COVENTRY Storm put up a brave fight against high-flying Cradley but were unable to prevent a 57-35 defeat in an entertaining clash at Monmore Green.
The City Gearboxes Storm recovered from a slow start to keep in contention for a consolation point for the majority of the meeting before they tailed off in the closing stages.
They conceded three consecutive 5-1s in the final three races as their night ended in disappointing fashion after they had given the in-form Heathens a scare.
Stefan Nielsen fought tirelessly to notch an outstanding 15 point haul from the No.3 spot including a second place with the Storm's tactical ride in heat 10.
However, he received minimal support as the visitors accounted for only three race winners on a tough night.
Oliver Greenwood and James Sarjeant battled for little reward against Cradley's formidable top two of Paul Starke and Steve Worrall, whilst Ryan Terry-Daley and Martin Knuckey similarly struggled against their Cradley counterparts despite creditable performances.
Middle order man Dan Greenwood proved inconsistent against his former club although he did claim a classy win in heat eight as he notched a solid 6+1.
The absence of injury victim Luke Crang also proved a blow as Coventry simply lacked the firepower required to claim what would have been and outstanding point despite a gutsy showing.
Storm boss Laurence Rogers admitted he was disappointed by the defeat, although he was keen to put a difficult night behind them.
He said: "We came here before in the Travel Plus Trophy and only lost by eight points without Ollie (Greenwood), so we were coming here looking for a point.
"There just weren't enough heat winners tonight, and there were too many last places as well.
"The Cradley boys are on song at the moment, and they are all riding in different leagues as well which I think made a bit of a difference as a few of our boys hadn't ridden for a few weeks.
"Full credit to them, they put one over on us and got revenge for us beating them earlier in the season.
"We've just got to put this result behind us, and hopefully it will be a different story if we meet them in the KO Cup semi-final."
Storm get the chance to book their place in that semi-final, where the Heathens would be the opponents, when they host Buxton on Friday at Brandon in the first half of a double-header, which is followed by a league clash against King's Lynn, with new signing Luke Priest set to make his debut.
CRADLEY 57: Paul Starke 15, Steve Worrall 10+2, Max Clegg 9+1, Nathan Greaves 9+1, Danny Phillips 6+2, Tom Perry 5+1, Matt Williamson 3 COVENTRY 35: Stefan Nielsen 15, Dan Greenwood 6+1, James Sarjeant 5, Oliver Greenwood 4+2, Ryan Terry-Daley 3+1, Martin Knuckey 2, Luke Crang r/r
CRADLEY 57 Paul Starke 3 3 3 3 3 = 15 Matt Williamson 1 0 2 F = 3 Max Clegg 2 3 3 1* = 9+1 Tom Perry 0 0 2* 3 =5+1 Steve Worrall 3 3 0 2* 2* = 10+2 Nathan Greaves 3 1 3 2* = 9+1 Danny Phillips 2* 1 1* 2 = 6+2
CITY GEARBOXES STORM 35 Oliver Greenwood 2 1* 1* X = 4+2 Luke Crang Rider Replacement Stefan Nielsen 3 2 2 4^ 3 1 = 15 Dan Greenwood 1 0 3 1* 1 = 6+1 James Sarjeant 2 2 0 1 0 = 5 Ryan Terry-Daley 0 1 1* 1 0 = 3+1 Martin Knuckey 0 0 0 2 0 = 2
