Another tense, hotly contested fixture proved the order of the day at Iwade’s Old Gun site on Sunday afternoon as honours remained even between Kent Eagles and Hastings Saxons fought out a 45-45 draw, one that again concluded on a note of controversy.

An explosive final heat in which Jason Edwards twice fought off the attentions of home hero Edward Kennett saw the match remain deadlocked at 45-45 apiece but the first running of the  race had been the subject of conjecture, some animated discussion between the two Team Manager’s which led to some harsh words between exchanged.

The initial running saw Kent’s James Shanes seemingly excluded following an inside drive on visitors Charlie Southwick who suffer a fall. Following pit-side discussion this decision was subsequently reversed, giving rise to healthy disagreement behind the scenes.

It was left to Edwards to salvage the draw and endorse the visitor’s fightback that saw them overturn an early 8-point deficit meaning that both Kent and Sussex honour was effectively satisfied, the contest ending with a handshake between the two managers.

For the home side home trio Kennett, Shanes and Ben Whalley piled up the points as the hosts amassed a lead of some eight points, 22-14 by the end of heat six which suggested a potential victory for the hosts, but with Edwards again showing imperious Iwade form for the visitors, that combined with some dogged resistance down the order saw them reel the home side back in as the match moved towards a conclusion. 

One of the stories of the day surrounded the performance of  Australian rider Tayla Street who stepped into the Hastings line up following an unfortunate first race injury to Saxons Kenzie Cossey. Her involvement would prove integral as a commanding victory in heat thirteen, one that proved her first win in the UK and drew the greatest cheer of the day emboldened the visitor’s fightback.

It certainly proved a challenging meeting to complete with both track staff and riders battling to overcome hot weather and dust which required heavy watering to keep it in check.

Indeed, proceedings got off to arguably the worst possible start as Cossey suffered a coming together with home rider Alex Chadd, a tumble that saw his sustain broken ribs and a punctured lung. Clearly rider welfare is the only consideration in such an instance, however a lengthy delay ensued as Cossey was tended to and a second ambulance was awaited to ferry him to hospital.

The meeting eventually got under way some two hours after the intended start time and heat one resulted in a win for Edwards over Kennett with Chadd taking third place with Street never far from the action.

A further fall saw visitors Mickie Simpson ruled out of race two, the rerun realising a win for Ben Whalley with Nathan Hargrave taking third behind Nigel Sadler for the 4-2.

Shanes got the better of Southwick for a share of the spoils in the third but with Kennett gaining swift revenge over Edwards in heat four, Eagles second 4-2 with Whalley securing third opened up a 4-point advantage, 14-10 in favour of the home side.

Shanes enjoyed a second victory in the fifth ahead of Simpson and Sadler before a dominant 5-1 from Kennett and Chadd in an awarded heat six, Southwick suffering a fall saw the advantage move to 8-points with the Eagles seemingly moving towards a comfortable victory.

Edwards would put the brakes on the home ambition with a win over Whalley in the seventh, Street grabbing a richly deserved point to anchor the visitors first heat advantage of the afternoon.

The difference stood at six-points, 24-18 at that stage and a spell of four shared heats did little to suggest anything other than a home victory.

Shanes made it three wins out of the three heat eight seeing off the challenge of both Simpson and Sadler.

Whalley did likewise in the ninth with victory over Southwick and Sam Woods and although Edwards inflicted defeat on Shanes in race ten, his first of the afternoon so far, mechanical gremlins that afflicted Street following a lighting gate that saw her lead both from the start prevented further reward for the Saxons, the difference remaining at 6-points, 33-27 with five races left to run.

Kennett headed Simpson and Sadler to the chequered flag in the eleventh, but the fightback began in earnest in the next as three successive Hastings 4-2’s saw parity restored ahead of the final heat. Connor King suffered a fall in heat twelve, Southwick being awarded the win ahead of Hargrave, as the deficit reduced to 38-34.

Street produced another cracking start in the first of the nominated heats and this time she reigned supreme, taking the win ahead of Hargrave, Woods and King thus drawing rich applause from the crowd for her fine efforts.

The visitors were clearly on a roll and when Simpson proved the first man home in penultimate race ahead of Whalley with Sadler snatching a last gasp third place from Chadd, this restored deadlock (42-42) with just the last, decisive and controversial race in store who could possibly predict the drama set to follow.  

Eagles Team Manager David Graveling reflected on what had proved a somewhat ‘challenging’ fixture, both on and off track ‘A big thank you to our track staff today under taxing conditions and to out amazing fans for their patience, The riders gave their all and we got to heat fifteen with some heated discussions to end the meeting, but we all ended as friends. Get well soon Kenzie Cossey’.

Scorers:

Eagles: Edward Kennett 13(5), James Shanes 12+1(5), Ben Whalley 11(5), Nathan Hargrave 5(5), Alex Chadd 3+2(5), Connor King 1+1(5). – 45

Saxons: Jason Edwards 14(5), Mickie Simpson 9(5), Charlie Southwick 7(5), Harry Sadler 6+3(5), Sam Woods 5+2(5), Tayla Street 4(5) – 45

Pictures supplied by Tiffani Graveling.