Wildcats Ko'd by Buccs (From Dorset Echo)

Wildcats Ko'd by Buccs

8:58am Friday 3rd July 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

WEYMOUTH skipper Lee Smart stormed out of Wimborne Road as his side’s Knockout Cup hopes were brought crashing down in another horror show against the Bournemouth Buccaneers last night.

The Wildcats, who host Mildenhall this evening (7.15pm), suffered a catalogue of bad luck as they were defeated 102-86 on aggregate, despite holding a 16-point lead from the first leg.

But the moment their cup hopes were firmly brought to an end came in race 11, when tactical rider Smart was controversially excluded by referee Christina Turnbull.

The Swindon-based man lifted and drifted wide on turn two, prompting flying Buccaneer Jerran Hart to lay his bike down.

With both men neck-and-neck, Turnbull could have ordered a re-run with all four riders, or excluded Hart as Smart was the race leader.

However, the Wildcat was given the elbow and Smart stomped straight out of the stadium fuming and in pain, after tweaking his wrist.

His presence in heat 13 could have helped the visitors get back into the tie, as they were just six points down on aggregate at that point.

But team manager Jem Dicken said: “When Lee got excluded, he lifted and hurt his wrist, so he couldn’t ride anyway.”

He added: “There was plenty of room and Jerran blatantly did one – he put it down and conned the referee.

“The same thing happened in race five when Jay Herne put Lee out around the boards and he had to shut off.

“Normally she (Turnbull) is fine but I think she made a big mistake.”

The Wildcats could be forgiven for thinking Wimborne Road is jinxed after a troubled National League meeting here on May 28.

And last night got off to a terrible start when Terry Day hit the deck in heat two after trying to round Aaron Baseby on lap three, bend one.

Day took third place in the re-run but an elbow injury then forced him to withdraw.

Wildcats’ fortunes did not get any better as Burrows suffered two engine failures and claimed just two points.

With Weymouth a man down, and desperately short of luck, this quarter-final soon became a bridge too far.

The Wildcats though, have the chance to bounce straight back as they take on the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in National League action at the Wessex Bus Raceway tonight.

Ex-Cats David Mason and Luke Priest are both set to return to their old stomping ground.