PROMOTER Matt Ford saluted his patched up Poole Pirates heroes following a dramatic conclusion to their Elite League campaign tonight.

The Dorset club – already assured of a place in the end-of-season play-offs – needed to beat Leicester by at least seven points to stand any chance of finishing top of the table.

And despite leading by only two with two heats remaining, Pirates pulled it out of the bag to claim a memorable 49-41 victory to return to the summit.

Victory saw them leapfrog long-time leaders King’s Lynn – with the team finishing top having the luxury of selecting their opponents in the play-off semi-finals. 

And Poole’s triumph heaped the pressure on the Norfolk outfit with the Stars now needing at least a draw from their final fixture at Belle Vue on Monday. Coventry and Swindon have also qualified for the play-offs.

Poole, bidding to finish top for the fifth time since the Elite League started, are also looking to win the grand final for the sixth time in their history.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “It was one of those nights where we seemed to be making it hard for ourselves but the lads came up trumps and pulled off the result we needed.

“Maciej Janowski’s ride in heat 15 was outstanding and our guests did us proud. Dakota North was probably the pick but Davey Watt and Nick Morris were both in the mix and helped us secure a great victory.

“To be honest, I felt our luck had run out earlier in the meeting after a few things had gone against us. But we stuck to our guns and dug deep.”

Ford added: “I haven’t really been looking at the table this season because we have been constantly chasing shadows. But I know this win means King’s Lynn need to get a positive result at Belle Vue and they have been in pretty good form so I am hoping they can do us a favour.

“If there is any justice then King’s Lynn should really come top. But being the owner of Poole Speedway, I have to say we have also had our share of bad luck.

“I appreciate other clubs have had injuries but I don’t think anyone is carrying the injuries and suspensions that we are. We are currently without three of our top four riders so fair play to the guys who have donned the skull and crossbones because they have kept us in the mix.

"Finishing top would of course be preferable and we will just have to wait and see what happens. I think it is in King’s Lynn’s hands though.”

Although Leicester pair Jason Doyle and Rohan Tungate combined for a 5-1 in the opening heat, Pirates hit back immediately when reserves Kyle Newman and Benji Compton repeated the feat for the visitors.

Mechanical gremlins saw Maciej Janowski left at the tapes at the start of heat three, with guest Nick Morris managing to separate Simon Stead and Gino Manzares as the hosts recorded a 4-2.

Pirates took full advantage after Nicolai Klindt had been penalised for a tapes offence in heat four, with a last-ditch pass by Newman on Josh Bates in sight of the chequered flag seeing him follow home Josh Grajczonek.

The teams continued to trade maximums as Doyle and Stead were awarded an incident-packed heat five after Morris had hit the air fence when third on the final lap.

Manzares split Watt and Janowski after the Pirates duo had gated smartly in heat six, with a 4-2 for the visitors bringing the scores level at 18-18.

Pirates guest Dakota North took the honours in heat seven after pinging the lids and reaching the first turn in front with Compton picking up a valuable point in third.

But the Lions again hit back as Klindt and Manzares registered a 4-2 in heat eight with parity maintained after the first and only shared heat of the night when Newman led home Clegg and Bates.

Pirates got their noses in front in the next when Janowski chalked up his first race win, with unselfish team riding by Morris pivotal to the visitors carding a 4-2.

And an Aussie one-two in the first heat after the interval saw guests North and Watt team up for a dominant maximum as Pirates forged six points clear at 36-30.

However, the deficit was reduced to four in a stormy heat 12 when Newman took a tumble and was disqualified, with Tungate taking the re-run.

And Pirates' hopes appeared to diminish as the Lions halved it in heat 13, although Janowski’s smart manoeuvre to split Doyle and Simon Stead on turn two proved crucial in denying the hosts a maximum.

Victory on the night was confirmed when Newman and North coasted to a maximum in the penultimate heat before Janowski put the icing on the cake when his breathtaking ride in the finale saw a 4-2 with North ensure Pirates would earn the points needed to take over at the summit and take the league season to the wire.

RIDER SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Lions 41: Jason Doyle (3-3-2-3-2) = 13, Rohan Tungate (2*-2-0-3) = 7+1, Gino Manzares (1-2-1-1) = 5, Nicolai Klindt (rtd-0-3-0) = 3, Simon Stead (3-2*-0-1-0) = 6+1, Josh Bates (fell-1-1*-1-1) = 4+1, Max Clegg (1-0-2) = 3.

Pirates 49: Davey Watt (0-3-2*-0) = 5+1, Josh Grajczonek (1-3-0-2) = 6, Nick Morris (2-fell/exc-2-1) = 5, Dakota North (1-3-3-2*-1) = 10+1, Maciej Janowski (e/f-1-3-2-3) = 9, Benji Compton (2*-1-0) = 3+1, Kyle Newman (3-2*-3-fell/dsq-3) = 11+1.

Key: *= bonus point, rtd=retired, fell/exc=fell/excluded, e/f=engine failure, fell/dsq=fell/disqualified)

Ht 1: Doyle, Tungate, Grajczonek, Watt, (1-5)

Ht 2: Newman, Compton, Clegg, Bates, (6-6)

Ht 3: Stead, Morris, Manzares, Janowski, (8-10)

Ht 4: Grajczonek, Newman, Bates, Klindt, (13-11)

Ht 5: (awarded) Doyle, Stead, North, Morris, (14-16)

Ht 6: Watt, Manzares, Janowski, Klindt, (18-18)

Ht 7: North, Tungate, Compton, Clegg, (22-20)

Ht 8: Klindt, Morris, Manzares, Grajczonek, (24-24)

Ht 9: Newman, Clegg, Bates, Compton, (27-27)

Ht 10: Janowski, Doyle, Morris, Tungate, (31-29)

Ht 11: North, Watt, Manzares, Stead, (36-30)

Ht 12: (re-run) Tungate, Grajczonek, Bates, Newman, (38-34)

Ht 13: Doyle, Janowski, Stead, Watt, (40-38)

Ht 14: Newman, North, Bates, Klindt, (45-39)

Ht 15: Janowski, Doyle, North, Stead, (49-41)