Brave fight is all in vain for the Diamonds

NEWCASTLE BTS Diamonds out in a magnificent effort to pull back a 12-point deficit in the Knockout Cup final at Byker.

With three races to go they had actually levelled the overall aggregate scores 81-81.

However, Redcar’s big guns British champion Charles Wright and the Championship league’s individual winner, German star Erik Riss - stunned the home fans with two 5-1 wins over Newcastle skipper Steve Worrall in the 13th and 15th races to take the trophy to Teesside for the first time.

The Diamonds won the second leg of the final 47-43 - but the Bears took the silverware 94-86.

Already without Thomas Jorgensen, another Diamonds’ Dane Lasse Bjerre reported he was ill - setting off a frantic search for a guest replacement.

Edinburgh’s James Sarjeant was recruited and weighed in with six (paid seven) points - featuring in an opening race 5-1 with Worrall which had easily the biggest crowd of the season wondering if a major upset was in the offing.

Max Clegg began another very successful evening by winning the second race before the Bears hit back with a 5-1 by Jordan Stewart and guest Ben Barker over Sarjeant and Matthew Wethers.

Riss and Wright respectively took the chequered flag in the next two races and the Bears were ahead 17-13 on the night and had increased their overall lead to 16 points - 68-52.

Clegg, however, was in inspired form and became the only man to beat Riss when he produced a terrific burst of speed and blasted around the outside of the German.

The Diamonds suffered a blow when Danny Phillips suffered an arm injury in a fall in the seventh race following an incident for which Barker was disqualified.

However, Newcastle’s great fightback continued and successive 5-1 wins by Worrall and Ulrich Ostergaard, and then Ostergaard and Clegg, put the Diamonds just two behind at 79-77 - and it was fitting Clegg and Sarjeant’s 4-2 over Barker levelled the final overall.

However, Riss and Wright cashed in when Ostergaard hit mechanical trouble to record the first of their 5-1s and then completed the job with fast-starting in the finale.

NEWCASTLE (47): Max Clegg 14, Ulrich Ostergaard 10, Steve Worrall 9, Matthew Wethers 8, James Sarjeant 6, Danny Phillips 0.

REDCAR (43): Erik Riss 14, Jordan Stewart 9, Charles Wright 7, Kasper Andersen 5, Ben Barker 4, Nathan Greaves 3, Tom Woolley 1.