BURY CHAIRMAN THANKS HELPERS - posted 4 May 2010

Bury club chairman Stuart Howarth has paid his tribute to everyone involved in the Euro Club weekend - and has said sorry for the programme shortage, especially on Saturday.

"We wish to thank everyone involved in the staging the three-day event" Stuart told Spokesman. 

Horspath looked a class outfit in the first semi.  They made few mistakes and were solid right down the order.  Once again Mark Boaler (pictured) was their trump card, setting the Hammers on their way with two wins in the first five races. Leicester's challenge suffered a setback when Lukasz Nowacki was excluded in heat four, adjudged to have crossed the inside side line whilst challenging for the lead.  Leicester's problems were compounded in race 12 when Craig Marchant fell coming out of the first bend, bringing down Przemek Binkowski in the process. It was a defining moment in the match.

After a dozen races, Horspath (36) had built up a commanding lead ahead of Leicester (28), Torun (27) and Wednesfield (27).  With inside gates to come, the smart money was on Torun to join Horspath in the final but it proved not to be the case.  After leading the pack in heat 13, Torun's Rafal Dulinski ran out of steam, allowing the entire field to pass him on the last lap.

Wednesfield finished in style, Matt Beharrell lowering the colours of Mark Carmichael and an out -of-sorts Adam Peck before Terry Norman sealed the final place with a vintage and brilliant win over Lukasz Nowacki.

Semi Final A
Horspath 43
Mark Boaler 13, Mark Carmichael 9, Lewis Osborne 9, Steve Harris 8, Mike Morgans 4
Wednesfield 40
Lee Aris 13, Terry Norman 13, Matt Beharrell 8, Chris Jewkes 6, Mark Griffiths dnr
Torun 37
Przemek Binkowski 10, Marcin Paradzinski 10, Pawel Cegielski 9, Rafal Dulinski 8,  Maric Niedzielski dnr
Leicester 37
Lukasz Nowacki 11, Dan Pike 11, Mark Newey 11, Craig Marchant 3, Adam Peck 1
Referee: Adam Smola

British hopes that Birmingham would join Horspath and Wednesfield in the final suffered a blow from the outset of semi-final two.  Looking over-awed and a bit lightweight, Birmingham made a disasterous start, managing just nine points from their first seven races.  They looked a beaten side.  Then totally unexpectedly, inspired by a brilliant win by Marcus Wadhams in heat eight, they miraculously got themselves back in to contention by winning four consecutive races but just as a final place beckoned, they fell back into their old ways, scoring just seven points from the last five races.

Meanwhile, Poland's top two, Zielona Gora and Leszno were going head-to-had at the top of the field.  Zielona Gora finally edged in front, thanks to brilliant performances from former World number one Marcin Symanski (pictured) and current European champion Marciek Ganczarek, a formidable spearhead if ever there was one.

There was a strange start to the match.  As riders postured and delayed on the start grid, strict ref John Whiting, ordered them back to the rest line and gave them a stern warning before resuming the starting process.

Semi Final B
Zielona Gora 46
Marcin Symanski 16, Marciek Ganczarek 14, Radek Handke 9, Marcin Pawlowski 6, Krzsztof Piskorski 1
Leszno
Mateus Szymczak 13, Pitor Jamroszczyk 12, Marcin Skowronek 11, Patryk Jakubczak 4, Kamil Naskret dnr
Gniezno 36
Greg Gluchowski 11, Darius Pilas 11, Radek Sieradzki 10, Pawel Kozlowski 4, Sandor Tamborska dnr
Birmingham 32
Chris Timms 9, Nathan Groves 8, Paul Heard 7, Marcus Wadhams 5, Ben Mould 3

Honours were shared in today's Euro Club championships with four British and four Polish clubs making it through to the semi finals.  And at least one home club will be in the final as the semi-final draw brings together Horspath, Leicester and Wednesfield against Torun in the first semi while Birmingham take on Gniezno, Leszno and Zielona Gora in the second.

Tough for Sheffield
 
Sheffield's hopes of reaching the semi final suffered a blow when they were relegated to last place in a competitive quarter final against three Polish sides.  Andy Angell got the match off to a storming start by flying from the gate in the opening race but even he couldn't sustain his rich vein of form.  Sheffield were well in contention up to the interval before Andy Angell and then Luke Jamson both suffered heavy falls within the space of three heats which all but ruined their chances.  They exited the tournamnet as the lowest scoring team.  Defending champions Torun went on to win the match ahead of Leszo with Tarnow and Sheffield having to fight another day through the repercharge.  Torun's Marcin Paradinski was in brilliant form scoring three wins and a second to top the Torun scorechart while Matty Szymczak caught the eye for Leszno.

Match Ten - Quarter Final A - Torun 45, Leszno 43, Tarnow 40, Sheffield 30

Experienced Leicester Make the Semis

Leicester used all their guile and experience to make it through to tomorrow's semi-final when they finished second to Gniezno in a competitive quarter final B.  Starting from the inside gates, Leicester built up an early lead to go into the interval with their noses in front, which was just as well as they found it much more difficult in the second half when, surprisingly, they didn't manage to win a race.  At the three-quarter stage Wednesfield led on 31, ahead of Leicester (30), Gniezno (29) and Czestochowa (28).  Unfortunately the West Midlanders couldn't hold on to pole position.  Their hopes took another knock when Lee Aris was excluded for taking Lukasz Nowacki wide, leaving Wednesfield with just five points from the last three races which left them short of the frame.

Match Eleven - Quarter Final B -Gniezno 43, Leicester 40, Czestochowa 38, Wednesfield 36

Horspath Send a Message

Horspath sent a strong signal to championship favourites Zielona Gora by beating them by five points in an action-packed quarter final C.  And as an added bonus, veteran Steve Harris scored a faultless 16 point maximum which included a well executed pass on Marcin Syzmanski in the penultimate race.  Mark Boaler was also in superlative form.  After finishing behind Symanski in his opening race, he pieced together three fine wins which fomed the bedrock of Horspath's victory.  The Oxford side looked really sharp right down the order and its this strength in depth that could see them to the title.  Meanwhile Birmingham battled hard but just didn't get the breaks. Up against two of the strongest sides in the competition, the five-man squad all scored between seven and nine points but no one rider was able to stamp his authority on the match the seriiously challenge the leaders.

Match 12 - Quarter Final C - Horspath 49, Zielona Gora 44, Birmingham 40, Ostrow 26
 
Consolation as Midland Teams Make it Through

The last match on a bitterly cold day produced one of the closest finishes.  After 16 absorbing heats, Birmingham (44) and Wednesfield (43) edged into the last eight at the expense of  Czestochowa on 42 and Tamrow 30.  Chris Timms set the pace for Birmingham while Wednesfield nearly let it slip after Lee Aris suffered a gate exclusion three races from the end.  Terry Norman looked much sharper, heading Wednesfield scorechart with an impressive 14 points from four starts.  Czestochowa nearly snatched second place, which would have been a remarkable effort as one of their riders was badly off the pace and could only manage four points leaving the remaining three riders to pick up the lion's share of the points.

Match 13 - Quarter Final D (Last chance repercharge) - Birmingham 44, Wednesfield 43, Czestochowa 42, Tarnow 30

BRITS FIND IT TOUGH TO QUALIFY - posted 2 May 2010

After eight matches and close on a day and a half's intense racing, the first sides were eliminated from today's Euro Club championships - and sadly they were both British.  Bury and Norwich battled hard but never looked like reaching the quarter final stages.  Norwich did however save the best to last when super-popular Barry 'Bazza' Copping held his inside grid in race 13.  Encouraged by seemingly everyone, he managed to hold off his Ostrow opponent for the full four laps, earning the biggest cheer of the day amid shouts of "Go Bazza Go".  It was enough to warm the cockles of your heart on a freezingly cold morning.  Still it wasn't enough to save a much weakened Norwich side from the inevitable.

Despite strengthening their team with the additon of Tom Doyle, Bury never mounted a serious challenge,  Their best rider Chris Parish managed a couple of wins but with veterans Gary Holingsworth and Fred Rothwell struggling for pace on a taxing but very raceable Goshen track, the outcome was academic.  That left Hethersett and Ostrow to meet again in a third consecutive repercharge, a crazy state of affairs and something organisers must look at more closely next time round.  While it's good to give clubs racing, especially those travelling from abroad, it's not acceptable to expect two teams to race three matches on the trot, especially at this level.  If nothing else, it's just not fair.

Any hopes that Hethersett had in progressing further evaporated in the next round as the strain of three matches on the trot took its toll.  Dave Chambers provided some token resistance as the Hawks visibily wilted, finishing last by some way. The remaining quarter final places were contested by three Polish side, Czestochowa and Ostrow progressing at the expense of Swietochlowice.  All credit to Ostrow and their fitness levels as they competed in four matches on the day.  Once again Tomek Wlodarczyk was in superb form for Czestochowa, racing to his second 16 point maximum of the morning.

FULL RESULTS AND SCORERS TO FOLLOW

Qualifying Repercharges

Match Seven
Swietochlowice 45,Czestochowa 41, Ostrow 36, Hethersett 32

Match Eight
Ostrow 53, Hethersett 48, Bury 32, Norwich 26

Match Nine
Czestochowa 47, Ostrow 40, Swietochlowice 39, Hethersett 34

Quarter Finals

Match Ten - Quarter Final A
Torun 45
Marcin Paradzinski 15, Pawel Cegielski 10, Rafal Dulinski 9, Przemek Binkowski 11, Maric Niedzielski dnr
Leszno 45
Mateus Szymczak 13, Pitor Jamroszczyk 12, Patryk Jakubczak 9, Marcin Skowronek 9, Kamil Naskret dnr
Tarnow 40
Rafal Baumearten 12, Rafal Pigon 11, Lukas Piszizek 10, Rob Bandosz 4,Pitor Pluczynski 3
Sheffield 30
Andy Angell 9, Jamie Brown 7, Jono Birks 6, Ben Dickenson 7, Luke Jamson 1

GOOD DAY FOR BRITISH CLUBS AT EURO 2010 - posted 1 May 2010

It was a good day for British clubs at the Euro Club championship at Bury.  Four UK clubs are safely through to the next round while four others fight another day, hoping to progress to the quarter finals via Sunday's repercharge matches.  Leicester and Horspath led the charge with impressive first round victories while Birmingham and Sheffield reached the quarter finals after a second bite of the cherry. 

With teams having to win their first round matches to progress in the competiton, the opening gambit was tough for Wednesfield.  Finding themselves up against one of the pre-tournament favourites, the Aces turned in a gallant performance but never really looked like topping the defending European champions.  British champion Lee Aris is clearly back to his majestic best, winning his openiing three races but even Britain's number one had to admit second best to high flying Torun super-star Marcin Paradzinski who went through the card unbeaten.

Wednesfield used tactical reserve Matt Beharrell to good effect, the Humberside-based youngster coming in on three occasions and earning a well-deserved ten points.  Terry Norman and Chris Jewkes both had their moments but Mark Griffiths will be disappointed with his modest five points, including two lasts.  Looking somewhat overawed, Hethersett battled for every point but finished well adrift of the pack.

British spirits soared in the second match when Leicester stormed to an impressive victory over the three Polish clubs, Ostrow, Tarnow and Swietochlowice.  With unbeaten Craig Marchant back to his brilliant best and  commanding Nowacki piling on the points, Leicester looked a class act.  Dan Pike, Adam Peck and Kevin Burns all picked up race wins which formed the foundation for a comfortable victory.  Mind you, Kev Burns still remains an enigma.  In heat nine, he turned in one of the most determined performances you could ever wish to see, powering in way to the front with some strong, controlled racing.  Then three races later, he completely capitulated in the last half lap to trail in last.  Talk about Jeckyll and Hyde!

Not to be outdone, Horspath picked up the cudgel in the next match, scorching to an impressive victory over highly fancied Leszno.  Looking solid right down the order, all five riders won races.  The Oxford team really looked up for it!  In contrast, Chris Timms excepted, Birmingham looked sluggish and uncertain. Amazingly the talented trio of Nathan Groves, Ben Mould and Paul Heard failed to conjur up a race win between them.

In the fourth match, Premier League pace-setters Sheffield, found themselves drawn against tournament favourites Zielona Gora and top Polish side Gniezno.  After a sluggish start which saw them quickly adrift of their Polish rivals, Sheffield held their own in the second period but they never managed to close the deficit, finishing third overall.  Sadly Bury really struggled.  Trailling in third or last in virtually all their outings, only a second by Neil Howarth in heat eight punctuated an otherwise disappointing performance by the home club.

So with Horspath and Leicester in the hat for the second round draw, several British clubs took part in the repercharges.  Match five produced one of the best clashes of the day - and a grandstand finish.  With only the winners guaranteed a place in the next round, Birmingham and Czestochowa were engaged in a titanic winner-takes-all struggle.  It looked as if Birmingham would miss out. They trailled Czestochowa by two points going into the last race but a truly brilliant race by Ben Mould, relegating Dominic Rycharski into last place forced a dramatic tie-break after both teams finished level on 47 points.  Czestochowa still looked in the driving seat, especially when Tomek Wlodarczyk drew the inside grid but Birmingham's Chris Timms would not be denied as his passed his Polish counterpart on the second lap to secure the quarter final place (pictured left).

If match five was good, match six was better.  You could hardly throw a blanket over Swietochlowice, Sheffield and Hethersett.  In the end the difference between the teams was Andy Angell.  After winning three of his four races against some of the best riders in the World, Angell was simply in a class of his own, scorching to an untroubled 16 point maximum, to give Sheffield first the edge and then the victory.  With Ben Dickerson and Simon Gamble providing solid support, Sheffield deserved their victory although a controversial first bend exclusion to Leon Wild for bringing down an opponent in heat proved costly for Hethersett.

Without doubt the lasting impression of the opening day was the superb racing and sporting attitude of all the riders.  Cycle speedway's international super-stars rose the the occasion, Marcin Paradzinski's brilliant maximum, the sublime Lukasz Nowacki, the unstylish but wonderfully effective Mark Boaler, the balance and genuis of Marcin Szymanski, Daniel Orton's commanding display in the repercharge and the awesomely talented Andy Angell, seven wins and second from eight outtings - Euro Club 2010 has it all.

If you want to see quality cycle speedway at its very best, get down to Goshen sports centre in Bury over the next two days - you certainly won't regret it

Match One
Torun 53
Marcin Paradzinski 16, Pawel Cegielski 13, Rafal Dulinski 11, Przemek Binkowski 11, Maric Niedzielski 2
Wednesfield 46
Lee Aris 14, Matt Beharrell 10, Terry Norman 9, Chris Jewkes 8, Mark Griffiths 5
Czestochowa 40
Tomek Wlodarczyk 13, Dominic Rycharski 11, Daniel Ordon 10, Przemek Kwiecien 6
Hethersett 21
Dave Martin 6, Dave Chambers 5, Ben Collins 5, Leon Wild 3, Dave Chambers 2
Referee: John Whiting

Match Two
Leicester 53
Lukasz Nowacki 15, Craig Marchant 12, Adam Peck 11, Dan Pike 10, Kevin Burns 5
Tamow 44
Rafal Baumgarten 13, Lukas Piszczek 12, Rafal Pigon 10, Pitor Pluczynski 6, Rob Bandosz 3
Swietochlowice 35
Marcin Pronobis 11, Kamil Bielica 10, Kamil Bielaczek 7, Marek Grocki 5, Patrick Kuc 2
Ostrow 28
Szymon Kowalzyk 12, Marcin Kolata 5, Kastof Piskarski 4, Damien Wotcinski 4, Pitor Kubyczyk 3
Referee: Mark Winwood

Match Three
Horspath 53
Mark Boaler 14, Steve Harris 11, Mark Carmichael 10, Mike Morgans 10, Lewis Osborne 8
Leszno 49
Patryk Jakubczak 14, Mateusz Szymczak 14, Pitor Jamroszczyk 13, Marcin Skowronek 6, Kamil Naskret 2
Birmingham 37
Chris Timms 13, Nathan Groves 7, Paul Heard 7, Ben Mould 6, Mark Winwood 4
Norwich 19
Andrew Davison 6, Gary Colby 5, Steve Copping 4, Barry Copping 4
Referee:

Match Four
Zielona Gora 49
Marcin Symanski 16, Radek Handkel 12, Marciek Ganczarek 11, Marcin Pawlowski 7, Krzsztof Piskorski 3
Gniezno 45
Radek Sieradzki 13, Greg Gluchowski 13, Dariusz Pilas 10, Pawel Kozlowski 9, Sandor Tamborska dnr
Sheffield 41
Andy Angell 15, Simon Gamble 9, Ryan Hoyland 7, Ben Dickenson 9, Luke Jamson 1
Bury 23
Neil Howarth 7, Fred Rothwell 7, Chris Parish 5, Paul Dyson 4
Referee:

Match Five
Birmingham 47
Ben Mould 14, Chris Timms 10, Nathan Groves 10, Paul Heard 9, Mark Winwood 4
Czestochowa 47
Daniel Ordon 15, Tomek Wlodarczyk 14, Dominic Rycharski 12, Przemek Kwiecien 6
Ostrow 38
Szymon Kowalzyk 11, Marcin Kolata 10, Damien Wotcinski 8, Kastof Piskarski 6, Pitor Kubyczyk 3
Bury 26
Chris Parish 8, Neil Howarth 7, Fred Rothwell 7, Paul Dyson 4
Referee: Wayne Aris