Speedway: Reserves score big as Sheffield finish strongly to beat Oxford

Just six points ahead after Oxford had played a tactical substitute in heat nine, Sheffield speedway won the last six heats to finish with a 24 point margin of victory in the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership clash, with returning reserve Lewis Kerr scoring eight, paid nine, and rising star Leon Flint scoring nine.

Sheffield took a 5-1 lead from heat one, as Jack holder and Anders Rowe kept Rohan Tungate back in third, despite early pressure on Rowe.

The Tru7 Group Tigers dominated heat two, with Leon Flint leading from the gate, ahead of the returning Lewis Kerr, the pair finishing well clear of third placed Latvian Francis Gusts.

Oxford's first heat winner of the night was Charles Wright, in heat three, which finished with the points shared, Justin Sedgmen was second in his first race for the Tigers this season, with Chris Holder just behind in third.

Josh Pickering led from the second bend in heat four, with second place going to Luke Killeen, ahead of Maciej Janowski in third, in another shared heat.

Chris Holder finished ahead of Rohan Tungate in heat five, but the excitement was in the battle for third, with Erik Riss finishing ahead of Sedgmen, who had briefly led him after an overtake in lap one.

Heat six saw Janowski win despite Jack Holder making a last minute dash on the last bend, briefly taking the lead, but failing to keep his advantage to the line. Rowe was third in a 3-3.

Heat seven had to be rerun, after Oxford's Peter Kildemand fell on the last bend of the first lap, tangling with Kerr.

With Kerr excluded, Pickering, who had led when the race had been stopped, raced back into the lead from bend two, to beat Wright into second, in yet another 3-3.

Tigers returned to winning ways with a win from Leon Flint ahead of Erik Riss. Rowe overcame a bad start to take third after passing Killeen, but just failed in a manoeuvre to try to overtake Riss.

Oxford brought Tungate in for Gusts as a tactical substitute in heat nine, with the switch bringing Oxford a 5-1, Tungate winning ahead of Janowski. Chris Holder was third.

Oxford led heat 10 5-1 out of the gate, but Jack Holder battled back from third to lead shortly after the start of lap two. Rowe battled back from last to third, as Tigers finished 4-2up. Wright was second.

Kerr battled ahead of Tungate on the second bend of heat 11, and stayed ahead to clinch his first win of the night, Pickering third, as Tigers took another 4-2 to restore their 10 point lead in the night.

Flint took the win in heat 12, as he and Chris Holder showed fine team riding to keep third place Wright at bay, and ensure a 5-1 for Sheffield.

Josh Pickering led from the gate, ahead of second placed Jack Holder as Tigers took another 5-1 in heat 13, Janowski third.

New signings Kerr and Sedgmen took first and second respectively in heat 14, Kerr leading from the start, and Sedgmen battling back from third to overtake Peter Kildemand on lap three, giving Sheffield their third 5-1 in a row

Jack Holder beat Tungate, Pickering in third, as a 4-2 win gave Sheffield a 57-33 win in the night.

Sheffield 57: Jack Holder 13+1, Josh Pickering 11, Leon Flint 9, Lewi Kerr 8+1, Chris Holder 7+2, Anders Rowe 5+2, Justin Sedgmen 4+1.

Oxford 33: Rohan Tungate 10, Charles Wright 8, Maciej Janowski 7+2, Erik Riss 3+1, Peter Kildemand 2+1, Luke Killeen 2, Francis Gusts 1.

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