Kent Eagles brought the Pioneers Cup back to Kent on Saturday evening, thanks to a dominant display against the Midldenhall Fen Tigers.

It was the second leg of the cup, with the first leg having taken place back in May at Iwade when Kent Eagles won 52-38, meaning that they had an aggregate 105-74 win.

Kennett topped the pile with 14 points, his sole defeat coming at the hands of home number one Simon Lambert in heat four.

He was joined in the double figures bracket by Ben Morley who scored 12 but in truth it was a solid display throughout the order, every rider contributing points with at least a win or a paid win apiece.

For the Fen Tigers, Lambert scored 11 plus 1, providing the bulk of the home sides scoring alongside former Kent Eagle Vinnie Foord who also contributed 11-points to the cause.

The visitors eased ahead following a third race maximum and they established firm control following a determined mid meeting spell that realised two 4-2’s and two 5-1’s in a five-race spell, the second maximum being sufficient to win the silverware.

Victory on the night was assured following Eagles fourth 5-1 of proceedings in heat thirteen, the first of the nominated rider’s races.

The Kent side began the meeting on the front foot with a comfortable win for Kennett ahead of Lambert in the first, a 4-2 all the way from gate to flag with Sadler taking third place though his machine appeared to be ailing towards the close.

Following the first race there was a brief pause to carry out additional track work with riders reporting tricky conditions.

As the action resumed it all square following heat two as Ben Whalley cut a dash with a win ahead of Ryan Ingram. Foord followed in third for the quick response 4-2 to the hosts, one that levelled the scores at 6-points apiece.

Ben Morley got the drop in the third but another super-fast gate from Tayla Street saw her hold second for the first lap and a half. Connor King would find a way through at the tail end of lap two however and that was how it remained, a 5-1 going the way of the Kent visitors who moved into an 11-7 advantage.

This preceded further track word being undertaken with riders still uncomfortable with conditions and all the competitors now having completed their first ride.

Heat four was halted following a fall by Whalley, Lambert leading at the time with Kennett surprisingly trailing. In the rerun the Fen Tiger would inflict revenge on his Eagles adversary, leading him to the chequered flag but they would prove the only finishers, a point being dropped with Whalley already ruled out and Sadler suffering a mid-race fall.

Race five witnessed a fine gate to flag win for Ingram, the race result being as Kingston suffered a fall while trailing Luke Harris, this allowing Street through for third place and a share of the spoils.

Morley scorched to his second win in the sixth following a good tussle with Lambert. With King getting the better of Arran Butcher in the latter part to snatch a 4-2 that saw the visitors lead 20-15 progressively on the night and 72-53 over the two legs.

Heat seven proved to be a great race, Kennett coming through from third to first over the course of the four laps. Foord would also make his way past early race leader Sadler to take second place but pegged at the back was Whalley and with that the five-point lead became seven, the scores moving to 24-17.

The visitors established greater control following the next as Ingram and Kingston combined for maximum points ahead of Street, Butcher pulling up mid race.

The difference now stood at 11-points, 29-18 but the Fen Tigers hit right back as Foord and Whalley teamed up to lower Morley’s colours for the first time but it was to prove a rapid exchange of 5-1’s as Kennett and Sadler were on hand to supply the necessary points to secure the Pioneers Cup over the two legs in heat ten. The Kent pairings maximum came at the expense of Harris and Street and thus restored the visitors 11-point advantage, one that now stood at 35-24.

Lambert took command of race eleven, but Kingston and Ingram combined to fill the minor places ahead of Butcher, that scores moving to 38-27 with the Eagles now in sight of victory on the night.

Foord romped to his second win of the night ahead of both Morley and King in heat twelve but with Harris pulling up in the latter part the hosts could make no inroads into the Eagles lead, the progressive scores now moving to 41-30 and 93-68 over the two legs.

With only the nominated races to come, Mildenhall were faced with the task of claiming 5-1’s from each of the final three heats if they were yet to taste victory.

It was not to be and conversely it was the Eagles who secured the maximum in heat thirteen, Sadler and Kingston getting the better of Butcher and Street. The latter again produced another lighting start, but she was picked off by the visitor’s pair in turn as they stretched their advantage to 15-points, 46-31 with two heats remaining on the card.

Morley took the win from Whalley in the penultimate race with King chasing in third before Kennett wrapped things up in style with arguably the race of the night in the last.

The Eagle streaked from the start and looked to have things sewn up but a close encounter with the air fence on second bend of the second lap offered Foord a route through.

Kennett wasn’t having any of that however and he swooped back around Foord heading into the third lap and that was all she wrote. Lambert followed in third place for a closing 3-3 ahead of Ingram.

With that the final score saw Eagles win on the night by a 53-36 margin and long since having taken the Pioneer Cup over the two legs 105-74.

Speaking after his side lifted the Pioneers Cup, Kent team manager David Graveling said: “What an amazing team performance tonight to win the Pioneers Cup and a win on the night on a tricky track”.

Scorers:

Fen Tigers: Simon Lambert 11(5), Vinnie Foord 11(5), Ben Whalley 7+1(5), Tayla Street 3+1(5), Luke Harris 3(5), Arran Butcher 1(5) – 36 – (Aggregate 78)

Eagles: Edward Kennett 14(5), Ben Morley 12(5), Ryan Ingram 9+1(5), Harry Sadler 7+1(5), Jack Kingston 6+2(5), Connor King 5+2(5). – 53 – (Aggregate 105)