Kent Eagles picked up their second away win of the speedway season in comprehensive fashion over a Isle of Wight Warriors on Tuesday evening.

The visitors big three of Edward Kennett and recent IOW pairs winners Ben Morley and Jack Kingston were up for the task, taking ten of the fifteen race wins and between them tallying 38-points.

James Shanes certainly proved the man of the moment for the Warriors, losing out to Kennett in heats one and four but riding unbeaten thereafter to record a phenomenal 19-points, his last word being to gain revenge over Kennett in the final race of the night.

It would be true to report however that the hosts were hampered from the word go, entering the fray with only four riders and Rider Replacement due to rider injury and unavailability. The loss of number one Darryl Ritchings, injured in a grass track meeting the previous day and only able to field only one rider in no fewer than six races proving a particularly telling factors.

With Kent tracking their regular six the home side already faced a herculean task but any hopes they harboured of carving any sort of a result were all but dashed after Danno Verge was forced to withdraw ahead of heat seven suffering the effects of an earlier fall.

Being reduced to a three man unit well ahead of the half way stage, they should be applauded for keeping the score as tight as they could for as long as they did.

With Kennett getting the better of Shanes in the first race and Kingston doing likewise against Arran Butcher in the second the scores remained deadlocked at 6-points apiece but when Morley and Connor King combined for maximum points in heat three this opened up an 11-7 advantage, a lead that the Eagles were never destined to lose. This was also the moment that the Warriors problems exacerbated further following a fall for Verge, one that led to his eventual withdrawal following his next outing.

Kennett scorched to a second win over Shanes and Butcher for a share of the spoils in race four, but the visitors eased further ahead in the fifth as a stunning ride for Kingston saw him head James Laker and Alex Chadd to the chequered flag for a 4-2 that saw them lead 18-12.

Shanes became the home side’s first race winner of the evening with an impressive defeat of Morley in heat six, but their hopes of a first heat advantage were dashed  after Verge suffered mechanical gremlins on lap three while holding third place.

Kennett made it three wins out of three in the next, heading home Butcher and with Nathan Hargrave getting the better of Laker, the Eagles 4-2 saw the progressive scores move to 25-17 in favour of the visitors.

Shanes continued his winning ways in heat eight, in the process condemning Kingston to his first defeat. This would prove the home teams first advantage, a 4-2 that narrowed the margin to just 6-points, quite commendable considering the adversity they had so far suffered.

Heat nine was halted after both Morley and Laker suffered separate falls, the latter receiving an exclusion as he was, unlike Morley, still not under power when the red lights ignited.

The rerun would arguably prove the race of the night so far however, Morley taking an early lead only for Butcher to round him on the run to the second lap – the two diced and duelled throughout the remainder of the four laps until Morley produced a determined effort to lead his opponent across the finish line. With King following in third, the Eagles 8-point advantage was restored, the scores now standing at 31-23.

A second successive 4-2 then saw the visitors lead stretch to double figures 35-25, Kennett getting the better of Butcher with Hargrave in third.

Heat eleven proved another cracking race, Kingston looking mighty impressive to lead Shanes for three and three quarter laps only to be denied on the run in to the finish line. With Butcher securing third, the home side reduced the score line to 8-points, 37-29 once more.

The Warriors had battled gamely but being able to only track one rider in three of the final four races, any hopes of a comeback were now out of the question.

With Morley and King sharing a 5-1 ahead of Laker in race twelve, the scores moved to 42-30 and that was effectively all she wrote.

Shanes took the win ahead of Chadd and Hargrave in heat thirteen, the first of the nominated races but Kingston and King combined for a second maximum advantage in the space of three heats in the next and with that, the scores now stood at 50-34 with only the final heat remaining.

It would at least prove a winning end so far as the Warriors were concerned. Shanes made it five wins on the spin and in the process inflicted Kennett’s one and only defeat of the night. With Butcher coming from the back in the latter part to deny Morley for a hosts 4-2, the final scoreline settled at 52-38 in favour of the visitors.

Speaking after the win, Team Manager David Graveling said: “What an amazing way to end our campaign on the road with a win against a depleted Warriors team.

“A great effort by the Warriors battling till the end under difficult circumstances. All of our riders contributed to the final score so well done to them.”

Warriors: James Shanes 19(7),  11(5), Arran Butcher 11+1(7), James Laker 6+1(7), Danno Verge 2+1(3), Rider Replacement for Darry Ritchings – 38

Eagles: Edward Kennett 14(5), Jack Kingston 13(5), Ben Morley 11(5), Connor King 8+4(5), Alex Chadd 3(3), Nathan Hargrave 3(3). – 52

Images courtesy of Tiffani Graveling