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October
23
Conference Trophy/Anglian Cup Boston 38, Scunthorpe 52 Boston Barracuda-Braves hosted their final
meeting of the 2006 speedway season at King’s Lynn’s Norfolk Arena. They took
on the all-conquering Scunthorpe Scorpions in a match that doubled as a
one-off Anglian Cup challenge clash and the delayed encounter that completed
the Conference Trophy qualifying round-robin group. But in front a reasonable-sized
crowd, it wasn’t to be Boston’s night. For the majority of the match, the score
remained close (34-32 to the visitors after heat 11). But then Scunthorpe ran
away to a decisive success. The meeting was not without drama. In heat
four all four riders crashed heavily on the first turn — Boston’s Cal McDade
being taken back to the pits by ambulance but recovering sufficiently to take
part in the rerun and the rest of the meeting. Nathan Irwin and Scorpions’
Paul Cooper sustained wrist injuries that ruled them out of the remainder of
the meeting. And for Boston — already using rider
replacement — it meant their resources were always stretched. The visitors,
meanwhile, had good cover in the guise of people like Tai Woffinden and Byron
Bekker who were in scintillating form throughout. Boston: D Mallett
12, K Hughes 5, S Lambert 11, N Irwin 0, S Campos 2, C McDade 8. |
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October
14
Lincolnshire Trophy Individual meeting
Former Boston Barracuda-Brave Mark Thompson
emerged triumphant in the latest annual staging of the historic Lincolnshire
Trophy meeting at the Norfolk Arena, King’s Lynn. He lifted the coveted
silverware after a complex “countback” system of analysing scores with Mark
Baseby and current Brave Nathan Irwin having to settle for second and third
positions. With the use of an innovative formula to remove the lottery often
experienced with one-off finals and run-offs, the Boston management produced
an interesting batch of riders to compete for the Lincolnshire Trophy. After some great racing it was Mildenhall’s Thompson who was
declared the winner with team-mate Baseby second and Irwin third. The meeting
began on a patchy track that saw Wayne Dunworth come to grief on turn three
of the first race. But excellent skills by André Cross, who laid his machine
down very quickly, prevented a nasty incident. In the next race James
Birkinshaw was not so lucky when Darren Mallett fell in his path and, taking
evasive action, he dismounted spectacularly as his machine clattered the
boards on the fourth bend and suffered damage to his foot. In the re-run Mark
Jones turned in a speedy race win to register his first victory of the
evening. Irwin inflicted Thompson’s only defeat of the night in heat three
with a tapes-to-flag win and Baseby showed his intentions when beating Andrew
Bargh in heat four. As the meeting progressed it looked as if Jones (with
fast times and three wins) might be the favourite but Irwin beat him in heat
13 and the Australian fell in a desperate chase against Thompson and Baseby
in heat 18. At the end, with three riders on 14 points, the referee quickly
sorted it all out with Thompson, Baseby and Irwin level and all with a
victory against one of the other two. The next criterion was race times,
making Thompson the winner. Although Baseby had recorded an identical time,
Thompson had beaten his Mildenhall colleague when they met. The meeting interestingly showcased riders of all ages and
experience, none more diverse than “Boston Legend” Robert Hollingworth and
new British Under-15 Champion Joe Haines. The latter demonstrated a neat yet
incisive style that will surely help launch a long and successful career. It
was good to see Boston’s Simon Lambert back on home soil in an official
meeting and his two race wins indicated that he could soon be a major force
as full fitness returns. Winner Thompson was presented with his
trophies and prize money by Boston’s main sponsor Carlton Williams, principal
of NC Williams and Son Insurance. TROPHY SCOREBOARD 01 Mark Thompson 14 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3) 02 Mark Baseby 14 (3, 3, 3, 3, 2) 03 Nathan Irwin 14 (3, 2, 3, 3, 3) 04 Mark Jones 11 (3, 3, 3, 2, F) 05 Simon Lambert 9 (3, 1, 2, 0, 3) 06 Andrew Bargh 9 (2, 3, 2, 1, 1) 07 Matthew Wright 9 (2, 1, 2, 2, 2) 08 Darren Mallett 7 (Fx, 2, R, 2, 3) 09 Rob Hollingworth 6 (0, 2, 1, 3, 0) 11 Andre Cross 5 (1, 1, 2, 0, 1) 12 Dean Felton 5 (1, 0, 1, 1, 2) 13 Joe Haines 5 (1, 2, 0, 1, 1) 14 James Birkinshaw 2 (2, R) 17 Ben Johnson 0 (0, 0, F, 0, 0) |
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September
23
Conference League Rye House 61, Boston 32 Boston’s Conference League campaign ended on a distinctly
low note with an emphatic defeat away to Rye House Raiders who duly took
their place in the end-of-season play-offs. It was hugely disappointing for
the Braves connections, notably with the team being minus the services of
Darren Mallett. Only John Oliver offered any semblance of resistance to a
home side firing on virtually all cylinders. The Raiders won 14 of the 15
races, the only exception being when Oliver bagged a “doubled up” six points
when winning heat 11 as a tactical ride. Otherwise, it was a tale of one-way
traffic. Rye House bagged seven 5-1 heat wins, their star man being Danny
Betson with a paid six ride maximum.
BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. John Oliver 14 (2, 2, 1, 6TR, 2, 1) 2. Sam Martin 4+1 (0, 0, 1*, 2, 1) 3. Nathan Irwin 1 (1, 0, 0, 0) 4. Wayne Broadhurst 5 (0, 1, 2, 2,
0TR) 5. Darren Mallett R/R (SM 0, WB
1, JO 1, KH 1*) 7. Kyle Hughes 5+3 (1*, 1, 1*, 1*, 1,
0) |
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September
8
Conference Trophy Boston 43, Mildenhall 44 Boston suffered defeat by the slenderest of
margins in what equated to a meaningless Conference Trophy clash against
Mildenhall. The match got off to a disputed start when, in the opening heat, visiting
rider Andrew Bargh finished minus the compulsory dirt deflector on his
machine — but referee Mick Bates elected not to impose the normally mandatory
exclusion, much to the home team’s disgruntlement. Then it was drama all the way in heat two
when Boston’s Kyle Hughes crashed on bend one and was excluded. The re-run
then produced a disastrous crash in the when leader Ben Johnson fell and Luke
Goody — hard on his tail — could not avoid him. Worse was to follow when Shane Henry, who was many lengths
behind, ploughed into the carnage, and was flung into the fence as he and his
machine took out three fence panels. Out of the three, only Henry was able to
continue with Johnson and Goody ruled out of the meeting on medical grounds.
Henry was the sole starter in the re-run off 15 metres for an earlier tapes
offence (a rare sight indeed). Boston, using rider replacement for John
Oliver, battled back from a five-point deficit to take the lead with a 5-1
from Nathan Irwin and Wayne Broadhurst in heat nine. Bargh, who had his best
ever meeting at King’s Lynn, combined with Purchase to reverse the one point
deficit with a 4-2 in heat 11. Irwin and Hughes did likewise for Boston in
the next race as the lead ebbed and flowed between the teams. Visiting top scorer Mark Thompson, who had a
fine meeting, won heat 13 with Bargh close behind. But even then Boston
responded with a 4-2 in the penultimate to leave Mildenhall a solitary point
in front going into the final race. Here
Thompson and Darren Mallett then fought out an amazing duel with Irwin
holding off Bargh. But it was the Mildenhall man who prevailed to the delight
of the travelling support — an excellent finish to an eventful evening. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. John Oliver R/R (DM 2, NI 1*, WB FX, SM 0) 2. Sam Martin 9+1 (1*, 2, 3, 3, 0) 3. Nathan Irwin 11+2 (0, 3, 1*, 3, 3,
1*) 4. Wayne Broadhurst 8+1 (2, 1, 2*, FX,
3) 5. Darren Mallett 12 (2, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2) 6. Ben Johnson 0 (FX, withdrawn) 7. Kyle Hughes 3+1 (FX, 1*, 0, R, 0,
1, 1) |
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September
3
Conference League Boston 44, Plymouth 46 The Barracuda-Braves saw their hopes of
clinching a Conference League top three play-off place extinguished by the
Plymouth Devils in an exciting and close-fought meeting at the Norfolk Arena in
what was Boston’s first collective outing as a team since August 7. No more than four points separated the teams
throughout the whole 15 heats. And even though Boston were never in the lead,
they still produced a solid effort against top-class opponents for whom
Seemond Stephens was a brilliant performer with a 15-point maximum. Both sides suffered a setback in heat two
when respective reserves Cal McDade and Matt Bates sustained injuries in a
crash, caused by the former’s tumble on the second turn. Neither took any
further part in the meeting after that race, leaving Kyle Hughes and Rob
Smith with busy shifts to cover the vacant rides. Boston’s biggest problem throughout the
evening was their general struggle to provide heat winners — just four being
registered all evening (two for John Oliver and one apiece for Nathan Irwin
and Kyle Hughes). Otherwise, it was largely a tale of the
Braves occupying the minor placings — five of the first seven races ending in
3-3s. An exchange of 4-2s in heats eight and nine followed by another 3-3
left the scores level at 30-30 with five races remaining. Here Plymouth gained a maximum return via
Stephens and Shane Waldron. But Boston hit straight back with Hughes and
Irwin taking first and second in heat 12. But the life was squeezed out of
Boston’s bid for match success with two further wins for Stephens (one with
Lee Smart in third place) while Rob Smith and Tom Brown ensured a shared heat
14 as the Devils went on to clinch a slender 46-44 success. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. Wayne Broadhurst 5+1 (1*, 2, 2, 0) 2. Sam Martin 6+2 (2, 1*, 2, 1*) 3. Nathan Irwin 7+2 (1, 1*, 3, 2*) 4. John Oliver 11 (3, 2, 1, 3, 2) 6. Cal McDade 0 (FX, withdrew) 7. Kyle Hughes 7+2 (2, 1*, 1*, R, F,
3, 0) |
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August
7
Conference Trophy Scunthorpe
57, Boston 37 The Barracuda-Braves slipped to defeat away
to Scunthorpe, a result that dealt another blow to their Conference Trophy hopes.
On the night, it was always an uphill struggle for Boston for whom Wayne
Broadhurst (12+2) and John Oliver (12) were their only real scoring
contributors. The Scorpions took the lead in heat three of
this Conference Trophy clash and never looked back despite spirited
resistance particularly from Braves’ Wayne Broadhurst and John Oliver who
contributed a combined total of 24 of their side’s points and added
respectability to the score line with a 5-1 in the final heat. Although the home side dominated the match
with great riding from the teenage duo of Tai Woffinden and Josh Auty, Boston
still fought hard with some great efforts from Sam Martin and a fine race win
by Darren Mallett who struggled at the start of the meeting. Kyle Hughes took
a heavy fall in heat eight but walked off the track and completed the match
despite in some discomfort. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. Wayne Broadhurst 12+2 (3, 2, 4TR,
1*, 2*)) 2. Sam Martin 4+1 (1, 1*, 2, 0) 3. Nathan Irwin 1+1 (0, 0, 1*, 0) 4. John Oliver 12 (2, 4TR, 2, 1, 3) 5. Darren Mallett 4 (1, 0, 1, 2) 6. Cal McDade 2 (FX, 1, 0, 1) 7. Kyle Hughes 2 (2, FX, 0, 0) |
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July
30
Conference Trophy Mildenhall 55, Boston 38 Defeat away to Mildenhall was far from the sort
of start Boston Barracuda-Braves wanted to open their Conference Trophy
campaign. But they succumbed to a resolute Mildenhall side who packing
scoring strength right down their order. Boston’s points-piling power was
less effective with only Wayne Broadhurst, Sean Stoddart and Sam Martin
making any real impact on what became an increasingly dusty surface. Apart from a Martin heat win in the reserves’
race, Boston faltered in the opening throes as they trailed 16-8 after four
heats. Three shared heats then followed before Boston cut the deficit to
26-22 via a Kyle Hughes and Sam Martin 5-1 in heat eight. But then Mildenhall
turned up the power with three 4-2s and two maximum hauls to lead 48-30. A double-points win for tactical rider Sean
Stoddart (last to first) gave Boston some late crumbs of comfort. But a home
4-2 in the final heat merely topped off a disappointing afternoon for the
Braves. Mildenhall’s top scorer was 15-point maximum man, former Brave Mark
Thompson with good support from Andrew Bargh (11) and Mark Baseby (9+1). BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. Wayne Broadhurst 9 (2, 3, 0, 2, 2) 2. Kyle Hughes 4 (R, 0, 3, 1) 3. Nathan Irwin 5 (2, 2, 0, 1) 4. Sean Stoddart 9+1 (FX, 1*, 2, 6TR,
0) 5. Darren Mallett 4 (0, 2, 2, 0TR) 6. Cal McDade 0 (0, 0, 0) 7. Sam Martin 7+2 (3, 1, 1*, 2*, 0) |
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July
21
Conference League Boston 20, Plymouth 22 (Meeting abandoned after seven heats, no
result) Heavy rain put paid to Boston Barracuda-Braves’ hopes of grabbing
crucial Conference League points in their late push for a place in the title
play-offs. High-riding Plymouth were the visitors to the Norfolk Arena and
held a slender two-point lead at the stage when the elements intervened. Up
to that moment, Plymouth had held the initiative with five of the seven race
wins, three of which went to in-form heat leader Seemond Stephens. Boston’s
heat successes in a tightly-contested meeting were by reserve Sam Martin and
back-from-injury Darren Mallett. News is still awaited on a new date for the
re-staging.
Braves scorers (up to abandonment): W
Broadhurst 4, K Hughes 0, N Irwin 1, J Oliver 4, D Mallett 5, S Campos 2, S
Martin 1. |
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July
16
Conference League Newport 37, Boston 55 Boston Barracuda-Braves pocketed three more
precious Conference League points (two match and one for the overall
aggregate bonus) when romping to victory at Newport. The result keeps the
Braves in contention for a play-off spot. Reserve Sam Martin top scored with
a 14 (paid 15) haul. Boston led from the outset with a maximum haul
in the first race and never looked back as they swept to victory with heat
advantages in five of the opening six races. The Mavericks responded with a
7-2 tactical ride advantage in heat seven but the Braves secured the match
finally with three consecutive 5-1s from heats 12 to 14. It was a satisfying
performance all round, notably with Wayne Broadhurst bagging his biggest
return in Braves colours while Cal McDade also enjoyed a profitable
afternoon, albeit with a last race crash and exclusion. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. Wayne Broadhurst 12+1 (3, 3, 2, 1*, 3) 2. Kyle Hughes 9+2 (Ex, 2*, 3, 2, 2*) 3. Nathan Irwin 7+1 (3, 0, 1*, 3, Ex) 4. John Oliver 7+1 (1, 2, 2, 2*) 5. Darren Mallett R/R (CM 1*, SM 3, WB 2, KH 2*) 7. Sam Martin 14+1 (2*, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3) |
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July
9
Conference League KO Cup first round second
leg Buxton 56, Boston 38 (Buxton win 95-92 on aggregate) Boston failed to book their place in the
semi-finals of the KO Cup despite taking a 15-point lead with them into the
second leg of their clash with Buxton. That advantage proved insufficient as
the Derbyshire side pegged back the deficit and ultimately triumphed by a
slender margin. Boston’s top scorer was Wayne Broadhurst with 11 points. The Braves made a solid enough start and
shared the opening two heats but then fell away alarmingly when sustaining
successive 5-1 reverses and a 4-2 setback in the next three races as Buxton
suddenly found themselves right back in the picture20-10 ahead and only five
points behind on aggregate. But Boston regrouped and regained the initiative
with a John Oliver-Sam Martin 5-1 in heat seven followed by a 4-2 from Martin
and Sean Stoddart immediately afterwards. But that’s where the fightback ended,
particularly as home star man Scott James produced a flawless display with
four wins in the last seven races, three of which produced maximum 5-1
returns. The most critical of these was in the final heat with the score
poised at 51-37. A share of the spoils would have suited Boston fine, but
Oliver was excluded as he made a final lap bid to overtake James, the referee
awarding the race as a 5-1 home win to seal Boston’s fate. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. Wayne Broadhurst 11 (2, 2, 4TR, 0,
2, 1) 2. Sean Stoddart 6+2 (1*, 0, 1, 3, 1*) 3. Kyle Hughes 0 (0, 0, 0) 4. John Oliver 10 (1, 0, 3, 2, 4TR,
FX) 5. Darren Mallett R/R (JO 0, WB
4TR, SM 0, SS 1*) 6. Cal McDade 3+1 (1*, F, 1, 1) 7. Sam Martin 8+1 (2, 1, 2*, 3, 0, 0) |
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July
7
Conference League KO Cup first round first
leg Boston 54, Buxton 39 Out of adversity came a touch of triumph for
the Boston Barracuda-Braves as they established a KO Cup first leg lead of 15
points against Buxton. On the eve of the tie they got news that heat leader
Darren Mallett had fallen victim to injury while riding on non-Boston duty. But thankfully, the bulk of the rest of the
team produced the goods, notably with back-in-the-fold Nathan Irwin leading
the charge with a terrific haul of 14 points, his efforts being helped by a
stint out of the side to concentrate on honing his gating technique. Reserve Sam Martin offered the highest points
tally in support with a paid 14. But the contributions of John Oliver (paid
12) and Kyle Hughes (paid 11) should not be overlooked. It was a match in which Boston were never
headed—two shared heats and two 4-2s in the first four races seeing the
Braves edge into a 14-10 lead. But they then started to pull away, notably on
the strength of 5-1s from the combinations of Irwin/Oliver and Hughes/Martin
in heats five and eight to lead 30-18. Buxton hit back when Adam Roynon (on a
tactical ride) led a 7-2 heat win for the visitors to make it 32-25. And the
scores stayed reasonably tight with three of the next four races being
shared. But Boston pulled out the stops commendably
in the concluding two heats with a 5-1 (Oliver and Martin) and 4-2 (Oliver
and Irwin) to ultimately clinch a 54-39 success to take with them into the
second leg at Buxton on Sunday afternoon. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. Wayne Broadhurst 5+3 (2, 0, 1*, 1*, 1*) 2. Kyle Hughes 10+1 (1*, 2, 3, 2, 2) 3. Nathan Irwin 14 (3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 1) 4. John Oliver 11+1 (X2m, 2*, 3, X, 3, 3) 5. Darren Mallett R/R (WB 0, JO 3, KH 2, NI 2) 7. Sam Martin 12+2 (3, 1, 3, 2*, 1, 2*) |
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June
30
Conference League Boston 40, Scunthorpe 53 For the fourth time this season, Boston
Barracuda-Braves found themselves on the receiving end of a beating from
regional rivals Scunthorpe. And once again, the telling factor in this demise
at the Norfolk Arena was the scoring impact made by Scunthorpe’s talented
reserve duo of Tai Woffinden and Josh Auty. Between them they harvested 26 of
their side’s points. Boston simply had no answer to the teenage
twosome as Scunthorpe waltzed off with the two Conference League match points
and the additional bonus point for overall home and away aggregate scores
(52-40 being the score when the sides met in North Lincolnshire on June 4). Here the Braves were always facing an uphill
task. They trailed 19-11 after five heats. And despite sharing the spoils in
the three subsequent races, Boston entered heat nine still eight points in
arrears and with only two Darren Mallett heat wins to positively reflect on.
But then came a mini-revival with the John Oliver-Kyle Hughes and Wayne
Broadhurst-Darren Mallett partnerships producing 4-2s to leave the score at
32-28 in Scunthorpe’s favour. But cue the Auty-Woffinden show as they
dominated the final five heats, their powerplay being disrupted only by
Mallett’s win in heat 13 as a tactical substitute. That briefly brought the
score back to 44-37. But the visitors romped away with a 4-2 and 5-1 in the
final two heats to cement their success and inflict Boston’s second home
league loss of the 2006 campaign. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 2. Sean Stoddart R/R (JO 2, SM 1*, WB
2, DM 1) 3. Kyle Hughes 4 (2, 0, 1, 1) 4. John Oliver 8 (2, Fx, 1, 3, 2, 0) 5. Darren Mallett 16 (3, 3, 1, 2, 6TR,
1) 6. Cal McDade 0 (0, 0, 0) |
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June
24, 2006
Conference Fours
at Stoke There was little joy for the quartet
representing the Barracuda-Braves on finals day of the Conference Fours at
Stoke. Boston figured in the first semi-final and mustered just 10 points
with their only heat successes coming via Sean Stoddart and Darren Mallett in
heats two and seven. The contest had got off to a disappointing start when
Wayne Broadhurst was excluding for falling in the opening race. Then in the
concluding heat, Stoddart’s bike shed a chain on bends three and four of the
first lap to compound Boston’s woes. Semi-final one: Stoke 18, Plymouth 16, Boston
10, Newport 4. Semi-final two: Scunthorpe 19, Mildenhall 12
(won run-off), Buxton 12, Rye House 5. Final: Stoke 16 (won run-off), Plymouth 16,
Mildenhall 10, Scunthorpe 6. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 4. Sam Martin 2 (0, 2) |
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June
23, 2006
Conference League
Boston 47, Buxton 43
Boston edged a closely fought thriller at the
Norfolk Arena. But even though they levelled the overall aggregate (having
lost by the same margin at Buxton earlier in the season), they were unable to
claim the extra bonus point when Adam Roynon defeated Darren Mallett in an
end-of-meeting run-off decider. The Braves, though, still netted two match
points. But it was far from an easy victory. Early on, the home side found
things a bit of a struggle. Wayne Broadhurst took time to adapt to the action
after more than a year out of the saddle competitively. He still went on to register a paid seven
score to give fair backing (along with Kyle Hughes) to the team’s two leading
lights in the guise of 15-point men Darren Mallett and John Oliver. Boston hit early snags, notably when reserves
Cal McDade and Sam Martin collided on the first bend of heat two, gifting the
visitors a 5-1 and an 8-4 lead. That difference remained for two further
races. But gradually Boston retrieved the deficit and drew level through a
Mallett and Broadhurst 4-2 in heat eight. Despite falling behind again straight away,
the Braves went four points ahead largely on the strength of successive heat
wins for Oliver, Mallett and Hughes. But then a 5-1 from Roynon and Jonathan
Bethell levelled things again before 4-2s in the concluding two races yielded
a home win. BRAVES SCOREBOARD
1. Wayne Broadhurst 5+2 (1*, 0, 1, 2*, 1) 2. Sean Stoddart R/R (KH 2, DM 3, WB 1, JO 3) 3. Kyle Hughes 6 (2, 0, 1, 0, 3) 4. John Oliver 15 (3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 1) 5. Darren Mallett 15 (3, 3, 3, 3, 0, 3) 6. Cal McDade 1 (1, 0, 0) 7. Sam Martin 5 (0, 0, 3, 1, 1) |
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June
16, 2006
Conference League Plymouth 54, Boston 38 An under-strength Boston side slipped to
defeat away to Plymouth. But it wasn’t until the final five heats that the
match finally got away from them. The Barracuda-Braves went into their first
meeting since the departure to Premier League Berwick of star rider James
Birkinshaw. And in his absence, they didn’t quite have enough firepower to
dent the aspirations of their unbeaten hosts. Reserve Sam Martin had a hectic evening, but
helped himself to a superb paid 16 points. His best backing came from John
Oliver with a paid 10. But after that, only Darren Mallett and Kyle Hughes
really tested the home side. And Oliver was out of luck in the early throes
when his bike caught fire just as the tapes went up in heat four and then he
was forced to miss his next rider under the two minutes exclusion as he
machinery was still being remedied. Nathan Irwin’s evening was hampered by two
touching the tapes, forcing him to start from 15 yards in arrears in heat three
and then make way for Martin in heat 10. After a shared opening heat,
Plymouth edged ahead and a heat five 5-1 saw them lead 19-11. Two 4-2s then
saw Boston back in it by the end of heat eight and swapped 5-1s in the next
two races saw the score stand at 32-28 going into heat 11. But that is where Plymouth then pressed home
their superiority, helped by three maximum wins and top man Seemond Stephens
shattering the track record (at 51.94) in heat 13. The eventual 16-point
difference makes it a tough proposition for Boston to gain the overall
aggregate bonus point when the sides meet at the Norfolk Arena. BRAVES SCOREBOARD
1. Sean Stoddart R/R (SM 2, JO
0, DM 0, KH 0) 2. Kyle Hughes 5+1 (1*, 1, 1, 2, 0) 3. Nathan Irwin 2 (0, 2, XT, 0) 4. John Oliver 9+1 (2, 0, X2m, 2*,
4TR, 1) 5. Darren Mallett 6 (2, 3, FX, 0, 1TR,
0) 6. Cal McDade 3 (0, 1, 1, 1) 7. Sam Martin 13+3 (2, 2, 1*, 1*, 3,
3, 1*) |
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June
9, 2006
Conference League Boston 51, Stoke 43 Boston added three more Conference League points to their
tally (two for the match result and
one for the home-and-away aggregate) with a hard fought success against a
determined Stoke outfit. The Barracuda-Braves opened up an early 9-3
advantage but then saw Nathan Irwin suffer an engine failure and Kyle Hughes
excluded for crossing the inside white line in heat three to gift the
visitors a 5-0.
And for a while after that, it was a tale of
nip-and-tuck with the two sides trading points equally by the conclusion of
heat seven when the score stood at 21-20 in Boston’s favour. But when James Birkinshaw and Sam Martin
combined for a heat eight 5-1 followed by two 4-2s, Boston edged ahead.
Stoke’s Luke Priest cut the deficit with a six-point haul from a tactical ride.
But another maximum return in heat 13 by Birkinshaw and Darren Mallett
effectively put the issue beyond doubt at 46-34. Although Stoke delivered two heat advantages
in the final pair of races, they were unable to prevent a home success — and
one notable for a solid 16-point return for Birkinshaw, a paid 13 for Mallett
and a wholly creditable nine-point harvest for Kyle Hughes, his best return
since signing for the Braves. BRAVES SCOREBOARD
1. James Birkinshaw 16 (3, 2, 3, 3, 3,
2) 2. Sean Stoddart R/R (NI 1, DM
1*, JB 3, KH 1) 3. Kyle Hughes 9 (Ex, 2, 3, 1, 3, 0) 5. Darren Mallett 11+2 (3, 1*, 3, 2,
2*) |
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June
4, 2006
Conference League Scunthorpe 52, Boston 40 For much of the first half of this Conference
League meeting, there was nothing to choose between these Lincolnshire
rivals. But in the final assessment, Scunthorpe landed maximum spoils thanks
to greater all-round scoring strength over the remaining heats. As a result, the Barracuda Braves slipped to
their second successive defeat and lost ground on Rye House in the race for
pole position in the table. Star man for Boston on the evening was number
one James Birkinshaw who rattled up 17 points from five rides, including a
heat 13 tactical substitute success which helped to yield a 6-3 race return
for Boston and keep alive faint hopes of obtaining a draw from the match. But
Scunthorpe then went on to claim a 5-1 and 3-3 to safeguard the eight-point
head they had enjoyed going into the final pair of races. The only riders to offer serious backing to
Birkinshaw were John Oliver and Darren Mallett with a combined total of 15 points.
Nathan Irwin, Sam Martin, new signing Cal McDade and Kyle Hughes, though, all
tended to struggle and were unable to match the returns of their support cast
counterparts in the home side whose reserves Josh Auty and Tai Woffinden
bagged a combined tally of 21 points. Boston, though, performed creditably in the
opening exchanges with Birkinshaw (twice), Mallett and Oliver all tasting
heat victories in the first seven races at which point the scores stood at
21-21. But then Scunthorpe pulled away to claim the winner’s spoils. BRAVES SCOREBOARD1. James Birkinshaw 17 (3, 3, 2, 6TR,
3) 2. Kyle Hughes 0 (0, 0, 0) 3. Nathan Irwin 3+1 (0, 2*, X2m, 1) 4. John Oliver 8 (2, 3, 2, 1, F) 5. Darren Mallett 7 (2, 3, 2, 0) 6. Cal McDade 2 (2, 0, 0, R) |
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May
19, 2006
Conference League Boston 44, Rye House 49 This was a match Boston desperately wanted
to win to propel themselves to the top of the Conference League table. But
high-riding visitors Rye House simply held too many aces on the night And with some regularly better gating
techniques, the Raiders never let go of the advantage once they had delivered
some early blows to the Braves’ aspirations. For Boston, it was a big
disappointment after four straight league wins had seen them draw level with
Rye House at the top of the tree. Boston toiled from the start, their cause
not helped by some key mishaps along the way—Nathan Irwin breaking the tapes in
heat three, Darren Mallett suffering engine problems while second in heat
four and John Oliver crashing in heat nine while challenging for the lead
being three notable examples. But even spared those misfortunes, Boston
probably still wouldn’t have quite matched their in-form rivals for who had
solid scoring power right down their ranks. Rye opened a 10-point lead by the end of
heat five, their cause helped by two fine heat wins from reserve Robert Mear.
Boston cut the deficit with a James Birkinshaw tactical substitute ride
yielding 7-2 win in heat eight. But Rye House, well led by Barry Burchatt
(12) and Danny Betson (11), refused to buckle and again seized control. They
led 48-39 going into the nominated riders’ heat where a 5-1 to Boston via
Birkinshaw and Oliver was scant consolation for Braves followers. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. James Birkinshaw 14+3 (2, 1*, 6/TR, 1*, 1*, 3) 2. Simon Lambert R/R (JO 1*, DM 2, JB 6/TR, NI 2) 3. Nathan Irwin 6 (Ex, 0, 1, 2, 3) 4. John Oliver 9+2 (1*, 2, 2, F, 2, 2*) 5. Darren Mallett 8 (EF, 2, 3, 1/TR, 2) 6. Scott Campos 0 (0, 0, 0) 7. Sam Martin 7+3 (1, 1*, 1, 1, 2*, 1*) |
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May
14, 2006
Conference League Mildenhall 37, Boston 53 In-form Boston Barracuda-Braves made it four stunning
victories on the spin with a decisive success at West Row to chalk up a quick
fire Conference League double over Mildenhall to pocket two more league
points plus an extra point for the home and away aggregate over the two
fixtures. And as on Friday, the Braves (again minus the
services of broken arm victim Simon Lambert) showed little mercy for their
opponents by winning 12 of the 15 races with James Birkinshaw, Nathan Irwin,
Darren Mallett and — impressively once more — Sam Martin all bagging double
figure scores. Birkinshaw won three of the first five heats,
each time his efforts good enough to earn 3-3s. In between, heats two and
four yielded 5-1 maximums for the Martin-Scott Campos and Mallett-Martin
partnerships as the visitors swept into a 19-11 lead. Matt Wright won heat six as the hosts grabbed
a 4-2. But Boston were in no mood to give way. Two 4-2s and three other
shared heats were only answered by one home 4-2 as the Braves maintained a
solid 40-32 lead going into heat 13. And here they lifted the tempo still
further with 5-1s for the Mallett-Birkinshaw and Mallett-Martin pairings to
enter the nominated riders’ race with a 50-34 lead. Although Mallett was unable to vacate last
spot in heat 15, Birkinshaw delivered the goods with a fine race win to put
the seal on another memorable triumph. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. James Birkinshaw 16+1 (3, 3, 3, 2, 2*, 3) 2. Kyle Hughes 1 (0, Fx, 1, 0) 3. Nathan Irwin 11 (0, 2, 3, 3, 3) 4. Simon Lambert R/R (JB 3, SM 1*, DM 0, NI 3) 5. Darren Mallett 11 (3, 2, 3, 0, 3, 0) 6. Scott Campos 2+1 (2*, 0, 0) 7. Sam Martin 12+3 (3, 2*, 1*, 3, 1, 2*) |
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May
12, 2006
Conference League Boston 66, Mildenhall 24 Dennis
Mallett was an 18-point maximum hero and Boston Barracuda-Braves completely demolished
local rivals Mildenhall at the Norfolk Arena. His six-ride full house
included one race win as rider replacement cover for the injured Simon
Lambert. In addition, James Birkinshaw enjoyed a paid six-ride maximum as the
emphatic win cemented Boston’s position of second in the Conference League
table.
The Braves started off in powerful fashion
with three 5-1s and three 4-2s in the opening six races to effectively settle
the issue by its one-third mark. Birkinshaw and Mallett each won two races during
this time with Sam Martin and John Oliver weighing in with one apiece. Heat five was arguably one of the night’s
highlights with Oliver having to fight his way past Andrew Bargh and then
James Purchase to take the chequered flag while Nathan Irwin snatched third
spot on the line when diving under Bargh. There was plenty of overtaking in subsequent
races, notably Oliver swooping past Thompson early in heat six, Mallett and
Matt Wright swapping positions twice in heat seven and Sam Martin and Oliver
both getting past Purchase in heat eight. All the time Boston were relentlessly piling
up a huge points tally to put them in pole position for the aggregate point
when the sides meet again on Sunday. All told, the Braves won every race and
Mildenhall — who lost reserve Ben Hopwood to injury after a heat two crash —
only had the crumbs of two shared heats (seven and 11) as any sort of
consolation in the face of the home juggernaut. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. James Birkinshaw 14+4 (3, 3, 2*, 2*, 2*, 2*) 2. John Oliver 12+1 (1, 3, 2*, 3, 3) 3. Nathan Irwin 12+1 (2*, 1, 3, 3, 3) 4. Simon Lambert R/R (DM 3, JO 3, JB 2, NI
3) 6. Scott Campos 3+1 (2*, 0, 0, 1) 7. Sam Martin 7+1 (3, 1, 2*, 1) 8. Maurice Grang DNR |
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May
10, 2006
Conference League Stoke 46, Boston 48 Victory at Stoke came at a high price for the Boston
Barracuda-Braves. Teenage skipper Simon Lambert fell victim to a badly broken
arm, sustained in heat seven when home rider Scott Courtney lost control and
piled into the Boston heat leader. The injury looks like sidelining Lambert for
some considerable time and left the Braves cursing their luck despite riding
to an impressive win. Lambert had won his first race and looked well set
to keep up the big-scoring form he showed in the team's demolition of Newport
a few days earlier. But his evening's action was cut short by the
nasty-looking crash.
BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1. James Birkinshaw 11 (0, 3,
3, 3, 2) |
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May
5, 2006
Conference League Boston 65, Newport 24 Boston Barracuda-Braves powered to their first Conference
League success of the season with an emphatic demolition of Newport
Mavericks. Leading the way for the Braves was skipper Simon Lambert who
rattled up an unblemished 15-point five race maximum while team-mate John
Oliver weighed in with a five-ride paid full house.
The Braves started in positive fashion with
an opening heat 4-2 followed by successive 5-1s — the latter pair of races
each time seeing the result awarded with visiting riders Joe Reynolds and Sam
Hurst both tumbling and forcing the heats to be halted at a late stage. Karl Mason was the only Newport rider to win a
race all evening, taking the chequered flag first in heat four and then
leading colleague Tim Webster over the line for a 5-0 in heat six after
Nathan Irwin had been excluded and then James Birkinshaw hit engine problems. At that point, the score stood at 22-13. But
from then on, Boston were completely dominant with seven 5-1s and two 4-2s
being harvested from the final nine heats with good point-scoring form coming
from all areas of the Boston side which, compared to their rivals, had no
weak links at all. BRAVES SCOREBOARD 1 James Birkinshaw 8+1 (3, R,
3, 2*) |
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April
30, 2006
Conference League Buxton 47, Boston 43 Boston got off to a losing start—albeit by
only a slender margin—as their Conference League campaign began with an away fixture
against Buxton. But it was a match the Braves arguably should have won. But the disappointing form of some of the
team led to a narrow defeat by a Buxton side who battled hard after losing
Carl Belfield with a broken collar bone after a nasty heat five crash. There
was never more than four points between the teams with Boston moving ahead
after a 5-1 from Scott Campos and Sam Martin in heat two, a lead that they
held until heat eight when Irwin fell after receiving a two minute exclusion
and a 15-metre penalty. No replacement was available, as he had
already been harshly excluded for a tapes offence in heat five. Buxton’s
captain Jonathan Bethell was only beaten once when James Birkinshaw got the
better of him in the final race. For the Braves, Simon Lambert, Darren
Mallett and Martin weighed in with
useful scores to support Birkinshaw. After his heat two success,
Campos found points hard to come by. Buxton are well known for unearthing young
talent at their training schools and appear to have continued the tradition
with the emergence of Roberts and Taylor who both look to be hot prospects. BRAVES SCORECARD 1 James Birkinshaw 12+1 (2, 3,
3, 1*, 3) 2 Nathan Irwin 1 (0, 0, 1) 4 Simon Lambert 8+1 (3, 2, 2,
1*, 0) |
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April
28, 2006
Challenge match Boston 55, Spalding Eagles 38 Boston got the upper hand in a special
“in-house” challenge match against a select septet assembled to represent a
Spalding Eagles side sponsored by local company Euroclean. This fixture
replaced the challenge match against Mildenhall who pulled out of original
action schedule. The “select” Spalding side led by six points
after four heats before Boston got into gear to claw back the deficit and
eventually went on to dominate the meeting to win comfortably. But it was
never easy for the Barracuda-Braves as the opposition started the meeting
well. Combined with John Oliver’s breakdown in heat
three, the situation led to a possible surprise being on the cards. But
Darren Mallett survived a tight incident with Rob Hollingworth in heat four
to come back and win while Kyle Hughes overtook Peter Boast right on the line
in heat five to start eroding the Eagles’ lead. This feat was completed in the next race with a 5-1 from
Birkinshaw and Irwin to put the sides level. And from this point the Braves
never looked back. They built a 10-point lead and forced
Spalding team manager Carlton Williams to try a tactical substitute in the
shape of Simon Lambert in heat 12 but he tangled with Kyle Hughes on the back
straight of the first lap and earned an exclusion by referee Daniel Holt. A
tactical ride for Hollingworth in heat 13 also yielded nothing but Richie
Dennis won his tactical ride in heat 14 to keep the scores respectable. Mallett was superb all evening in home
colours and completed his 15-point maximum in the final race — a 5-1 with
Birkinshaw to end an historic match marking Spalding’s entry to the speedway
scene — perhaps the first match of many if Boston officials can find a site close to the
tulip town. BRAVES SCORECARD |
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April
16, 2006
Easter Cup (Challenge match) Scunthorpe 53, Boston 40 (aggregate 100-82) The Barracuda-Braves may have found the high
skill level of teenage Scunthorpe reserve Josh Auty (a paid 18-point maximum
from six rides) too much to cope with at Normanby Road. But they fought with
great spirit to the end of the match and there were plenty of positive vibes
in the camp despite their defeat. The Braves were up with the pace in the first
five races and a quintet of shared heats left the scores tied at 15-15 — the
Braves solidly packing the middle order in for of those races while Jamie Birkinshaw
won the other on his way to a 13 point haul. But after that, Boston steadily fell away
despite some determined riding. They trailed 34-20 after heat nine but then
got themselves back into the hunt with a fantastic 8-1 haul when tactical
substitute John Oliver and skipper Simon Lambert came up trumps — the latter
slowing dramatically to allow his team-mate through for maximum “double-up”
points. But that was as close as things got. Lambert
suffered an awkward-looking fall in heat 12 but escaped with only minor
strains. The only other highlight was a 5-1 landed by Birkinshaw and Darren
Mallett in heat 13. BRAVES SCORECARD 1 James Birkinshaw 13 (2, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3) 2 Nathan Irwin 3+1 (1*, 0, 2, 0) 3 Simon Lambert 3+2 (1*, 0, 2*, Fx/TR) |
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April
7, 2006
Easter Cup (Challenge match) Boston 42, Scunthorpe 47 The Boston Barracuda-Braves got off to a losing
start to their new speedway campaign when going down at the Norfolk Arena,
King‘s Lynn by a five-point margin to county rivals Scunthorpe Scorpions in
the first leg of their Easter Cup home-and-away challenge match double bill. Of the home riders, only James Birkinshaw got into double figures with a score of 10. Boston started brightly and enjoyed seven out of the first 11 heat wins with all riders co | |