Diamonds made to Work for Cup win
NEWCASTLE Diamonds must hope an eight-point lead will be enough to see them through to the quarter-finals of the Knockout Cup when they travel to Workington for the 2nd leg on April 22.
The original match at Derwent Park on Saturday was postponed because of a waterlogged track, so last night’s clash between the Diamonds and the Comets became the first leg instead of the tie being settled, and Newcastle had to fight really hard to take victory, 49-41.
Great Britain World Cup star Craig Cook got the match off to a blistering start, winning the opening race by a considerable distance from Newcastle’s own World Cup racer Robert Lambert in a time of 61.9 seconds, just 0.9 outside the track record.
Two heats later, skipper Ludvig Lindgren and Lewis Rose notched the first of only two 5 -1 race wins in a very tight contest, Rose coming from the back to overtake both Comets after making a sluggish start to nudge the Diamonds into a narrow lead they never subsequently lost.
Cook, however, dished up a repeat of his first race performance when he met Lindgren and Rose two races later, before Lambert and Ashley Morris pulled off a 4-2 over Thomas Jorgensen to put Newcastle ahead, 20-16.
Steve Worrall then suffered a shock defeat to slick-starting Ty Proctor as the Comets got used to the Byker track, and Jorgensen was also a race-winner when he met Rose and Lindgren.
Lambert and Morris then put a bit of daylight between the sides as they raced away to Newcastle’s second maximum to give the Diamonds an interval lead, 33-27.
Cook was then beaten by Worrall in a thriller, but, two races later, the Comets’ captain pulled off a sensational victory over both Worrall and Lambert to keep his side firmly in the hunt.
The three stars met again in the final race and this time Worrall, thanks to a slightly faster start, got out in front of Cook and stayed there, with Lambert picking up a valuable point.