THIS was yet another Brandon match to go down to the last race for the destination of an Elite League point - and just as in Belle Vue's previous visit, the Buildbase Bees came out on top.
It was a very different Coventry team to that which raced in early April, but it was still job done at the end of a difficult night with the meeting taking place in far from ideal conditions.
Light drizzle started in the half-hour before Heat 1, and whilst there were no real problems for most of proceedings, it was a different matter for the last two races which were almost a throwback to yesteryear.
And it was credit to the riders that the points were decided out on track with the running of Heat 15 rather than the meeting being called off one race early.
As it was, the Bees' big top two dropped just one point between them with two 5-1s from Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris in the last three heats enough to move them ten points up. Edward Kennett and Rory Schlein both produced race wins coupled with one surprising last place apiece - but fortunately, some important places from Filip Sitera and Josh Auty proved to be enough.
Belle Vue clearly missed talented reserve Patrick Hougaard, but on the flip side the nine (paid eleven) collected by the very impressive Darcy Ward added to the points from rider replacement (seven, less one of Ward's already counted) were almost certainly more than the Aces could reasonably have expected from injured duo Ulrich Ostergaard and Billy Forsberg.
There were few problems with conditions early on as Nicholls quickly made his way around Morten Risager on the third bend of Heat 1 to take the lead - but the speed of Risager in chasing to the end suggested that he may end up with more points than his final scorechart actually showed.
Risager rode well in Heat 2 as well, covering team-mate Joel Parsons all round the race as Auty attacked around the outside, but just as he seemed to have gone past Risager, he had to check up behind Parsons and lost the place again.
That put the Aces four points up, and clearly the combination of Kennett and Schlein was going to be important for the Bees. Heat 3 briefly looked promising as they made the start, but it took Schlein a race to adjust to borrowed machinery, and he was overtaken on the outside by James Wright and then on the inside by Ward, and Bees had to be content with a 3-3.
Harris was a convincing winner of Heat 4 with the action at the back as Auty this time had an unimpeded run to chase Parsons, and duly made his move into the final two bends with Parsons falling unaided on turn three.
But the Aces maintained their two-point lead in Heat 5 as this time Kennett was squeezed out on the first bend and could not make an impression on Ward, whilst Schlein's changes were certainly for the better as he made a good outside move on Krzysztof Kasprzak at the end of the first lap.
Heat 7 was shared with Harris initially coming under serious threat from Ward, and Bees were then delighted to come away from Heat 8 with another 3-3, as Charlie Gjedde overtook a fast-starting Filip Sitera to win, but the exciting Auty blasted around Risager on lap three to take an important third place.
Kennett and Schlein then got together for a 5-1 in Heat 9 to put Bees in front for the first time, Kennett riding almost the widest possible outside line, and the home team appeared to have breathing space with a 4-2 in the next race, Ward again showing his ability by passing Sitera after Bees had initially held a maximum.
With the rain still falling lightly, the Aces comeback commenced in Heat 11 when Kasprzak and Wright both managed to out-gate Harris, and although the Bees skipper was quickly into second, a dramatic late chase of the Pole fell just short on the run to the line.
And another Belle Vue 4-2 followed in Heat 12 as Ward maturely held off everything that Kennett could throw at him, whilst Risager and Auty passed and re-passed for third place, which was eventually resolved in favour of the former Coventry man.
It was looking increasingly likely that big rides from Nicholls and Harris would be required, and the first of those took place in Heat 13, with Kasprzak initially unhappy with the starting positions and then being clamped by Nicholls on the first bend as Harris made it from the outside.
Bees were six up and now looking for all three points, and they seemed to have a stroke of fortune when Risager lost his chain just before Heat 14, being timed out and having to go back 15 metres.
With the conditions rapidly worsening, Risager rode exactly the right line to reel in Auty within a lap and a half, and that meant that although Schlein's win guaranteed victory on the night for the Bees, the Aces were still just six points down and with a League point on the table for them.
Schlein's winning time of 66.9 and the visual evidence suggested that a halt then was a possibility, especially when referee Ronnie Allan was called to carry out a track inspection. However, the official deemed the circuit raceable and Harris's determination was clear as he rushed back the pits to get ready for the final heat.
To be fair to Kasprzak, he looked to have plenty of determination too in the early stages as he was first into the first bend, and that could have counted for a lot in the conditions. But the Bees had more confidence and as Nicholls held the inside to go past on the exit of turn two, Harris flew by them both on the outside, and then it was simply a matter of surviving the four laps.
Another demonstration, then, of how the new scoring system has added interest to meetings. And whilst there will be plenty of debate as to what the score would have been had both teams been able to use their initial one-to-sevens, the reality surely is you must always react to situations to give yourself the best chance - because if not, someone else will!
