POOLE team manager Neil Middleditch admitted “a win was there for the taking” after Pirates slipped to an agonising 46-44 SGB Premiership loss at King’s Lynn.

The Dorset side led until heat 13, when Stars duo Robert Lambert and Niels-Kristian Iversen levelled matters with a 5-1 over Brady Kurtz and fallen Pirates debutant Chris Harris.

Poole pair Nicolai Klindt and Richie Worrall filled the minor places behind Thomas Jorgensen in race 14 to set up a last-heat decider.

And despite Harris pushing British champion Lambert hard, the local hero got the better of Bomber, while Iversen beat Pirates skipper Josh Grajczonek to third place to seal a home win.

Middleditch admits he would have been content with a point for losing by six or less when he arrived in Norfolk. But he departed somewhat deflated after seeing his side go so close to claiming victory.

He said: “There were a lot of races there where I thought ‘we’re going to struggle in this one’ and we went out and got a heat advantage. Then there were others where I thought we’d get a heat advantage which we messed up in.

“Before the meeting, I said to the boys, ‘let’s come away with something’ and we did. But dare I say it, I’m a tad disappointed because I felt a win was there for the taking.

“If you had said we’d get a point at the start, I’d have been happy. I’m a tad disappointed now but it’s another point and we have been picking up points on the road. If we can keep on doing that, it’s a job well done.”

Middleditch was content with a solid team display which saw Harris race to a rock-solid nine on his first appearance as a full-time Pirate, while Klindt topped the visitors’ score chart on nine paid 10 and Grajczonek weighed in with eight.

“You couldn’t really point your finger at anybody,” Middleditch said. “Everybody tried their best and it was just one of those things – there were races we should have got points from and we didn’t. That was the downfall.”

Poole have raced just five of their 12 home fixtures this season and with just four away matches left, the sixth-placed Pirates are still in the hunt for the four Premiership play-off places.

But Middleditch knows his side must make home-advantage count in their remaining meetings.

He said: “That’s what we have to do. With more home fixtures than away, it is in our favour. But we still have to do the job on the track.”

Wednesday’s home clash with Leicester sees Harris make his Pirates home debut.

He donned a custom-made Poole race suit for his bow at the Adrian Flux Arena and Middleditch was delighted to see his former Coventry rival in Pirates blue.

He said: “It was good. He said to me before the meeting ‘I bet you never thought you’d see me in Poole colours'. I think he enjoyed his debut and he rode well.”

RIDERS' SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

King’s Lynn 46: 1 Niels-Kristian Iversen (2-3-0-2*-1) 8+1, 2 Michael Palm Toft (0-1-1-3) 5, 3 Ty Proctor (1-0-3) 4, 4 Thomas Jorgensen (3-2-3-3) 11, 5 Robert Lambert (2-3-1-2-3-3) 14, 6 Simon Lambert (0-0-1*-0) 1+1, 7 Jason Garrity (2-1*-0-f) 3+1. Team manager: Dale Allitt.

Pirates 44: 1 Brady Kurtz (3-3-0-1) 7, 2 Josh Grajczonek (1-1-3-3-0) 8, 3 Kacper Woryna (0-1*-1*-1*) 3+3, 4 Richie Worrall (2-2-2-1*) 7+1, 5. Chris Harris (3-2-2-f-2) 9, 6 Frederik Jakobsen (1-0-0) 1, 7 Nicolai Klindt (3-0-2*-2-2) 9+1. Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

HT 1: Kurtz, Iversen, Grajczonek, Palm Toft, 60.28 (2-4)

HT 2 (re-run): Klindt, Garrity, Jakobsen, S Lambert, 59.32 (4-8)

HT 3: Jorgensen, Worrall, Proctor, Woryna, 59.60 (8-10)

HT 4: Harris, R Lambert, Garrity, Klindt 59.12 (11-13)

HT 5: Kurtz, Jorgensen, Grajczonek, Proctor, 60.16 (13-17)

HT 6: Iversen, Harris, Palm Toft, Jakobsen, 59.46 (17-19)

HT 7: R Lambert, Worrall, Woryna, S Lambert, 58.56 (20-22)

HT 8: Grajczonek, Klindt, Palm Toft, Garrity, 59.41 (21-27)

HT 9: Jorgensen, Harris, R Lambert, Jakobsen, 59.78 (25-29)

HT 10: Palm Toft, Worrall, Woryna, Iversen, 59.94 (28-32)

HT 11: Grajczonek, R Lambert, S Lambert, Kurtz, 59.85 (31-35)

HT 12: Proctor, Klindt, Woryna, Garrity (fell), 60.12 (34-38)

HT 13: R Lambert, Iversen, Kurtz, Harris (fell), 59.65 (39-39)

HT 14: Jorgensen, Klindt, Worrall, S Lambert, 60.46 (42-42)

HT 15: R Lambert, Harris, Iversen, Grajczonek, 59.88 (46-44)

ECHO STAR RIDER: CHRIS HARRIS

POOLE fans have waited a long time for Chris Harris to make his Pirates debut and the Cornishman did not disappoint.

In a solid team performance which saw the Dorset side go agonisingly close to a huge away win, Bomber twice got the better of Stars sensation Robert Lambert.

A fall for Bomber in heat 13 and a victory for Lambert ahead of the 2007 British Grand Prix winner in race 15 saw the Stars snatch victory.

But nine points represents a solid debut for Harris as he prepares for his Pirates home bow against Leicester on Wednesday.