up ground on Grieves and mounted a brief challenge which James firmly blocked.
Some extensive track grading took place before the start of heat 5 but when the tapes went up it was the Tigers pairing of Screen and Pijper who were electric out of the start and were untouchable for the remainder of the heat.
Somerset hit straight back however in heat 6. Kauko Nieminen shot from the tapes and was gone. There was a brief battle round the opening bends and down the back straight between James Grieves and Alex Davies, Davies getting the better of James going into the third bend and there was no way back for Glasgow.
There was a heart in the mouth moment for Tigers fans in heat 7 when Nick Morris was involved in a nasty looking crash on the back straight. Coming out of the second bend, Nick was doing battle with Alex Davies for the lead. On the outside line. Nick appeared to catch a rut and it threw him towards the fence and was bounced back into mid track with James Wright having to quickly lay down his bike to avoid him. Nick was excluded and the race restarted with just three riders. The Somerset pairing gated on a 5-1 but Richard Sweetman tracked down Wright and swept outside him at the end of the second lap to split the Rebels.
With no obvious ill effects from his heat 7 crash, Nick Morris took the rider replacement ride in heat 8 but it was Theo Pijper who was to impress. he gated well and rode a superb tactical race to hold off everything that Cory Gathercole could throw at him and claim the win. Nick was comfortably 3rd after outgating James Holder.
The Glasgow pairing were easily outgated in heat 9 and the Rebels looked to be coasting for another 5-1 with James Grieves and David Bellego well down. On lap 3, David decided to go round his team mate and kept it wound on for the entire lap, passing by Gathercole and challenging Newman for the win on the race to the line. Newman was rightly adjudged to have held but David came very lose with a brave ride.
Heats 10 and 11 were to prove crucial and a bit of a disaster for the Tigers .Nieminen and Davies were surprisingly untroubled as they coasted to an easy 5-1 over Morris and Sweetman in heat 10. in the next heat Joe Screen gated but Wright and Davies executed a pincer movement on him out of bend 2 to lead down the back straight and were soon clear to give the home side another heat maximum.
Most people were surprised when Nick Morris came out in the black and white helmet colour in the next heat as Richard Sweetman had looked to be coping with the Oak Tree circuit the better of the two riders. However our stand in team manager's faith was repaid when a tough opening bend from Nick saw him muscle out Kyle Newman and hit the front. Nick quickly put some space in between them whilst Theo Pijper was quickly on Newman's tail. After tracking him for a couple of laps theo seized his opportunity to drive past him at the end of the third lap to give the Tigers a very important 1-8.
Unfortunately the Tigers come back was to be sort lived however. Heat 13 saw Joe quickly out of the traps but he looked to be struggling and Nieminen and Wright took full advantage to sail by and claim another 5-1 for the home side, this time against the Pairs Champions.
Seven points down, it already looked a tough ask for the Tigers to take anything out of the meeting and when the impressive Alex Davies shot from the tapes in heat 14 with Gathercole slotting into second place, the meeting was really over as a contest. However Theo Pijper, easily Glasgow's star man on the night, was not for giving up and did his best to cause the rebels a few headaches, finally getting by Gathercole at the end of the third lap and having to work hard off the final bend to stop Gathercole coming back through.
Strictly speaking Glasgow could still gain a point on the night but it would need a 5-1 in the final heat to achieve it. Nick Morris and Joe Screen came to the tapes but it was former Tiger Kauko Nieminen who basically gated and was gone with Joe and Nick filling in the minor places.
For some time Somerset had the reputation of being an excellent race track with entertaining speedway but sadly that was not the case last night. It was a poor meeting with not a lot of passing opportunities. The two stand outs on the evening were both in reserve berth - Alex Davies for the home side and Theo Pijper for the Tigers. An inspired choice of guest for Somerset, using Kauko Nieminen for Sam Masters, definitely paid dividends.
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