Last heat decider!!

THE Pirtek Tigers were beaten in a last-heat decider at Brough Park on a good day for the other Premier League title chasers. A last heat Newcastle 5-1 ended Sheffield's hopes of snatching a draw, with rivals Berwick and King's Lynn both winning away and Rye House taking two home victories in a double header. The action on Tyneside was close throughout, and it took until Heat 9 for either side to register a 5-1, Josef Franc and Lubos Tomicek obliging for the home side to put them four points up. But Tigers hit back two races later as Newcastle's James Grieves crashed out of second place, allowing Ben Wilson to team up with namesake Sean, who was unbeaten at that stage, for a match-levelling 5-1. When the teams met at Owlerton on Thursday it was Tigers asset James Birkinshaw who had starred at reserve for the Diamonds, but on this occasion their lower-order bite was supplied by an impressive Jamie Robertson and he overtook Ricky Ashworth in Heat 12 as Newcastle edged two points ahead. By this stage, the aggregate bonus point was well in the bag for Sheffield, but they really needed the away win. Grieves, however, thwarted them in Heat 13 by becoming the first rider to beat Sean Wilson and Robertson then won again in the next race with Tomicek's third place meaning that Tigers could not win the match. A 5-1 was required for a draw, but those prospects receeded dramatically when Sean Wilson, going for a flying start from gate 3, broke the tapes and was excluded. Grieves won his fourth race of the night and was followed by team-mate Franc as the Diamonds ended up with a slightly flattering eight-point winning margin. NEWCASTLE: Jamie Robertson 15+1, James Grieves 12, Josef Franc 11+2, Lubos Tomicek 6+1, Kristian Lund 4+2, James Birkinshaw 1, r/r for Phil Morris. TIGERS: Sean Wilson 11, Ricky Ashworth 11, Andre Compton 5+2, Ben Wilson 5+1, Richard Hall 4+1, Kyle Legault 3+1, Paul Cooper 2.
AWAY WIN VITALSunday, August 21, 2005By Nigel PearsonSHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS aim to keep the pressure on title favourites Rye House and Berwick when they go to Newcastle tonight (5.30).The Owlerton side are in a commanding position for the aggregate bonus point after a 63-29 thumping of the Diamonds in the home meeting on Thursday.Tigers are unchanged from that meeting and an away win would put them firmly in the frame for the title race.Sheffield co-boss Neil Machin said: "It's an important meeting for us and we have to go into it with a positive attitude."Our lads are buzzing after Thursday night and hopefully we can build on that by winning at Brough Park tonight."TIGERS: Sean Wilson, Ben Wilson, Ricky Ashworth, Richard Hall, Andre Compton, Paul Cooper, Kyle Legault.