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VICTORY NOT ENOUGH FOR PROGRESS IN CUP

Friday, April 18, 2008
Sport/Speedway
KRYZSZTOF Stojanowski made a welcome, if not surprise, return to the Wightlink Islanders side on Tuesday as they completed their Premier Trophy fixtures with a comfortable 50-42 victory over Reading Racers.
But it was skipper Jason Bunyan who stole the show by not only leading the side to a win but also cracking the existing track record of 66.5 seconds, set by last season’s number one Chris Holder last May.
Bunyan shaved two tenths of a second off Holder’s previous best time as he stormed around the four laps in 66.3 seconds and that earned him a bonus of £250 from track record sponsors Osborne Garage of East Cowes.
Irrespective of the result of last night’s match, the IW side could not qualify for the final stages of the competition, having been beaten at both Somerset and Reading but they were determined to hold on to their unbeaten home record so far this season.
They established a ten-point lead after the opening six heats, which featured two wins and that track record for Bunyan, together with heat victories for James Holder, Glen Phillips and Cory Gathercole.
From that point, it was merely a question of their final winning margin although they could not afford to take things easy with Reading's Danish ex-Islander Ulrich Ostergaard once again in top form and receiving useful backing from his Australian skipper Mark Lemon.
But there was never any possibility of a win on the night for Reading who, perhaps, were slightly flattered by the final scoreline with Bunyan, Paul Fry and Andrew Bargh all suffering mechanical problems at some stage.
Despite their defeat though, it is the Reading side who go through to the final from the southern qualifying group at the expense of the Islanders and Somerset Rebels.
Having received a bye in the first round of this year’s Premier League Knockout Cup, Islanders now face Sheffield Tigers in the second round.
The Yorkshire side outpointed Scunthorpe over the two legs to face Jason Bunyan and his men and dates have now been set for the two legs. The Islanders travel to Sheffield on Thursday with the return leg at Smallbrook on Tuesday, April 29.
Islanders are on their travels again this weekend, in Suffolk on Sunday afternoon at the home of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in a Premier League match and, on Tuesday, the Islanders host Workington at 7.30pm.