Pirates claim KO Cup glory
POOLE secured the MAXiCab KO Cup with a resounding 39-51 (77-103 on aggregate) away win at the ECCO Arena. The Pirates dominated the meeting to take their first step on the road to what they hope will be an historic treble.
Richard Lawson was again the star of the show for Poole with a blistering full 15 point maximum to help his side seal silverware whilst Ace Pijper struck a superb paid 10 for Redcar.
The match started with controversy as Poole gated on a 5-1 but Charles Wright was all over the back of Poole’s Tobias Thomsen with the Bears skipper passing the Dane up the inside of bend one of lap three, and with Thomsen going down, the referee had a decision to make. The SCB official (Chris Gay) deemed Wright was at fault and excluded the Bears man.
The re-run saw Jake Mulford gate, but Lawson passed the Redcar number two to take the win, and with Thomsen in an unopposed 3rd, Poole extended their aggregate advantage to 16 points.
The reserves race saw Pijper pass Paul Starke for the win, but with William Cairns passing Redcar guest Ben Trigger on lap four, Poole remained 16 ahead. Heat three saw Poole strike a huge blow as both Zach Cook and Lewi Kerr gated for a maximum heat advantage to send the Pirates into a six point lead on the night and a 20 point aggregate lead.
Heat four saw more drama, this time at the start line as Anders Rowe moved at the start, causing Danny King to touch the tapes with Gay excluding King from the re-run. With Redcar boss electing to bring in Trigger from the tapes, the odds seemed stacked against the hosts.
However, Pijper and Trigger were leading the visitors heading into lap two until Rowe passed Trigger and set after Pijper. The Pirates number five was railing the dirt but remarkably, Pijper had every move covered, holding off the Poole hotshot, and with Trigger 3rd, the “Agilia” Bears had their first heat advantage.
Poole restored their six point advantage in heat five as Lawson passed Leon Flint for the win, and with Thomsen 3rd, the Tigers were edging closer to the trophy. However, the Bears kept battling as Wright recorded his first win in heat six, and with Mulford 3rd, the hosts were still in the 2nd leg.
After King won a shared heat seven, huge drama followed in a heart stopping heat eight. Poole looked set for a 5-1 heading into lap four, but Pijper passed Thomsen heading into bend three until Thomsen ran Pijper wide, leaving Pijper with nowhere to go as he hit Thomsen’s back wheel with the Redcar fans less than happy with Thomsen.
After video consultation, Thosmen was excluded, meaning we had a shared race with William Cairns taking an impressive win. Shared heats were becoming the theme as Flint won heat nine whilst Cook won heat 10 as the lone Pirate after Kerr suffered chain problems on the start line.
The four heat run of shared heats was broken in heat 11 as Lawson won, but with King passing Thomsen, Redcar avoided a 5-1 but Poole were on the verge of the trophy.
Poole secured the MAXiCab Ko Cup in heat 13 as Lawson won a shared race to open up their trophy haul for 2025. Heat 14 saw a shared race as Zach Cook won despite the efforts of Leon Flint in 2nd.
The final heat of the 2025 MAXiCab KO Cup saw Poole become the first away side to hit 50 at the ECCO Arena in 2025 as Lawson made it 10 wins from his last 10 heats against the Bears, and with Cook 2nd, the Poole fans could celebrate another away win at Redcar.
Redcar Bears = 39 (77)
1. Charles Wright = 8
2. Jake Mulford = 5+2
3. Jason Edwards = 3
4. Leon Flint (G) = 7
5. Danny King = 6+1
6. Ben Trigger (G) = 1
7. Ace Pijper = 9+1
Poole Pirates = 51 (103)
1. Richard Lawson = 15
2. Tobias Thomsen = 3
3. Lewis Kerr = 7+1
4. Zach Cook = 12+2
5. Anders Rowe = 6
6. Paul Starke = 4+1
7. William Cairns = 4+1