Battling Bears down the Cheetahs!
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr praised his side’s “priceless” team spirit as the Bears pulled off a comeback for the ages to prevail 46-44 against the Oxford Cheetahs at the ECCO Arena.
The Bears trailed by 10 points at one stage and by 8 points with 3 races remaining but managed to pull off a stunning victory to galvanise the whole club. Nicolai Klindt returned to form with 15 points whilst ex-Bear Anders Rowe top scored with 11 for Oxford.
Parr, who guided Redcar to BSN Series glory last season, was effusive in his praise for the side. Parr said, “The fighting spirit got us over the line last night, we win and we lose as a team but the attitude of these lads is second to none.”
The match started in the worst possible way for the hosts as the Cheetahs pairing of Luke Killeen and Sam Masters gated for a comfortable 5-1, and again, Redcar were left with work to do in the early stages.
The reserves race saw Jake Mulford continue his blistering form to win with ease, and with Bears guest Max Perry in 3rd, Redcar halved the early deficit.
However, Oxford re-established their four point buffer as Rowe won despite calculated pressure from Jason Edwards, and with the returning Edward Kennett 3rd, the Cheetahs had started the brighter.
After Jake Allen opened his account to win a shared heat 4, the visitors, (looking to bounce back after a home defeat to Glasgow on Wednesday) opened up a six point lead as Masters won, and with Killeen 3rd, Redcar were in trouble.
Heat six saw Nicolai Klindt fly from the tapes for an easy win, and with Ace Pijper 2nd, Redcar looked set to bounce back. However, Pijper shed a chain at the end of lap 3, turning a maximum 5-1 into a shared heat, and the Bears fans were thinking it was going to be one of those nights.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts in the next heat as Perry crashed into his own teammate Allen, and the young reserve was excluded from the re-run. The re-run saw Allen gate, but both Rowe and Kennett went either side of the man from Brisbane, extending Oxford’s lead to 10 points on Teesside.
Heat eight saw another Bear crash, this time Pijper (despite making a good gate) tasted the ECCO Arena shale, and he was excluded from the re-run. The re-run was a shared race as Mulford won, which gave the Bears fans a glimmer of hope with the Redcar number six due out three more times in the remainder of the meeting.
Parr used his tactical substitute in heat nine as Klindt joined Edwards at the tapes, and the switch paid dividends as the Dane won, and with Edwards 2nd, Redcar had their eyes set on a comeback win.
After the stylish Klindt took his 3rd win in a shared heat 10, the Bears crept within four points of the Cheetahs with a heat 11 4-2. Mulford again showed his class with another heat win, and with Allen 3rd (despite the Australian holding off his compatriot Killeen for much of the race), the Bears were a maximum heat advantage away from levelling matters.
However, Oxford hit back to stun the home faithful as Rowe won heat 12, and with Darryl Ritchings remarkably holding off both Simon Lambert and Jake Mulford for 2nd, the Cheetahs were on the verge of victory.
Redcar knew they had to find something special in the next race to keep the match alive and they did just that as Klindt won, and with Jake Allen holding off the Oxford skipper Sam Masters, Redcar had a sniff at 37-41.
A four point deficit turned into a level meeting after heat 14 as Mulford bounced back from a disappointing heat 12 to win, and with Edwards tucking into 2nd, the home fans were sensing an almighty Teesside turnaround.
The final heat of a spectacular evening saw Redcar complete the comeback as Klindt made it 5 wins on the night, and with Allen keeping Rowe at the back, the hosts secured a scarcely believable home win.
The two sides will meet again on Wednesday at Oxford with more Cab Direct Championship points on offer.
Redcar Bears = 46
- Nicolai Klindt = 15
- Ace Pijper = 1
- Simon Lambert = 1
- Jason Edwards = 8+2
- Jake Allen = 8+1
- Jake Mulford = 12
- Max Perry (G) = 1
Oxford Cheetahs = 44
- Sam Masters = 8+1
- Luke Killeen = 8
- Anders Rowe = 11
- Edward Kennett = 5+2
- Mitch McDiarmid = 4
- Darryl Ritchings = 4+2
- Dayle Wood = 4+2