Bees fly into play-offs

Lakeside miss out after defeat to Swindon

Last updated: 10th September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Bees fly into play-offs

Pawlicki: Starred for Coventry (image credit Fotospeedway.pl)

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Coventry Bees recorded an emphatic 53-42 victory over Poole Pirates to grab the final Elite League play-off spot at the expense of Lakeside Hammers.

After the BPSA confirmed that Lakeside's meeting with Swindon Robins would count towards the league standings, the Bees needed a win at Brandon with other results going their way in order to qualify.

And although they were facing the table-toppers, in-form Coventry duly delivered while Lakeside - who were in the all-important fourth place at the start of the night - lost 51-44.

Peterborough Panthers also finally confirmed their place in the play-offs with a 57-36 win against Eastbourne Eagles after their spot had become vulnerable after it was confirmed that Lakeside would not be able to gain any points.

At Brandon, the hosts raced into an early lead as Przemyslaw Pawlicki and Lewis Bridger secured a 5-1 haul in the second heat of the evening.

Points

Bridger then won heat seven with Chris Harris trailing him home in second to secure another 5-1 as the Bees' advantage stretched out to 12 points.

But the Pirates eventually fought back as the league leaders used well-placed tactical rides and when Leon Madsen won heat 12 the deficit was cut to seven points.

The six points on offer were shared equally in each of the next two heats, meaning Coventry would have to maintain the seven-point gap in the last heat order to qualify if Lakeside could get within six points of Swindon.

However, Peter Ljung fell in the final heat at Blunsdon, with the result being a seven-point loss for the Hammers and therefore the Bees did not need their seven-point cushion anymore.

But Harris and Krzysztof Kasprzak eliminated any doubt that was left in the mind of the home crowd, taking a 5-1 in the last heat and grabbing fourth spot in the table at the cut-off point.

The play-off picture will now be decided by league winners Poole, who will choose their opponents in the play-offs - although they have already intimated that they will opt for Peterborough leaving Wolverhampton to take on Coventry in the other semi-final.

Meanwhile, in the final fixture of the night, Ipswich Witches beat Belle Vue Aces 48-42 as Scott Nicholls scored 13 points.

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