Superb Bears defeat Glasgow
Redcar Agilia Bears will defend a 12 point lead at Glasgow on Friday, as they inflicted only Glasgow’s second defeat of the season with a 51-39 win on Tuesday night.
A superb all round team performance saw the Bears take an excellent victory against a side who had not list since March. It was a slow start from the Bears however, as the Tigers took a 5-1 in the first heat. The excellent Craig Cook and James Sarjeant led from the start, as Charles Wright and Jack Smith appeared to get in each others way.
The Bears slowly recovered though, a heat 6 maximum from Charles Wright and a rejuvenated Ulrich Ostergaard saw the Bears draw level. Then two big 5-1s in heats eight and nine saw the Bears pull out a good lead which they never looked like losing.
Arguably the best ride of the night came in heat 13 however, as Craig Cook suffered a very rare defeat at the hands of Bears skipper Charles Wright. Cook made the gate, but a superb exit from bend two saw Wright go round the outside and record an impressive victory.
Bears promoter Jitendra Duffill was delighted with his sides efforts:
“ Brilliant performance from the Bears again tonight. I would have settled for a victory against a very impressive Glasgow side that have been in very good form, so to win by 12 has surpassed my expectations and gives us an excellent chance to progress to the Semi-Final.”
It was a superb all round performance from the Bears, with Jordan Stewart scoring 11+1, with Ostergaard returning to form in style with 11. Cook was his normal excellent self for the visitors with 14 points. The Bears will travel to Glasgow on Friday with the tie superbly balanced, hoping the 12 point margin will be enough to see them progress.
Redcar Bears = 51
1. Charles Wright : 1, 2*, 2, 3, 2 = 10+1
2. Tom Bacon R/R : =7+1
3. Ulrich Ostergaard : 0, 2, 3, 3, 3 = 11
4. Jordan Stewart : 3, 0, 3, 2*, 3 = 11+1
5. Michael Palm Toft : 3, 3, 2, 1, 1* = 10+1
6. Nathan Greaves : 3, 0, 2*, 0, 2*, 0 = 7+2
7. Jack Smith : 0, 1, R, 1* = 2+1
Glasgow Tigers = 39
1. Craig Cook : 3, 3, 3, 2, 3 = 14
2. James Sarjeant : 2*, 1, 0, 1 = 4+1
3. Ty Proctor (G) : 2, 1*, R, 1 = 4+1
4. Paul Starke : 1*, 2, 3, 2, 0 = 8+1
5. Claus Vissing : 1*, 1, 1, 0 = 3+1
6. Connor Bailey : 0, 0, 0 = 0
7. Kyle Bickley : 2, 2, 1, 0, 1* = 6+1