EFFORT, endeavour and entertainment were in abundance at Wimborne Road, but Pirates are still struggling to catch that break.

Though if fortune favours the brave, the tide must surely be about to turn for Poole who manfully battled back from a 10-point deficit to draw this match.

Indeed, the hosts grabbed the most unexpected of leads after a pair of 5-1 victories in heats 12 and 13, but the Brummies just found enough resolve in the final two races to prevent a complete collapse in a grandstand finale.

With the match tied at 43 points apiece, the crowd were on the edge of their seats ahead of the final heat, but Przemyslaw Pawlicki picked the wrong time to register his first blank of the night, while the imperious Chris Holder marched to victory.

But the Pole’s 12-point haul, including a pivotal four in a heat nine tactical ride, boosted the hosts’ cause after the meeting seemed destined to run away from Pirates.

Poole’s never ending misfortune had moved away from the track in the build-up to this re-arranged clash with team manager Neil Middleditch requiring surgery on a hand wound. But Garry May proved a capable stand-in for the stricken chief and picked the perfect time to try to snaffle double points through Pawlicki.

Ben Barker started his impressive evening by pipping Holder but Pirates held their own with Dawid Stachyra winning heat two following Tomas H Jonasson’s retirement, and Pawlicki holding off Martin Smolinski to level the match after three heats.

Poole’s problems began when ex-Pirate Jason Doyle and guest Richie Worrall dominated heat four, while Maciej Janowski retired with a mechanical fault before Barker took his second win of the night with a routine effort.

The luckless Rohan Tungate was disqualified from the sixth race for a third-turn fall while attempting to round Doyle, but in-form Holder, who has just been appointed Australia’s captain for the Speedway World Cup, steamrollered his former team-mate and Nico Covatti to keep Pirates in touch.

However, his efforts appeared in vain when the deficit peaked at 10 points, and only Tungate’s tremendous effort in heat eight prevented further damage.

Enter Pawlicki, who ran the dastardly Doyle all the way on a tactical before Holder glided to another seamless victory in heat 10, setting his home personal best of the season – 59.13 seconds.

Janowski was suffering a testing night but battled back to win heat 11, closing the gap to six.

A superb ride from Jonasson saw him pass Smolinski and support Pawlicki in Poole’s first maximum, and when Holder zoomed away to win the next with another 5-1, Poole had suddenly grabbed the lead from nowhere.

But in-form Brummies rewrote the script and picked up four points from heat 14 to set up the epic ending.

The crowd wriggled and squealed as Holder and Pawlicki wobbled in their efforts to trump their opponents in the final showdown. Both kept control with the world champion whizzing past Barker, but with Pawlicki held off, Poole had to make do with a draw.

Pirates may have needed a little extra on the night, but the manner of their fightback at least provides a much-needed boost. The corner that needs turning doesn’t look so far away now.

SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Pirates 46: 1 Chris Holder (2-3-3-3-3) 14, 2 Rohan Tungate (0-1-fx-3-0) 4, 3 Przemyslaw Pawlicki (3-2-4^-3-0) 12, 4 Rider Replacement for Robert Miskowiak, 5 Maciej Janowski (r-1-1*-3-2*) 7+2, 6 Dawid Stachyra (3-0-r-0) 3, 7 Tomas H Jonasson (r-1-0-1-2*-2) 6+1.

Team manager: Garry May.

Brummies 46: 1 Danny King (1-1-x-1) 3, 2 Ben Barker (3-3-2-2-2) 12, 3 Martin Smolinski (2-3-2-1) 8, 4 Chris Harris (0-2*-1*-3-1*) 7+3, 5 Jason Doyle (3-2-3-0) 8, 6 Nicholas Covatti (2-1*-0-1) 4+1, 7 Richie Worrall (guest) (1*-2*-1*-0) 4+3.

Team manager: Phil Morris.

Referee: Peter Clarke.

League points: Poole Pirates 1 Birmingham Brummies 2.

Ht 1: Barker, Holder, King, Tungate, 58.78 (2-4)

Ht 2: Stachyra, Covatti, Worrall, Jonasson (retired), 59.53 (5-7)

Ht 3: Pawlicki, Smolinski, Tungate, Harris, 59.46 (9-9)

Ht 4: Doyle, Worrall, Jonasson, Janowski (retired), 60.19 (10-14)

Ht 5: Barker, Pawlicki, King, Stachyra, 59.43 (12-18)

Ht 6: Holder, Doyle, Covatti, Tungate (fell, excluded), 59.59 (15-21)

Ht 7: Smolinski, Harris, Janowski, Stachyra (retired), 59.91 (16-26)

Ht 8: Tungate, Barker, Worrall, Jonasson, 60.03 (19-29)

Ht 9: Doyle, Pawlicki (tactical rider, double points), Janowski, Covatti, 59.41 (24-32)

Ht 10: Holder, Smolinski, Harris, Tungate, 59.13 (27-35)

Ht 11: Janowski, Barker, Jonasson, King (excluded), 59.54 (31-37)

Ht 12: Pawlicki, Jonasson, Smolinski, Worrall, 59.59 (36-38)

Ht 13: Holder, Janowski, King, Doyle, 60.15 (41-39)

Ht 14: Harris, Jonasson, Covatti, Stachyra, 60.00 (43-43)

Ht 15: Holder, Barker, Harris, Pawlicki, 60.28 (46-46)

  • Last night’s other Elite League result: Swindon Robins 59 Coventry Bees 36.