COVENTRY finished the season without a trophy - as Poole secured the Knockout Cup at Wimborne Road on Monday.
The Buildbase Bees had a mountain to climb after losing 38-52 at home last Friday and although they were improved in the return fixture, they were never able to put maximum pressure on the Pirates.
Positive displays came from Polish reserve Michal Szczepaniak, already signed-up for 2013, who gave a terrific performance capped by a Heat 15 win over Niels-Kristian Iversen and Rory Schlein, whilst Scott Nicholls – as so often this season – was involved in much of the meeting’s best action.
Conditions were not easy after rain during the day and gating was vital, with Poole providing seven of the first nine heat winners to thwart any hopes of a Coventry fightback.
The home side gradually extended an advantage on the night with a series of 4-2s, moving eight points up after nine races, following which Iversen got the better of Chris Harris when the Bees called for a match-race in a bid to take three points back.
There were two excellent battles between Nicholls and Schlein, both won by the Bees man in Heats 10 and 12, but in between was the Cup-winning race for the Pirates with Harris suffering a front-wheel puncture as he chased Iversen and reserve Kyle Howarth.
Iversen and Krzysztof Kasprzak ensured the win on the night for the home side with a 5-1 over Harris and Kenni Larsen in Heat 13 but Bees finished with a flourish with two 4-2s – Szczepaniak passing Howarth to win Heat 14 and then superbly holding his nerve in the last race in a three-way scrap with Iversen and Nicholls.
Nicholls said: “I had some good races, the track conditions were a little bit tricky as it’s that time of year – the end results weren’t always the ones I wanted but I gave it my all.
“Sadly we lost but we put up a bit of a fight and it was a better performance than Friday which was a disaster for one reason or another.
“Everyone put the effort in and it was good to see Szczepaniak have a fantastic night. I think he’s getting settled in, getting used to the tracks and his win in Heat 15 was a great way to round off his year.â€
POOLE 50: Krzysztof Kasprzak 14, Niels-Kristian Iversen 13+1, Rory Schlein 10, Kyle Howarth 7+1, Morten Risager 4+2, Ludvig Lindgren 2+1, Piotr Pawlicki r/r.
BUILDBASE BEES 40: Michal Szczepaniak 13, Scott Nicholls 11, Chris Harris 6, Edward Kennett 5+1, Aaron Summers 2+2, Kenni Larsen 2, Brendan Johnson 1.
POOLE 50 Rory Schlein 3 3 2 2 0 = 10 Piotr Pawlicki Rider Replacement Niels-Kristian Iversen 3 3 (0!) 3 2* 2 =13+1 Morten Risager R 1 1* 1 1* = 4+2 Krzysztof Kasprzak 3 2 3 3 3 = 14 Ludvig Lindgren 1* 0 1 F R = 2+1 Kyle Howarth 2 1 0 2* 2 = 7+1
