CYCLE SPEEDWAY: HONOURS were shared between Coventry and Sheffield at the weekend as the steel city club hosted a pair of challenge matches at Cookson Park.
Both teams tracked guest riders from Stockport during the first team match as Ben Higham and Devon Campbell lined up in the orange of Sheffield while Jake Read raced for the Sabres.
Higham made an immediate impact as he teamed up with Nigel Howard for a 7-3 maximum in heat one after Higham passed his Stockport teammate Read during the second lap.
Devon Campbell made a great pass on Kyle Barlow in heat three as the Stars led 18-12.
An eventful heat four saw the points shared 5-5 as Ed Morton coasting to the second of five impressive race wins.
The Sabres reduced the six point deficit to two in heat six with a 7-3 heat win for Read and Sam Hardie.
But Sheffield restored their previous lead with 7-3 of their own in the following race.
Both sides continued to trade blows as Kyle Barlow and Matt Lawrence paired up for Coventry’s second maximum race advantage in heat nine, bringing the scores to 47-43 after nine heats.
Only four points separated both sides with three races to go following a series of 5-5 shared heats.
Sam Hardie led from the tapes in heat 13, but he fell victim of the wide Cookson Bowl circuit as Howard came through the gap he left.
Though many expected a tense ending, Sheffield wrapped up victory with two heats remaining as Ed Morton and Devon Campbell secured a 7-3 in heat 14.
Though Read won the concluding race, Daniel Drewett could only manage fourth as Coventry lost out.
SHEFFIELD
Ben Higham 13+3, Nigel Howard 15, Adam Watson 12+1, Devon Campbell 12+3, Sam Haines 5, Ed Morton 20, Laura Watson 3, Niamh Morton DNR.
COVENTRY
Jake Read 16+1, Jake Slatter 3, Sam Hardie 13, Matt Lawrence 14+3, Dan Drewett 7+1, Kyle Barlow 13, Ben Wells 4.
Elsewhere heavy rain during the interval created wet conditions for the second team match.
Star youngster Ben Wells won heat one for the Sabres, and they never looked back from there.
Wells received strong support from Tom Savage (15+2), Owen Gregory (18), James Chattin (13+4), and Lee Gregory (12+3) while Jake Slatter (8), and Kyle Barlow (7+1) also impressed from their rides as Coventry won 90-60.
