Saturday 15th May 1999 ... Craven Shield
COVENTRY 46 HULL 44
BEES: VIKINGS:
G.Hancock 3 3 3 E 1 10 J.Screen 2 2 3 3 3 3 16
A.Jonsson 1 2'3 2'E 8(2) G.Stead 0 0 0 0
B.Andersen 0 3 1'2 6(1) R.Correy 2'3 0 1 3 2' 11(2)
St.Robson 1 1 2 2 6 R.Morton 3 0 0 X 3
B.Hamill 2 1'1'2 6(2) S.Ermolenko 3 1 3 0 1 8
S.Tacey 3 2 2'2 1' 10(2) P.Thorp 1'0 1 2(1)
Sc.Robson 0 F 0 0 L.Dicken 2 1 1 4
THE SCORELINE DIDN'T REFLECT the meeting as Bees took full control in the middle stages after an early scare, only for various mechanical disasters to pull the Vikings back to within two points at the end. But anything other than a Coventry win would have been an injustice, with Hull carrying too many passengers, and not succeeding with any tactical substitutes until it was too late.
There certainly weren't any of the incidents of Thursday's Sky match against Wolverhampton, but it was probably just as well the cameras weren't there for this match, otherwise they would have had a half-hour wait for any action after heat 2 as the track electrics failed, leaving the red lights not working. Eventually a compromise was reached, in that the green light would stay on for the duration of the race unless it was to be stopped (something which a number of referees seem to do in any case) - yet on the one occasion the stop lights were needed, they came on without a problem!
Greg Hancock continued his recent good form with a tapes-to-flag win over Joe Screen in Heat 1, and Andreas Jonsson had little problem in overcoming a disappointing Garry Stead, who looks a totally different rider to two years ago. Then Shaun Tacey set the tone for his night by winning Heat 2 by a country mile, and it has to be said that the Vikings pairing of Dicken and Thorp were all over the place to such an extent that Rene Madsen would surely have finished second in this race. However, that is the penalty Bees are paying for bringing back a superstar, even if, at the moment, the superstar has not yet recaptured his form. Still, there are six weeks until the next League match, and Bees are beginning to have a poweful look about them. The confidence, which hit rock-bottom in the early weeks, has returned, and they are receiving the full backing of the supporters.
After the delay, Heat 3 provided something of a shock result, as Ray Morton lived up to his "Ripper" nickname by shooting out of the start with regular Brandon guest Ronnie Correy, and they easily defeated Stuart Robson and a sluggish Brian Andersen. Vikings then doubled their lead to four points in Heat 4 when Ermolenko got the better of Hamill on the first bend, and Scott Robson came to grief allowing Dicken an unchallenged third place.
Bees began the fightback in Heat 5 - Brian Andersen having clearly made some alterations as he streaked away from Screen, and Stuart Robson picking up the important third place. Then came the best race of the night, as Hancock outrode Ermolenko on the first lap, and Jonsson then produced a race-long challenge to the Hull man, which ended in thrilling style as he stormed round the outside on the last bend and pipped Ermolenko to second place on the line.
Correy made another great start to win Heat 7 ahead of Tacey and Hamill, with Morton at the back this time, but Bees gave themselves breathing space with a predictable 5-1 in Heat 8. Colin Pratt made a sensible change to replace Scott Robson with Tacey, and the move paid off as the in-form reserve and Jonsson easily defeated Dicken and Stead.
Race 9 was shared thanks to another fast start by Ermolenko - but Bees managed to nullify the threat of tactical substitute Correy, after he overcooked the pits corner when trying to get to grips with Andersen, who was protecting Stuart Robson. Bees then landed what appeared the killer punch with a Heat 10 5-1 from Hancock and Jonsson over Correy and Morton.
Hull kept the pressure on by bringing Ermolenko into Heat 11 to partner Screen, but again the tactical move didn't pay off, as although Screen raced away to win, Hamill, having been forced out on the first corner, battled back to re-pass Ermolenko on the third bend. Another solid ride from Tacey saw him in second place. Vikings did, however, pull a couple of points back in Heat 12 thanks to a return to form for Correy, beating Andersen, and a point for Thorp against Scott Robson.
Bees should have sewn things up in Heat 13, but suffered misfortune. A beautiful switch by Hancock seemed to be taking him inside Screen on the second lap, but just as he was taking the lead, his chain gave up and he was very lucky to stay on his bike, and also to be avoided by the pursuing Hamill who had again got the better of Ermolenko. As it was, the gap was cut to six points, and Hull were able to bring Screen into Heat 14.
Again, no golden double was used, but things looked very promising for Hull as Screen again charged away to win, and for a lap Ray Morton held second place with Robson and Tacey putting on plenty of pressure to try to get through. Morton made an error on lap two and slid off, Robson laying down in avoidance. The red lights didn't come on instantly, and with confusion in any case over the procedure, both were quickly up and continuing, Robson just in front, but the red lights came on, Morton was excluded, and Bees were essentially home and dry.
Tacey and Robson just needed to finish the re-run, and this they achieved despite some slightly nervous moments when they were close enough to Screen to try a little too hard to get through. Eventually they sorted themselves out to claim the 3-3, which left another anti-climax of a Heat 15 as Hancock's clutch failed on the first bend, and just as he was about to pull off the track Jonsson also coasted to a standstill. Hancock got his bike home for a point, although there appeared to be confusion over just when the race was supposed to end, as the flags came out early at one stage. Screen and Correy picked up the easiest 5-1 of their lives, and Hull had lost by a rather flattering two points.
Looking at the table, Bees still face an uphill battle to qualify for the play-offs, but they can't be ruled out, with plenty of teams dropping home points. Hamill will surely get stronger and stronger, and as he does, Bees will get better and better. The buzz is back at Brandon.