Dominant Bears in derby victory
Redcar ‘Ecco Finishing Supplies’ Bears won the Tees-Tyne battle on Thursday night, with a dominant 58-32 victory against Newcastle at the Media Prima Arena.
The meeting started off very closely, with guest Kevin Doolan giving the visitors an early lead with a win in heat 1. That heat provided the Diamonds with their only heat advantage of the night however, and it was not long before the Bears had their noses in front. Once in the lead, there was only really one winner as the Bears kept the pressure on Newcastle all night. Captain and number 1 Ben Barker reeled off 3 straight heat wins on his way to a 11 point score, with fellow heat leader Matej Kus getting an impressive 11+3 on his return to Teesside.
Arguably the star of the show though was reserve Tobias Busch, scoring an excellent 13+1 including four very impressive heat wins. Guest Paul Starke scored a good 9+1, including one superb pass around the boards on bends three and four to pass both visiting riders. Mikkel B Andersen had a superb home debut, with two impressive heat wins and fellow home debutant Jordan Stewart rode hard for his two points, and perhaps deserved more for his efforts.
I was really happy with everyone tonight. We will get much tougher tests in the coming weeks but every Newcastle rider is capable of good scores at the MPA. It was great to see contributions from everybody and this meeting will be a big boost to everyone’s confidence and team morale
The Bears are next in action on Friday night, away at Lakeside in Championship action. Jonas B Andersen is still missing, Kevin Doolan will guest for the Bears in his place.
Redcar = 58
1. Ben Barker 2, 3, 3, 3 = 11
2. Jordan Stewart 0, 1, 0, 1 = 2
3. Paul Starke (G) 1, 3, 2′, 3 = 9+1
4. Mikkel B Andersen 3, 1, 3, 1 = 8
5. Matej Kus 3, 2′, 2′, 2′, 2 = 11+3
6. Tobias Busch 3, 3, 3, 3, 1′ = 13+1
7. Theo Pijper 0, 0, 2, 2′ = 4+1
Newcastle = 32
1. Ludvig Lindgren 1, Fx, 1, 1 = 3
2. Kevin Doolan (G) 3, 2, 1, 0, 0, 3 = 9
3. Tero Aarnio 0, 1, 1 = 2
4. Matthew Wethers 2, 0, 2, 0 = 4
5. Stuart Robson 2, 2, 1, Fx = 5 Withdrawn
6. Carl Wilkinson 1′, 0, 0 = 1+1
7. Ashley Morris 2, 1′, 3, 2, 0, 0 = 8+1