National League Play-off Semi-final Second Leg

WEYMOUTH DOONAN WILDCATS 43 BOURNEMOUTH BUCCANEERS 30

Meeting abandoned after 12 heats, result stands

THE lights went out on Weymouth Doonan Wildcats’ National League title hopes last night – but they gave their fans plenty to cheer in an eventful play-off semi-final second leg.

Floodlight failure, heavy showers, a delayed start and abandonment after 12 heats only added to the occasion at the Wessex Bus Raceway.

For the Wildcats, overturning a 33-point deficit was mission improbable and although they eventually succumbed, Bourne-mouth’s overall victory was not straightforward.

Terry Day (9+1) and Tim Webster (8+3) led Weymouth’s charge but it was very much a team effort that helped end a run of five consecutive defeats.

Jay Herne was once again the primary obstacle in the Wildcats’ way and his 13+1 assured the Buccaneers’ place in the final against Plymouth Devils.

When the meeting was called off following a downpour, Weymouth led 43-30, leaving the aggregate score at 93-73 to Bournemouth.

Wildcats’ chairman Phil Bartlett paid tribute to his riders before pinpointing the first leg at Wimborne Road as the reason for their elimination.

He said: “All the boys were fired up and they really did want to drag it back. Mathematically nothing was impossible and I think all of them put in solid performances.

“We were clawing it back but Jay Herne is an outstanding rider. He was virtually unstoppable and was always going to be used as a tactical rider, so he was going to score a lot of points.

“We tried to limit the damage with the rest of their riders, but unfortunately, where we lost this was away at Bournemouth.

“It was a shame about the aggregate because it was to win was always going to be a tough call, especially when you add two tacticals into the equation.”

Reflecting on an eventful season, Bartlett added: “I’ve received some criticism but if you analyse it we’ve finished higher in the league than anyone apart from the team that will probably win it.

“To clinch back-to-back titles is very difficult and Bourne-mouth have half of our team that won last year. We’ve only lost one meeting at home all season and that was to Bourne-mouth.”

The track, which had suffered from overnight rain and then further showers, was deemed race-worthy only for the start to be delayed by 25 minutes because of a late-arriving ambulance.

Herne kicked off proceedings with victory in the opening heat before Webster and James White-Williams’ one-two opened up a four-point gap.

Captain James Cockle, who had declared himself fit despite suffering from a problematic knee injury, took the chequered flag in heat three to continue an impressive start.

Benji Compton and Webster engineered the Wildcats’ second maximum before Herne eroded their dream start in heat five.

Two retirements in the next resulted in an unusual 3-2 scoreline in favour of Weymouth, who by this time had stretched their lead to a healthy seven points.

A hat-trick of re-runs slowed proceedings, the first of which was maximised by Compton and Webster, who sealed the home side’s third 5-1 of the evening.

Eleven points to the good, Weymouth were making a great fist of their mountainous task before a floodlight failure sud-denly occurred.

Once the malfunction had been fixed the Buccaneers turned the tide and although guest rider Taylor Poole flamboyantly won a controversial heat 10 – in which the Buccaneers’ Mark Baseby and Kyle Newman were both disqualified – faint hopes of a colossal upset receded further.

Tactical rider Herne chalked up six points in heat 11 before rain threatened to curtail events one race short of a result standing.

Even though the track resembled a mudbath, heat 12 was given the green light, thus allowing Bournemouth to notch the points they needed to clinch victory.