Poole crowned champions

Pirates claim Elite League title

Last updated: 13th October 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Poole crowned champions

Holder: Poole star

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Poole Pirates have won the Sky Sports Elite League title after easing to victory in the Grand Final over Lakeside Hammers.

The Pirates had taken a six-point lead into the home leg at Wimborne Road and they were strong favourites to take the title.

The home side did not disappoint as they blasted the Hammers away with three 5-1s in the opening four heats which left the result in little doubt.

Lakeside did have something to cheer as guest Scott Nicholls helped them claim an 8-1 win with a tactical victory.

But that was mere respite for Lakeside as Poole again turned up the pressure and mathematically claimed the title with a 3-3 in heat 11 as the thousands of home fans erupted with delight.

Indeed the win was an emphatic one for Poole with Lakeside claiming just three heat wins all evening, as the hosts roared to an emphatic 60-33 success.

That gave Poole a massive 108-75 aggregate win as they finished their season in fine style.

Captain Bjarne Pedersen was fittingly the star of the show as he claimed a brilliant paid maximum, but there were tremendous performances throughout.

Chris Holder claimed 12, whilst their were also outstanding efforts from Daniel Davidsson (10+3), Magnus Zetterstrom (8+2) and Davey Watt (8).

Lakeside struggled but Scott Nicholls and Jonas Davidsson both managed to hit double figures.

The title is Poole's third Elite League crown having previously claimed the prize in 2003 and 2004.

Delight

"It is fantastic, everyone has done their part - everyone is involved," Poole manager Neil Middleditch told Sky Sports.

"I also want to say congratulations to Jon [Cook, Lakeside boss] for getting to the finals, they have done a great job to get to the final and they have done a great job here - the best two teams made the final."

Comments (3)

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Matt Timoney says...

Great night for the Pirates and well worth the four hour trip down to Wimborne Road to see their victory. Neil has put a fantastic team together and it's a shame that their averages mean that they will lose a few key men for next season. I hope after his fantastic season we see Bjarne in the Grand Prixs again next season.

Posted 16:08 14th October 2008

Zoe Donaldson says...

A great end to a great season - it's just a huge shame that Lakeside had so many injuries to crucial team members, lwaving a bit of a mountain to climb. Hey-ho, there's always next year!

Posted 12:20 14th October 2008

Steve Cooper says...

Congratulations Poole Pirates on a fantastic season and claiming the title. Well done to all the promotion, management and the riders. Now for the Knockout Cup.

Posted 08:50 14th October 2008
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