Davey loyalty inspires Poole win (From Bournemouth Echo)

Davey loyalty inspires Poole win

12:01am Saturday 5th July 2008 in

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MANAGER Neil Middleditch saluted Davey Watt's team loyalty after Pirates had moved three points clear at the top with their third successive away league triumph.

Watt chose to put club before personal ambition when he missed Grand Prix semi-final qualifier practice in Sweden yesterday to line up at Brandon last night.

His move paid off big time as the Australian, fortunately, came through the meeting unscathed, grabbing a steady eight paid nine as Poole Castle Cover won on the road for the sixth time this term.

The Dorset club followed up wins at Ipswich and Wolves with a crushing victory against a completely deflated Coventry side.

Fair enough, struggling Bees ended the meeting with only four fit riders, after starting without injured star man Chris Harris and losing guest Tai Woffinden and Oliver Allen to shoulder problems after heat 11.

But they were already 10 points adrift at that stage as Poole Castle Cover turned on the style on a night when only Daniel Davidsson failed to fire.

In truth, Pirates could have won by even more as their superior gating left Coventry's men trailing out of the traps time and time again.

Indeed, the visitors threw away at least three probably 5-1s in the opening six heats, but never panicked at their bad luck and eventually wore relegation-threatened Bees down.

In the end, six race advantages in the final seven heats swept Poole to their biggest away league triumph since they crushed Peterborough 57-35 on May 8.

Speaking last night, Middle-ditch said: "Davey's loyalty is outstanding really. It's a very important meeting for him tomorrow. So for him to decide to stay with Pirates really shows how much the club means to him.

"In fact, we spoke about it earlier tonight. He said about using rider replacement and we probably could have covered him that way, but he would have felt bad if we had lost.

"He wanted to be part of it, Coventry struggled with injuries but it was still a great win for us.

"I've always said you don't take your luck, you make your luck'. I had a full team tonight and I didn't have that luxury myself earlier in the season."

Middleditch added: "The rest of the boys really did appreciate Davey was here.

"We are buzzing at the moment. Results are going well and hopefully it will continue.

"Davey is a very important part of the whole team and tonight we showed we're all working together as a unit.

"It was a great win, and when we fire together we all fire together.

"I feel sorry for Daniel, who broke his chain on parade, because he also blew his best engine up while leading his first race.

"Then his throttle came loose in his second one and in the third his steel shoe came off.

"Even though we had won the meeting by then, he said put Freddie Eriksson in his last one' because he was thinking about the team.

"That's the sort of attitude we've got at the moment and in my eyes Daniel played as big a part in this victory as any of our other riders."