COVENTRY had to settle for runners-up position in the 2014 Elite League as Poole retained the Championship at Wimborne Road on Monday.
The Pirates won the second leg of the Grand Final 53-37 for a 90-71 aggregate result, although that didn’t tell the story of a meeting packed with full commitment from both sides, with the Buildbase Bees remaining in contention until Heat 13.
But ultimately it was the exploits of the Pirates’ Polish duo Maciej Janowski and Przemyslaw Pawlicki, along with high-scoring reserve Kyle Newman, which proved crucial as captain Janowski completed a paid maximum.
Bees trailed by three points from Friday’s first leg but were naturally in determined mood and showed it by providing winners in four of the opening six races.
Unfortunately, the other two races saw them on the wrong end of 5-1s and with luck not exactly in good supply either, it meant they had dropped a further two points back on aggregate.
Just as on Friday, Kyle Howarth took the honours in Heat 1 as the No.1s were left to scrap for third place, that going in favour of Coventry’s Hans Andersen, and James Sarjeant then rode superbly in the re-start of Heat 2 to defeat Newman after Jason Garrity had crashed out.
The aggregate gap was down to one point, but in Heat 3 the fast-gating Max Fricke – in for Ben Barker, with an aggravation to his shoulder injury – was passed either side by Janowski and Pawlicki, and then collected by Bees captain Chris Harris going into turn three.
With Fricke down, the race was stopped and there was confusion over which Coventry rider would be disqualified – eventually Harris being ejected from the race – and then consternation when the race was awarded at such an early stage, although that is permissible if the race is stopped when the leader has completed two laps.
Sarjeant broke the tapes in Heat 4 but Garrity came in, only to be brought down by Vaclav Milik going into the first bend with all-four-back the verdict from the referee. Howarth took the flag again in the re-run with Garrity third after an all-action first lap, as Bees levelled the scores on the night.
But Janowski and Troy Batchelor collected another 5-1 in Heat 5 and Bees couldn’t quite respond in full in the next race, Harris winning but Andersen being pegged in third by a firm early defence from Pawlicki.
Garrity was involved in more spectacular action in Heat 7 as he eventually split Newman and Nick Morris, but with Kenneth Hansen at the back Poole were edging ahead, and Heat 8 provided a big swing as Howarth missed the start for the first time and Fricke was undone by a brilliant move by Pawlicki, surging through on the inside going into the last lap to join Milik for a 5-1.
Bees were now eleven-down on aggregate but doggedly remained in contention throughout a succession of shared races, and Poole had a major scare in Heat 11 when Pawlicki and Janowski collided spectacularly going into the back straight.
Pawlicki was disqualified but Janowski returned for the re-run to defeat Andersen, who had been the leader in the initial staging of the race.
Howarth’s third win on of the night in Heat 12 kept Bees in with a glimmer, but they needed major race advantages and it was Janowski who sealed the title for the Pirates with another spectacular effort to go past first Harris and then Andersen and take the honours in Heat 13.
With the title secure, Poole were riding on the crest of a wave and they completed 5-1s in each of the last two races to give the final score a more emphatic look, albeit not fully reflective of the competitive nature of the Final.
Bees boss Gary Havelock said: “It’s very disappointing, we still had hope coming down here but in hindsight we probably lost it in the first leg at home.
“We needed to have a lead to come down here with really, and we didn’t manage to do that. But I can’t knock any of my boys, they’ve been fantastic this season and it’s been a pleasure working with each and every one of them.
“Over the two legs you have to hand it to Poole – they were the better side, it’s as simple as that, and we just didn’t quite make it.â€
ELITE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg POOLE 53: Maciej Janowski 14+1, Kyle Newman 11+2, Przemyslaw Pawlicki 8+3, Vaclav Milik 8, Troy Batchelor 6, Nick Morris 5, Benji Compton 1+1. COVENTRY 37: Kyle Howarth 9, Chris Harris 7+1, Hans Andersen 6, Jason Garrity 6, James Sarjeant 4+1, Max Fricke 3+1, Kenneth Hansen 2+1. Poole win 90-71 on aggregate