The Kent SLYDE Kings took another big step towards the 2017 Travel Plus National League [TPNL] Play Offs with a victory over the Eastbourne Eagles on a glorious Bank Holiday afternoon at Central Park Stadium.

The Kings ran out 54-36 victors with dynamic duo Luke Bowen and Jack Thomas scoring 13+1 and 12+1 respectively.

The top two were well supported by an exceptional all-round team performance (lowest score of 5+1), as opposed to an Eastbourne side for whom the bulk of their scoring was done by ‘Guest’ and track specialist Tom Bacon.

The SLYDE Kings started in emphatic fashion with 5-1 maximum heat advantages in the opening two races. The first from captain Bowen and Anders Rowe and the second from George Hunter and Bradley Andrews. The Eagles pulled back two points with a 4-2 in Heat 3 courtesy of Bacon being on the boil to claim the first of his three heat wins.

With six points the gap after Heat 5, things got a little nervy for the home side.

In Heat 6 the newly-crowned GB Youth champion and graduate of the nearby Iwade training track, Drew Kemp – making only his third competitive appearance – got in front of Bowen (handicapped by hitting a greasy patch on the newly-watered circuit) and was not to be caught. No matter what the allegiance of the supporters there was genuine appreciation for the 15-year-old for claiming the hugely notable scalp of the home captain.

With Georgie Wood taking the third place point it was a 4-2 heat advantage to the visitors. They immediately followed that up in a three times re-run Heat 7 with another 4-2 heat advantage. After two unsatisfactory starts and a fall and exclusion for the Kiwi Andrews (controversially for sure, as it seemed to most that the Eagles’ Tom Brennan was at fault), the sizzling Bacon took his second win from Thomas. This reduced the Kings’ advantage to just 22-20 and the tension was now palpable amongst the fans.

The masses of home supporters filling the large grandstand need not have worried though, as their favourites turned the screw over the last eight races with four 5-1 and two 4-2 heat advantages.

The first of these came in Heat 8 with a great ride from the pairing of Rowe and Hunter to get the better of the exuberant Kemp. Heat 9 saw a brilliant round the boards ride from Kings’ own ‘Guest’ Jordan Jenkins (in for Ben Hopwood) on the opening lap to get the better of Eagles captain Wood, and with Dan Greenwood taking third, the hosts’ advantage now stood at 8 points (31-23). The gap remained at 8 as the match entered into the interval as Bowen lowered the colours of Bacon for the first time and Brennan got the better of Rowe to provide the third and final shared race of the afternoon.

After an interval which saw the Riders Benevolent Fund collection which raised a fantastic £1025.09 and some MunchKings kids’ club running races, the Kings started as they meant to go on with a 5-1 from Thomas and the in-form Andrews. The visitors though countered in Heat 12 with a maximum heat advantage of their own from their guest duo of Bacon and Kemp over Jenkins.

The homesters finished with a flourish though: the duo of Bowen and Thomas took maximum heat advantages in Heats 13 and 15. Sandwiched in between was the race of the day between Andrews and Brennan. The New Zealand born Andrews persisted despite extreme pressure from the Eastbourne teenager to just hold on in the run to line. It was a win the Kiwi’s splendid efforts fully deserved and meant that six of the seven home riders had recorded wins on a near perfect afternoon.

The final score was certainly one which fires out a warning to the rest of the league as the SLYDE Kings head into the final furlong in the run for the Play Off places. And the unbeaten home record is tested again next Monday (4/9/17) with the visit of current TPNL leaders (and seemingly certs to grab one of the four play-off berths), the Belle Vue Colts.

The side from Manchester have two young GB internationals spearheading their pursuit of title glory in Dan Bewley and Jack Smith plus a former World Junior Champion in Kyle Bickley. It is poised to be the biggest challenge yet of Chris Hunt’s team’s resolve to get to the Play Offs and starts at 6.30pm on Monday 4th. September.

Kent SLYDE Kings 54

L Bowen 3 2 3 2′ 3 13+1
A Rowe 2′ 0 3 0 5+1
J Jenkins 0 2 3 1 6
D Greenwood 2 1′ 1 1 5+1
J Thomas 2 2 3 3 2′ 12+1
B Andrews 2′ X 2′ 3 7+1
G Hunter 3 1′ 2′ 0 6+2

Eastbourne Eagles 36

J Knight F 3 R M 3
C Powell 1 0 0 1 2
T Bacon 3 3 2 3 1 12
T Brennan 1 1 1′ 2 5+1
G Wood 3 1 2 1 7
D Kemp 1 3 1 0 2′ 0 0 7+1
M Bates 0 0 0 0

Heat Results

1 Bowen, Rowe, Powell, Knight (fell) 57.2 (5-1)
2 Hunter, Andrews, Kemp, Bates 59.8 (10-2)
3 Bacon, Greenwood, Brennan, Jenkins (fell rem.) 58.7 (12-6)
4 Wood, Thomas, Hunter, Bates 58.7 (15-9)
5 Knight, Jenkins, Greenwood, Powell 58.9 (18-12)
6 Kemp, Bowen, Wood, Rowe 59.8 (20-16)
7 (rerun twice) Bacon, Thomas, Brennan, Andrews (fell exc.) 59.3 (22-20)
8 Rowe, Hunter, Kemp, Powell 60.5 (27-21)
9 Jenkins, Wood, Greenwood, Kemp 60.3 (31-23)
10 Bowen, Bacon, Brennan, Rowe 59.4 (34-26)
11 Thomas, Andrews, Powell (fell rem.), Knight (ret.) 56.7 (39-27)
12 Bacon, Kemp, Jenkins, Hunter 60.7 (40-32)
13 (rerun) Thomas, Bowen, Wood, Bates, Knight (exc 2M) 59.1 (45-33)
14 Andrews, Brennan, Greenwood, Kemp 61.7 (49-35)
15 Bowen, Thomas, Bacon, Kemp 60.3 (54-36) 60.3

Picture supplied by Elizabeth Leslie.