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SOMERSET hit back from Thursday's defeat at Sheffield to beat the Tigers 53-38 at the Oaktree Arena 24 hours later.The Rebels had suffered two injuries at Owlerton but still raced to a commanding home win, led by Rohan Tungate who dropped just one point from his six rides. Dimitri Berge scored 10+1 for the Tigers.Somerset boss Garry May said: “Even though we went into the match without Josh [Grajczonek] and Charles [Wright], who were both injured in the previous night’s match at Sheffield, the rest of boys were determined to avenge that defeat in tonight’s return fixture, and they certainly did that in some style.“Once we got ourselves in front I knew that the boys weren’t going to let Sheffield back into the match, and they just kept piling on the pressure, which was too much for the Tigers to deal with, and in the end I think we were more than deserving of our 15 point winning margin."Sheffield co-boss Marc Bates said: “It’s a similar scoreline to last night, so we haven’t done badly and overall it’s been a pretty good two meetings. “The whole team have tried their best, maybe it came down to setup slightly, but we can’t have any complaints.“The lads tried everything possible to get a result, and even though it hasn’t come off we couldn’t have asked for any more."Glasgow were impressive 51-39 winners at Plymouth to keep up the pressure at the top and also deal a major blow to the Devils' play-off hopes.The home side's top scorer was JackHolder with nine (paid ten) from his five rides while Glasgow had Richie Worrall (15 paid 17) and skipper Aaron Summers (12) in double figures.Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson said: "It was a great team effort - and thoroughly deserved. There was some tough racing out there on that tight track."Four points is more than I expected with us having rider replacement for Rene Bach - but everyone was a star."Tom Bacon came in as a guest for Danny Ayres and levelled the meeting in heat two with a 5-1 - that was a very important race. It set the tone for the rest of the meeting."Plymouth boss Lee Trigger admitted: “We were found out by a better side and that home defeat means our play-off hopes are severely dented. "We had a good crowd, which was a plus for us, and it was a nice summer evening but it hurts to lose at home.”
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BELLE VUE gained ground on the National League play-off places with a 56-34 home win over Rye House.Colts skipper Matt Williamson picked up 14 points from his five rides, backed up by Lee Payne on 11, whilst Robert Branford collected 13 for the Raiders.Colts boss Graham Goodwin said: "I was impressed with all the riders tonight. The result is just what we wanted. We knew Rye House had a strong top three so the key to our plan lay in exploiting the weaker elements.“It was vital we kept any and all last places to a minimum and we pretty much did just that. Tom [Woolley], Joe [Lawlor] and Andy [Mellish] weighed in with the points to support the heat leaders."
Raiders boss Peter Schroeck said: "There was some really awesome racing tonight, not least in Heat 13. Obviously, Rob (Branford) really was on top of his game, but there were plenty of other positives to take away from tonight.“Belle Vue is such a big track compared to ours, but when you consider what we are trying to do with the Raiders this year, I am pleased with what the boys have taken away from tonight.”
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SATURDAY night sees action across the Premier and National Leagues, plus also the sixth round of the British Youth Championship.Fixtures as follows:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7pm, Rye House v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 6: Belle Vue 6.30
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RYE House have promoted Robert Branford into their Premier League team after several successful recent guest appearances.Branford takes the place of Peter Karger who has stood down after being troubled by a wrist injury for much of the summer.Rockets co-promoter Steve Jenson said: “Peter has just had a fresh cast set that would unfortunately rule him out until into September, and therefore he believes that it is the right time to call a halt on his time with the club. “I must add that his resignation was also with the team in mind, and the hopes that we still have for success this season. That pretty much highlights his character. You couldn’t ask to meet a nicer guy; always positive, bubbly and smiling."
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY AUGUST 13:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7pm, Rye House v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 6: Belle Vue 6.30
SUNDAY AUGUST 14:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Ipswich 3pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry 2.30
MONDAY AUGUST 15:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Birmingham 7.30, Kent v Belle Vue 6.30
