COVENTRY had to settle for a narrow advantage in the first leg of their Knockout Cup quarter-final with a 46-44 win over Eastbourne on Sunday.
The Europress Bees led by eight points with four heats to go and looked set to achieve their target of a double-figure advantage to take to the tough Arlington circuit next month.
But misfortune hit them in the closing stages of the meeting with No.1 Connor Mountain and skipper Jon Armstrong both suffering non-finishes, whilst Eagles teenager Tom Brennan impressed greatly to keep the visitors in the match.
Bees started well with maximum points in the first race from Mountain and Luke Harris as visiting No.1 Mark Baseby came to grief, but the Eagles levelled with two 4-2s in the next three heats.
Ryan MacDonald looked to have overhauled Nick Laurence for third place in Heat 2 but fell at the start of the last lap, and he then suffered mechanical trouble at the start of his second outing.
It took until Heat 6 for Bees to edge back in front with Mountain getting the better of Georgie Wood in the early stages, whilst Harris supplied third place.
But the Eagles were performing an efficient containing job with Brennan defeating Danny Phillips in Heat 7 to keep the meeting close.
Harris then rode well to defeat Jason Edwards in a re-run Heat 8 after Kelsey Dugard’s fall brought McDonald down with him, and a 5-1 from the Armstrong/Luke Ruddick combination over Wood in Heat 9 finally gave Bees some breathing space.
They led 31-23 and with the next two races shared, the Eagles snatched two points back in Heat 12 with Brennan impressively beating Armstrong whilst Edwards held out Jamie Halder for third place.
When the sides had met last month, Bees had dominated Heats 13 and 15 but it was to be a different story on this occasion, as the thirteenth proved unlucky for Mountain, who clashed with Baseby exiting turn two and was disqualified by the referee when the visiting rider came down.
The Eagles may well have been fortunate that a mechanically-troubled Wood was deemed eligible for the re-run, and they took maximum advantage with Baseby winning after treatment, and Wood taking second from Phillips on a borrowed machine.
All of a sudden the Coventry lead was down to two points, and Brennan ensured they would make no headway by winning Heat 14 although Halder this time staved off the challenge of Edwards.
But the final bid to extend the lead also went awry in Heat 15 when Bees appeared to be set for a 5-1 only for Armstrong to come to grief on the fourth bend – with Mountain’s fourth race win at least ensuring a win on the day.
Armstrong said: “All the lads have tried hard, you can’t knock anyone for their effort, and Eastbourne are a good side.
“Tom Brennan rode exceptionally well for them today, and Mark Baseby and Georgie Wood are no mugs so they’ve got three good heat-leaders there plus young Edwards at reserve.
“We had a go and dug in, and we had a bit of misfortune here and there such as the exclusion of Connor in Heat 13, and also if I hadn’t come off in Heat 15, but it’s just one of those things.â€
COVENTRY 46: Connor Mountain 12, Jon Armstrong 9, Danny Phillips 7, Luke Ruddick 6+3, Luke Harris 6+1, Jamie Halder 5+3, Ryan MacDonald 1. EASTBOURNE 44: Tom Brennan 15, Mark Baseby 11, Georgie Wood 8+1, Jason Edwards 8+1, Kelsey Dugard 1, Nick Laurence 1, Charley Powell r/r.
