JASON Crump gave exactly the kind of brilliant individual display that he has shown so often at Grand Prix level this season - but the Buildbase Bees still built a handy lead during an enthralling first-leg Cup semi-final at Brandon.
Crump has regularly scored maximum points around Coventry during his career and seemed likely to do so from the moment he won Heat 1 by a remarkable distance.
However, Coventry managed to exploit some areas of the Aces' middle order and although the visitors were unlucky to lose their next best rider Ulrich Ostergaard with at least one more ride to come, Bees had their own flying reserve in Ben Barker with a blistering paid-16 haul.
With several solid displays elsewhere, the home side were able to overcome a rather unconvincing start and steadily increase their lead during the second half of the meeting - and the cards did not quite fall the Aces' way, as they were unable to use any tactical rides during the meeting.
Crump, from gate four, charged clear in Heat 1 ahead of an initially shared-race position, until James Wright made it around Filip Sitera on the fourth bend and then put some pressure on skipper Chris Harris before settling for third place.
Bees responded with a 4-2 of their own in Heat 2 as Barker replicated Wright's move by passing Ostergaard on turn four, with Ricky Wells getting the better of guest Hugh Skidmore in the early stages.
A 5-1 from the Olly Allen/Edward Kennett combination put Bees ahead, with plenty of action between Kennett and Patrick Hougaard as the Dane managed to split the Coventry duo only to made an error when trying to pass Allen allowing Kennett the opportunity to get back at him.
Ostergaard used the inside to great effect off turn two in Heat 4 as the other riders battled, and it was Belle Vue in a 5-1 position as Rory Schlein was squeezed out. Barker, however, found a good burst of speed up the back straight for the final time to storm inside Krzysztof Kasprzak and prevent the Aces from taking maximum points.
The visitors did do just that, though, in a surprising Heat 5 with Allen out-trapping Crump but then being swamped by the Australian on the outside and a quick-thinking Wright on the inside, with the Belle Vue duo pulling away on the final three laps of the race.
Bees therefore trailed by two points but got back on level terms in Heat 6 with Harris taking the win over Ostergaard, and Sitera holding Kasprzak at bay for third place.
Both Bees rides pulled off passing moves in Heat 7 as they re-took the lead in the meeting, Schlein going around Hougaard on the back straight for the first time, and Wells reeling in and then moving inside Lubos Tomicek on the third lap.
The pressure was on Barker in Heat 8 with Wright and Ostergaard looking to be a useful combination, but the Bees reserve made a brave back-straight move to take the lead, and then headed both Aces riders who appeared on occasions to be racing themselves as much as Barker!
Bees began to move themselves clear with a well-taken 5-1 in Heat 9 as Kasprzak made the best start but was overtaken on the outside by Allen and the inside by Kennett, the Aces skipper being on the receiving end of maximum points with Skidmore falling on lap two but quickly clearing the track.
Heat 10 saw Harris produce a stunning burst of speed off the second bend to take him around Hougaard and then inside Ostergaard as they went into turn three, but as the riders completed the second lap Ostergaard clipped the fence and could not quite maintain control, falling heavily just over the start-finish line leading to the race being awarded as a Coventry 4-2 - taking them eight points clear.
Crump was again too good in Heat 11 as Barker and Schlein combined to keep Wright at the back, and the question ahead of the next race was of whether the Bees would record a heat advantage which would open up the tactical ride.
As things turned out, Bees' initial 5-1 position was split by the bustling Hougaard, and as Allen tried to respond on the third and fourth bends he hit the fence and fell, leading to another awarded race - although Hougaard may have felt he deserved a second go at Barker as he did not appear to be out of contention at the time of the stoppage.
Whatever, Bees still took an eight point lead into Heat 13 which was another Crump demonstration run as Schlein made sure of a shared heat by slipping inside the unhappy Kasprzak at the end of the first lap.
Ostergaard, suffering from a leg injury, attempted to take his place in Heat 14 but realised before the start of the race that it was impossible, and he was replaced by Skidmore. This gave Bees a golden opportunity of a 5-1 from Kennett and Barker, which they took with little fuss, although it should be noted that there was another tidy ride from Skidmore who was well clear of team-mate Tomicek before the Czech pulled onto the centre.
Bees therefore had the twelve-point lead which they would surely have taken before the meeting, but the final race provided more good action with Crump properly outgated for the first time but conjuring a magical burst to go between Harris and Kennett and lead into turn three.
Kennett was then trapped by Hougaard before the end of lap one but chased hard after his opponent and regained third place after a slight mistake by Hougaard on the second bend of the last lap.
Bees' reaction at the end was that this is a job half-done, and they will travel to Manchester for the second leg confident in their ability to defend the 12-points, but fully aware of what is required.