COVENTRY opened their Brandon season with a hard-earned win against a Wolverhampton side who already seem certain to enjoy a much-improved campaign in 2009.
Indeed, for the first half of the meeting Wolves threatened to take their first away win against the Bees since September 2004, and remained in contention right until the closing stages.
And they will take plenty of heart from their aggregate win, as they comfortably held on to the bulk of their eleven-point advantage from the first leg.
But there were also plenty of encouraging signs for the Buildbase Bees - in particular, the fact that Ben Barker immediately adapted to riding at No.2, Rory Schlein hit straight back from conceding a 5-1 in his first ride, and Edward Kennett was another to bounce back from his first ride to score well on his Brandon debut.
At reserve, Bees were indebted to a fine defensive ride from guest Brent Werner in Heat 8, and a battling point from Jordan Frampton in Heat 14 - and the doubling-up man would certainly have opened his account earlier but for dropping a chain in Heat 2.
Skipper Chris Harris looked strong again until missing out in Heat 15, whilst Olly Allen endured a night of problems before coming good to win Heat 12.
As far as Wolves were concerned, there was solid rather than spectacular scoring from their top four riders - but reserve Ty Proctor was almost the difference between victory and defeat on the night, and although all of the pre-season talk surrounding the Monmore club has been about Tai Woffinden, Proctor could also play an important part of their season if he continues to ride as he has done this week.
The start to the meeting was ideal, with Barker shooting away from gate 2 to move Peter Karlsson out on the first bend, a move which was read by Harris who switched back to join his partner and then team-rode superbly ahead of the thrusting Swede.
And Bees could possibly have added another 5-1 in Heat 2 as Werner and Frampton both gated well and led up the back straight as Hynek Stichauer fell exiting the second bend - but then Frampton spectacularly threw a chain on turn three and went down, and after a delay to clear the track of debris, Proctor took advantage of the extra space available to cut back inside Werner off the second bend in the re-run.
Wolves then went ahead in a re-started Heat 3, Woffinden making it into the lead from gate one and Adam Skornicki trapping Allen with an inside pass at the end of the first lap, and from there on it was straightforward with neither Allen nor Kennett able to make significant ground.
And there was further cheer for the Wolves fans in Heat 4 as Proctor flew away from the inside leaving even Lindgren in his wake, with Schlein relegated to third place.
There were mechanical problems for Allen prior to Heat 5, and his race on Barker's bike lasted only a lap, which enabled Nicolai Klindt to collect a point after falling on lap two. Up-front, there was a good ride by Kennett to notch his first Brandon win at Karlsson's expense.
Lindgren gated ahead of Harris in Heat 6 but the Bees captain reeled in his opponent in the first couple of laps but was just unable to make the decisive passing move during the rest of the race.
The third shared race in succession saw Schlein take control of Heat 7, but the Bees still found themselves six points down - however, the fightback began in the next race with Werner again making a terrific start. Barker just made it around his team-mate on turn two, and Werner then showed all of his experience to hold Proctor at bay, even after the Wolves man came alongside him on the final lap.
The scores were levelled in Heat 9 with Kennett making it a second win, this time over Lindgren, with Allen taking third place, and there was then an exciting first lap in Heat 10 as Bees edged ahead - first Harris took the lead with Barker trying to round Skornicki for second, but as Harris waited for his team-mate, Skornicki took advantage on the inside to go in front. Harris, however, went much wider second time around and re-passed the Pole midway through the race to put Bees into a 31-29 lead.
The advantage didn't last long as Karlsson and Klindt shot away in Heat 11, with Schlein swiftly cutting back to split the Wolves pairing and at least prevent a 5-1.
And with Proctor taking an extra ride at Stichauer's expense, parity was maintained with a 3-3 in Heat 12 as Allen became the fifth member of the Coventry top five to win a race.
Heat 13 always looked as though it could be crucial, and it produced a first corner full of commitment with Harris moving Karlsson out, Karlsson moving into Schlein as a result but Schlein getting the sling-shot around the outside to lead. Harris held Karlsson at bay for second place, Lindgren eventually came through for third and the Bees had a four-point lead to defend.
Proctor again played a key role in Heat 14, gating initially with Skornicki and then holding off a heavy outside challenge from Kennett, who quickly went second. At the end of the first lap, though, Frampton rode a good line to squeeze inside Skornicki, and that ensured Bees would take at least a draw from the meeting.
As things turned out, they got the win they wanted, as the same four riders who had contested Heat 13 came to the tapes for the last race, and Schlein charged across from gate four to briefly lead the race. Karlsson pegged the inside off the second bend, a good move which gave him the lead, but Schlein had Lindgren covered for second spot, and that was enough for the Bees.
Both sides will take a degree of satisfaction from the meeting, and both will hope that any gremlins have been ironed out during two fixtures which count for nothing in the big scheme of the season, but which have provided several good heats in front of good crowds. The serious business starts next week...
BUILDBASE BEES 46 Chris Harris 2* 2 3 2* 0 = 9+2 Ben Barker 3 1* 3 1 = 8+1 Olly Allen 1 R 1 3 = 5 Edward Kennett 0 3 3 2 = 8 Rory Schlein 1 3 2 3 2 = 11 Jordan Frampton X 0 0 1* = 1+1 Brent Werner 2 0 2* 0 = 4+1