Premier League

Somerset Rebels 53, Sheffield Tigers 38

On Friday, with the previous evening’s disappointment still fresh in their minds (see below), and minus two important members of the team, ‘Cases’ Somerset Rebels returned to the Oaktree Arena against the same strong Sheffield Tigers side who had put an end to the Rebels' winning streak on Thursday at Owlerton.

Charles Wright had been stood down for a mandatory 9-day rest, following a fall, which left him concussed, while Josh Grajczonek took a nasty looking fall, resulting in him being unfit to take his place in this return fixture.

However, in came former Rebels ‘Number One’, Brady Kurtz, with Wright’s rides being covered by Rider Replacement; Sheffield fielded the same septet.

In Heat 1, Jake Allen looked home for all money when, out of the blue, his machine threw the primary chain and the Tigers took a maximum advantage.

Bradley Wilson-Dean led all the way in heat 2 to share the points with the Tigers.

It was nip and tuck until Heat 5 when Bradley Wilson-Dean and Paul Starke rode to a ‘Full House’.

A second maximum followed for the Rebels and, by Heat 10 they were 10 points up.

The Tigers were now 10-points down, but it was not until after Kurtz and Tungate added extra victories that the Rebels put the match to bed.

It was a magnificent performance from the Rebels but the Tigers played a full part in a fantastic nights racing, as the Rebels ran out 53-38 winners to avenge their Thursday defeat.

Dimitri Berge top scored for Sheffield with a creditable 10+1, with good support from Simon Stead (8pts) and Kyle Howarth (7+1).

For ‘Cases’ Somerset Rebels, Rohan Tungate posted a superb 17pt haul to top the list, with Brady Kurtz showing that he still remembered the fastest way around the Oaktree Arena, with a 10pt return, while Bradley Wilson-Dean hit a fabulous 9+1, with a frustrated Jake Allen getting an important 5+1.

However, despite not topping the score chart, Paul Starke’s magnificent paid 14 (12+2) saw him carry away the Somerset ‘Rider of the Night’ award from meeting sponsor Nick Wellstead, of the ‘Utility Advice Bureau’, who said that he had found it a hard choice but quoted Starke’s fantastic ride in Heat 12 as the clincher.

Premier League

Sheffield Tigers 50, Somerset Rebels 40

SOMERSET Rebels' 100% Premier League record, which stood at 14 matches going into this meeting, was finally brought to an end by the Sheffield Tigers.

However,the Rebels can consider themselves unlucky not to have taken at least a consolation point from this match, and perhaps even the meeting win.

The first half of the match saw both sides trade the proverbial blows with first one side, then the other gaining the upper hand, but with three maximum heat advantages to their name over the course of the first 8 races, it was Somerset who had their noses just in front, leading as they did 25-23.

It was at that point that Lady Luck decided she was not to be residing in the Somerset side of the pits, as a series of misfortunes hit the Rebels in the second half of the match.

First, Rohan Tungate's bike shed a chain when leading on the penultimate lap.

Then, Charles Wright came to grief as he ran out of space and was forced to withdraw from the meeting with concussion.

Josh Grajczonek was also withdrawn after suffering an alarming fall on the third lap.

The resulting awarded 5-1 to Sheffield put the Tigers into an eight-point lead, then 12 before Rohan Tungate won the final heat.

The Rebels left South Yorkshire quite literally licking their wounds on the back of this 10-point defeat.

‘Cases’ Somerset Rebels now have a few days off to relax after a hectic two weeks, as they prepare for the visit of Edinburgh on Wednesday, before embarking on their Scottish tour, starting with the return Edinburgh fixture on Friday.