PIRATES have not lost a Knockout Cup home leg in eight years but they came mighty close against Belle Vue tonight.

Had it not been for the sterling efforts of Brady Kurtz and in-form reserve Nicolai Klindt, this frustrating quarter-final tie would surely have been over.

Lewis Kerr’s Poole debut was far from what he would have wanted but the new recruit was certainly not solely to blame. In the top half, largely speaking, Poole simply did not score heavily enough.

Neil Middleditch’s troops head to Manchester on Friday with the slimmest of leads and the knowledge that if they do not significantly improve, their cup journey will swiftly be over.

Before proceedings got under way at Wimborne Road, injured racer Kyle Newman – who crashed in the season-opening Darcy Ward Invitational – received a cheque for £500 from the Riders’ Equipment Fund.

Pirates captain Hans Andersen had pledged to donate a point’s worth of his wages from the tie to Newman, who lost his Poole team place to Kerr in the wake of the spill.

And Andersen was to get that point – and a handful more – but not before Steve Worrall had taken a surprise heat one victory after scooting round to make the start just in time.

A class apart in race two, Klindt was soon joined by Puddletown charger James Shanes after the latter had thrillingly blasted round the boards to leave the Aces reserves eating dust.

Gate two then worked a treat for the third straight occasion, this time Kenneth Bjerre – at one point a winter target for Pirates chief Matt Ford – profiting after being pushed early on by Kurtz.

Andersen’s jet-propelled start gave him the initiative next and although the Dane was kept honest by Belle Vue skipper Craig Cook, Pirates seized a four-point lead.

After the first track grading, Kurtz showed a touch of class when he swept round Max Fricke and dived inside Worrall to take a lead he never relinquished.

Jack Holder quickly got up from a home straight spill in an awarded heat six which allowed Belle Vue to cut the lead and Bjerre was peerless in the next outing.

The visitors inched in front for the first time after Worrall and Dan Bewley cruised in for the second maximum of the meeting.

Cook, clearly enjoying himself, enjoyed a straightforward heat nine victory and Pirates then had to settle for another shared outing when Klindt and Krzysztof Kasprzak kept Bjerre at the back.

Andersen managed to break a cycle of five Aces heat wins but Klindt, after initially threatening to roar past Fricke for second, slipped to the back and fell on the last turn.

Straight out for a third ride on the spin, Klindt blasted brilliantly from the gate and had enough speed to see off Bjerre, who refused to go away until the finish line.

Kasprzak could only manage a third second place in a heat 13 where Andersen trailed in last, allowing Mark Lemon’s side to grasp a four-point advantage.

But Kurtz and Klindt gave the hosts hope with their second maximum and in the closing race, bike problems for the leading Bjerre allowed Kurtz and Kasprzak to seal what could prove a priceless heat advantage.

We will only know when the dust settles at the National Speedway Stadium on Friday night.

RIDERS' SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Pirates 46: 1 Krzysztof Kasprzak (2-2-1*-2-1) 8+1, 2 Jack Holder (1*-f-1) 2+1, 3 Lewis Kerr (0-0-1*) 1+1, 4 Brady Kurtz (2-3-2-3-3) 13, 5 Hans Andersen (3-2-3-0) 8, 6 Nicolai Klindt (3-1*-2-f-3-2*) 11+2, 7 James Shanes (2*-1-0-0) 3+1.

Belle Vue 44: 1 Max Fricke (0-1*-2-3) 6+1, 2 Steve Worrall (3-2-3-1*) 9+1, 3 Kenneth Bjerre (3-3-0-2-r) 8, 4 Justin Sedgmen (1-0-3-1) 5, 5 Craig Cook (2-3-3-1-2) 11, 6 Dan Bewley (1-1-2*-0-1*) 5+2, 7 Jack Smith (0-0-0) 0.

HT 1: Worrall, Kasprzak, Holder, Fricke, 60.62 (3-3)

HT 2: Klindt, Shanes, Bewley, Smith, 60.72 (8-4)

HT 3: Bjerre, Kurtz, Sedgmen, Kerr, 60.07 (10-8)

HT 4: Andersen, Cook, Shanes, Smith, 60.28 (14-10)

HT 5: Kurtz, Worrall, Fricke, Kerr, 60.47 (17-13)

HT 6: Cook, Kasprzak, Bewley, Holder (fell), awarded (19-17)

HT 7: Bjerre, Andersen, Klindt, Sedgmen, 60.16 (22-20)

HT 8: Worrall, Bewley, Holder, Shanes, 61.47 (23-25)

HT 9: Cook, Kurtz, Kerr, Bewley, 60.22 (26-28)

HT 10: Sedgmen, Klindt, Kasprzak, Bjerre, 61.31 (29-31)

HT 11: Andersen, Fricke, Worrall, Klindt (fell), 60.69 (32-34)

HT 12: Klindt, Bjerre, Bewley, Shanes, 61.15 (35-37)

HT 13: Fricke, Kasprzak, Cook, Andersen, 61.09 (37-41)

HT 14: Kurtz, Klindt, Sedgmen, Smith, 61.87 (42-42)

HT 15: Kurtz, Cook, Kasprzak, Bjerre (retired), 60.78 (46-44)

STAR RIDER: BRADY KURTZ

HIS 13-point score said it all. Brady Kurtz had a great night.

The former Australian champion deserved his three race wins and looked smooth and fast throughout.

While his heat-15 success was fortuitous to an extent, Kurtz perhaps deserved a sliver of luck in the closing showdown.

An honourable mention goes to Nicolai Klindt for a double-figure haul at reserve.

Kenneth Bjerre was great value for Belle Vue, as was Steve Worrall at number two.