BEES boss Gary Havelock was pleased to come away from Wolverhampton with a point despite tasting defeat on the road for the first time this season.
In what was a pulsating derby the visitors fought back from an eight-point deficit on Monday evening to force the meeting into a last-heat decider.
But on this occasion they were not quite able to secure the result as they lost out 48-42.
The star of the show was home rider and Wolves No.1 Freddie Lindgren who roared to a five-ride maximum, whilst Swedish veteran Peter Karlsson was also in inspirational form after dropping just one point.
But all the grit, spirit and determination associated with the Bees was on show in what was a fabulous advert for the Elite League as they made sure they came home with some reward.
Every point gained can be crucial, both in an individual match and the league itself, and that could easily be the case for the one collected by James Sarjeant’s stand-in Dan Greenwood who pulled off a great third place over Lewis Blackbird in Heat 12, which ultimately keeping Bees within the six-point margin required for a league point.
Manager Havelock said: “We weren’t really at it from the start, nobody in particular, but you can pick several incidents and accidents that went on and we might have got more from it.
“We’ve lost our first away match but we’ve still got a point, and that keeps us well at the top of the league with two tough away matches this week, so we’ll regroup from that.
“There were just a few incidents tonight that didn’t go our way, and I found the disqualification of Jason beyond belief because I didn’t see it as any different to the other races which had been stopped when all four riders had been put back in.
“I think everywhere we’ve been we haven’t had one thing go for us – but I guess that’s speedway!”
A point gained from the meeting means Bees still maintain a seven-point lead at the top of the table, with Wolverhampton themselves now moving into second place.
Bees duo Stuart Robson and Jason Garrity in action against Wolves. (s) Photo by Chris Simpson
