Eagles move up to third after convincing win against Potters

Eastbourne moved up to third in the National League table after a convincing home win on Saturday night against the Stoke Potters.
Tom Brennan. Picture by Mike HinvesTom Brennan. Picture by Mike Hinves
Tom Brennan. Picture by Mike Hinves

The IT First Eagles are on ten points after three matches. Table toppers are Belle Vue on 13 points from five matches while defending champions Birmingham are second on 11 points from four matches.

All of the Eastbourne team scored a win, or paid win, in the victory over the Potters, but once again 15-year-old Tom Brennan stole the show.

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He scored 15 points (paid 17) from six rides – his maximum hopes disappearing in heat 15 when he came in third behind top guns Mitchell Davey and his captain Georgie Wood.

Club chairman, Martin Dugard, commented: “Considering that Stoke only lost at home to Bell Vue by an odd point it was quite a good test for us to see how good we are in relation to the table.

“We have been up and down and nobody has really appreciated what we are doing and it showed tonight that we are a strong force when everybody is going.

“Ben Hopwood came in as a guest and showed he was on form tonight and we have to help Connor Coles [who was away riding in the Championship for Newcastle] get to it.”

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He picked Tom Brennan as the star of the night, “only because this was probably his last meeting at reserve”.

Dugard added: “He will go up to No 1. Because we have no meeting next week, it may mean that Tom’s average will change at the end of the month.

“We can’t help the reasons why we don’t have a paramedic at the stadium next week. We are a little bit frustrated by that one because we are trying to get it every week that we have a meeting here.

“We are hoping with the way things are, we should be a force to be reckoned with.”

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EASTBOURNE 58: Tom Brennan 15+2, Georgie Wood 12+1, Ben Hopwood 9+2, Mark Baseby 9+1, Charlie Powell 6, Matt Bates 5+1, Kelsey Dugard 2+1.

STOKE 32: Mitchell Davey 14, Tony Atkin 7, Luke Priest 4, Ryan Terry-Daley 2+1, David Wallinger 2, Shaun Tedham 2, David Speight 1+1.

OTHER NEWS

Next week’s home meeting against King’s Lynn has been postponed because of a lack of available medical cover.

The winner of the first £500 jackpot draw is Morgan Hickman, from Hailsham. He has been supporting the Eagles since 1976 and is always at the stadium waiting for the gates to open.