Scunthorpe crushed as Eastbourne Eagles find form

Edward Kennett returned to his best form as Eastbourne Speedway crushed high-flying Scunthorpe at Arlington Stadium.
Edward Kennett leads his Scunthorpe opponent - and he was a key man in the Eagles' win / Picture: Mike HinvesEdward Kennett leads his Scunthorpe opponent - and he was a key man in the Eagles' win / Picture: Mike Hinves
Edward Kennett leads his Scunthorpe opponent - and he was a key man in the Eagles' win / Picture: Mike Hinves

Until the half-way point it looked as if the HG Aerospace Eagles were in for another tough night, following the trend of a series of last heat deciders this year.

The story changed in heat eight with a 5-1 from guest Zane Keleher, in for the injured Kyle Newman, and Drew Kemp. That put the home side 26-22 ahead and they didn’t look back from there, running out 54-36 winners.

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Hailsham-based Kennett raced to a 15 point maximum from his five rides – by far his best performance of the season. Kennett had shown signs that his form was coming back earlier in the week with two late wins at Kent.

He said: “I am over the moon. I have been struggling and there’s been a lack of confidence, sharpness and not riding enough, maybe. It got me down at one point. I nearly threw it all in.

“Everything I was trying kept backfiring. I went back, sat down, made some changes in myself and tried to think more positively about it. With my last two ties at Kent I felt a lot like more old self and I passed Scott (Nicholls) from the back. I still knew I had it. It was just a confidence thing. I shouldn’t have been riding the way I was and I hold my hand up.”

In heat 15 Kennett was running in second place, behind teammate Richard Lawson. As they entered the last lap, Lawson looked behind and saw Kennett was well clear of the two visitors.

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In the closing stages, they switched places with Kennett waving to Lawson as he was allowed through to complete a full maximum. “I need to say thank you to Richard for that,” Kennett said.

Scorers: Eastbourne: Edward Kennett 15, Lewi Kerr 12, Richard Lawson 11+2, Drew Kemp 8+2, Zane Keleher 7+1, Jason Edwards 1, Tom Brennan r/r.

Scunthorpe: Thomas Jorgensen 14, Simon Lambert 8, James Shanes 6+2, Tero Aarnio 3, Jordan Palin 3, Josh MacDonald 2+1, Adam Ellis r/r.

* In the second match of the evening, the Eastbourne National Development League team, the Seagulls, sponsored by Save Thurrock Hammers Speedway, narrowly lost to Kent Royals, 46-43.