THE 2009 Coventry squad have produced some memorable comebacks so far this season - but this one surely tops the lot.
Seven points down with four heats to go, and seemingly with no answer in terms of race wins, the smart money was on the Buildbase Bees conceding four Elite League points at home.
And had that happened, given the points dropped by Lakeside and Peterborough this week, it would have given Poole a glimmer of hope of mounting a late bid for a top four finish.
As it was, whether the Bees came good when it mattered, whether the Pirates croaked at the end, or whether it was a combination of the two made little difference - and the most dramatic of wins moved Coventry back to level on points with Lakeside ahead of the next big Brandon clash on Monday.
This one, of course, very nearly didn't go ahead, with the circuit showing all of its draining ability to withstand torrents of water from a 6.30pm thunderstorm.
The circuit was totally awash at one stage, but as soon as the rain eased it was clear that there were good drying conditions, and a quick track inspection saw the match given the go-ahead, starting only just behind schedule.
And when it did, it was the worst possible start for the Bees with gating clearly of paramount importance early on, with skipper Chris Harris being totally filled in after missing the start from gate 3 and being headed home by Hans Andersen and Joe Screen for a Poole 5-1.
And there was then the first demonstration that the current pair of Pirates' reserves are their strongest of the season, as Ben Wilson trapped well in Heat 2 and led up the back straight with the returning Ben Barker trying to find a way through. Whether or not there was contact into turn three seemed a debatable point, but Wilson went out of shape and fell, and it was Barker's disqualification light which came on, along with that of Steve Boxall who had suffered mechanical trouble on the first bend.
Wilson picked himself up to gate ahead of Ricky Wells and then ride four perfect laps to move the Pirates into a five point lead.
With Daniel Davidsson a late arrival and not reaching the stadium in time for Heat 3, Wilson was called upon again and nearly produced a shock second place behind Olly Allen, only for Edward Kennett to make his move on the inside going into the last lap. Surprisingly adrift was visiting skipper Bjarne Pedersen, but he was to play a vital role in the remainder of the meeting.
Before that, Chris Holder was a clear winner of Heat 4 ahead of a comfortable Martin Smolinski, but Boxall grabbed third place from Wells to put Poole in control - control which they seemed to have right until the penultimate race.
Andersen held off a strong challenge from Kennett to win a shared Heat 5, and 3-3 was also the outcome from Heat 6 although not without another fine effort from Wilson, who rounded Harris on the back straight only for the Bees skipper to hit back going into the second lap. Another share was the predictable outcome of Heat 7 with Pedersen getting everything right but Davidsson, who had only just arrived, being all at sea as his first look at track conditions was his attempt to ride them!
But with Barker a strong second in that race, Bees felt they might get something from Heat 8 by bringing him in for Wells. However, it didn't work out as Joe Screen just made it round Filip Sitera - who had changed bikes - off the second bend, and Boxall grabbed an all-important third place from Barker.
Five points down, Bees needed to respond in Heat 9 but again they were thwarted by Wilson, who led for two laps before Kennett made use of the dirt-line to fly Harris-style around the outside. The problem for Coventry was that Allen had been baulked on the back straight so once again Wilson was taking points off the top five, and Poole were comfortable at 32-27.
It got even better for the visitors with wins in the next two races, Pedersen ahead of Harris in Heat 10 with Sitera blocking out Davidsson, who eventually fell, for third place - and a Pirates 4-2 in a Heat 11 which looked for a time to be going the other way could have had them almost home and dry.
Barker rode a storming first lap to lead Andersen but the Dane found a faster line going into lap three and made it round the outside, and meanwhile Smolinski suffered mechanical trouble and slowed going into the last lap, allowing Screen a route past him into third place. At that point, it was difficult to see any way back for the home side, and if they were to have any chance, they had to score big in Heat 12.
Again Wilson made a good start, but this time he was eased out by Allen on turn one, and that allowed Wells chance to cut back into second place. Wilson then spun on the third bend as he tried to hit back on the inside, and fell on the next bend too, and the Bees duo were safe from Davidsson for a 5-1, Allen celebrating unusually with a graceful slide into the airfence after the end of the race!
That made it 34-37, but the first half-lap of Heat 13 had 'game over' written all over it - and then, astonishingly, it was a sequence of events reminiscent of the 2008 Craven Shield semi-final.
Andersen and Holder had a clear advantage into turn three, and it wasn't even Harris in third place, but it appeared that the Pirates duo got a little too close to each other, and Holder was sent wide and fell. Behind them, Harris came down too, but crucially he re-mounted and was able to take his place in the re-run.
Andersen maintained Poole's cushion with that, but the Bees were boosted by the fact that they weren't any further points down - and that, most surprisingly, the fast-trapping Wilson was not selected for Heat 14.
With the pressure building, Bees gained a major break when Pedersen rolled into the tapes, the Pirates electing to give him a tough job from 15 metres rather than to bring in Wilson. Kennett and Barker duly out-trapped Boxall in the re-run with Barker battling overtime to block every possible run of the Poole reserve, and Pedersen never really made an impression.
Totally against expectations, Bees had moved into a one-point lead, and therefore only required a share in Heat 15, for which Kennett and Harris were the obvious choices - with the Pirates, for whom Pedersen was ineligible, pairing Holder with the unbeaten Andersen.
And from the outside gate, Kennett rode probably his best race for the Bees so far to pick up massive drive on the first two bends and roar round Andersen, leaving the remaining riders trailing in his wake as Harris battled Holder for third place.
Hearts were in mouths for three laps as Kennett rode the dirt-line, and at times all four riders got into difficulties, so much effort were they putting in on a tricky track.
But on the last lap, Kennett took a look and saw his lead, and made things much safer for himself with a more conservative line, crossing the finishing line to a standing ovation in a wonderful finish to the meeting.
A great attitude shown by both sides, a credit to the track for holding up to the deluge, and proof once again that you can never, ever write off this Coventry team. They may not always win - but they will always give it 100 per cent, and not even the doubters could deny that.
BUILDBASE BEES 46 Chris Harris 1 3 2 2 1 = 9 Filip Sitera 0 0 2 1* = 3+1 Olly Allen 3 1* 0 3 = 7+1 Edward Kennett 2* 2 3 3 3 = 13+1 Martin Smolinski 2 1* 0 1* = 4+2 Ben Barker X 2 0 2 2* = 6+1 Ricky Wells 2 0 2* = 4+1
POOLE 43 Hans Andersen 3 3 3 3 2 = 14 Joe Screen 2* 0 3 1 = 6+1 Daniel Davidsson M 0 F 1 = 1 Bjarne Pedersen 0 3 3 0 = 6 Chris Holder 3 1* 1* X 0 = 5+2 Ben Wilson 3 1 2 2 F = 8 Steve Boxall X 1 1 1 = 3
