REPORT: Cheetahs lose out to rivals in BSN Series semi-final

SD TIMMO CAR SALES Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies suffered a 38-52 home defeat to arch-rivals Poole Pirates in the second leg of their BSN Series semi-final at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium last night (Wednesday). Pirates completed a 110-70 aggregate victory and will face either Glasgow or Redcar in the final. The meeting was the 30th completed home meeting at Cowley this season.

Cheetahs were already 26 points down on aggregate heading into last night’s meeting, after a 32-58 defeat in the first leg at Poole on August 13.

Cheetahs provided just four heat winners on the night – three of those came from skipper Sam Masters. The Australian star was defeated three times by opposing No 1 Richard Lawson – including a rare exclusion in Heat 5 when he fell on the opening bends. But Masters showed his mettle in Heat 15, repassing Lawson in determined style to finish the evening on a high note and also ruin Lawson’s maximum hopes.

Poole took the lead with a 4-2 in Heat 2 and gradually increased their lead. A brief moment of respite came for Cheetahs in Heat 10, after Luke Killeen trapped and Masters surged through past Zach Cook and Lewis Kerr on the opening bends to join him for a 5-1. That reduced the deficit to six points, but Pirates then took a 4-2 in the following four races to clinch victory.

Killeen – moving up from reserve to No 2 – also won Heat 3 against the same pair and scored 8+2. 17-year-old Mitch McDiarmid had another impressive evening for Cheetahs – finished his evening with four second places to collect eight points.

While their participation in both the Cab Direct Championship and BSN Series is now at an end, Cheetahs are still involved in the semi-finals of the MAXiCab Knockout Cup. The first leg is up at Redcar on Friday, September 26, with the date of the leg at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium still to be confirmed after being washed out last week.

Luke Killeen scored 8+2, and said: “I’m happy with my night and it’s good to score 8+2 in the No 2 spot, although I took six rides and had two last places, so there is still room for improvement.

“Last season when I moved up from reserve, I won my first Heat 1, but then struggled after that and it wasn’t long before I was back down at reserve again. But I’m now a better speedway rider and tonight I’ve shown I can mix it in the main body of the team.

“It wasn’t our night tonight. When it came to the latter part of the meeting and we already knew Poole were going to win, we started to try out new things out on our bikes, because we know the important match is the Cup match against Redcar and we want to make sure everything is working perfectly for that.

“I’m happy how the last few months have gone. I was determined not to have to write off this season as a bad one. Instead I turned around my form mid-season and I do feel that I have progressed as a rider. The season isn’t over for us yet and we’d like to finish it on a high in the Cup.”

The next meeting at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium sees the BetGoodwin Oxford Spires at home to Leicester Lions in a re-arranged ROWE Motor Oil Premiership clash next Thursday (September 25) at 7.30pm. Due to forthcoming exciting new developments in British Speedway, it will be the final-ever meeting for Spires, since Oxford Speedway will concentrate on the Cheetahs and Chargers in 2026. Tickets will be on sale in due course at the Oxford Speedway website at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies 38: Sam Masters 13, Luke Killeen 8+2, Jordan Jenkins R/R, Mitch McDiarmid 8, Francis Gusts 4, Darrly Ritchings 1, Cameron Heeps 4+2.

Poole Pirates 52: Richard Lawson 14, Tobias Thomsen 5, Lewis Kerr 7+1, Zach Cook 9+2, Anders Rowe 9, Paul Starke 4+1, William Cairns 4.

PHOTO: Sam Masters winning a Heat 15 battle against Richard Lawson (Image: Steve Edmunds)