SPEEDWAY
WIGHTLINK Islanders’ co-promoter Chris Hunt has reacted angrily after the speedway side’s hopes of winning this year’s National League Knockout Cup were left hanging by a thread.
The side were hammered 60-32 by Dudley Heathens in the first leg of their semi-final, meaning they need to pull back a 28-point deficit in the return leg at Smallbrook on July 3.
"What we saw from the team tonight was not acceptable to both myself and Kevin Shepherd, club chairman Brian Ginders and, most importantly our fans, and the fact that we only produced one of the fifteen 15 heat winners speaks for itself," Chris said.
"We’ve made our feelings known to the team and made it clear that we won’t hesitate to make changes to our team if performances don’t improve, and quickly."
After the first nine heats, Islanders were still very much in the match as they trailed by just eight points at 32-24, but they fell apart from then on, conceding no less than five maximum heat advantages to the home side in the last six heats.
Wightlink Islanders scorers: Kyle Hughes 7+1, Danny Stoneman 6+3, Danny Warwick 6, Gary Cottham 5+1, Paul Starke 4, Ben Hopwood 3+1, Aaron Baseby 1
Tuesday’s disappointing display followed on from another setback over the weekend when Saturday’s National League Fours was postponed because of a waterlogged track and it will now go ahead, weather permitting of course, at the same venue on June 23.
This week, skipper Danny Warwick and his side must now focus on redeeming themselves by producing victory over Hertfordshire side Rye House when the two teams clash in the National League at Smallbrook on Tuesday.
Racing gets under way at 7.30pm.