DUDLEY Heathens gave themselves a great chance of retaining the National Shield with a battling comeback effort in Sunday’s first leg at Mildenhall.  The Fen Tigers, who are also tipped to enjoy a strong season this year, put the Heathens under some pressure when they opened up a ten-point lead after Heat 10 at West Row.  But the Heathens came fighting back with skipper Adam Roynon dominating the closing stages and Ashley Morris showing a fine return to form after his problems in Tuesday’s season opener against Stoke.  Roynon won a tactical ride for double-points in Heat 11 to narrow the gap to seven points, and Darryl Ritchings and Tom Perry then secured a crucial 5-1 in the next race.
A 4-2 in Heat 14 virtually ensured the win on the day for the Fen Tigers, but Morris and Roynon came up with a big finish, a last-race 5-1 over Cameron Heeps and Joe Jacobs leaving them just one point adrift ahead of the second leg at home on April 17.
Boss Will Pottinger praised the spirit in his side, with points contributions coming all the way down the order at one of the toughest away venues in the National League.  He said: “I’m very happy with the result after being ten points down after ten heats. We managed to battle back and I’m delighted about only being one point behind with it all to play for in the second leg a week on Tuesday.”
 

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DUDLEY Heathens and Stoke shared the Staffordshire Cup after an eventful second leg at Loomer Road ended with the aggregate scores level.
Heathens worked hard to defend their first leg four-point advantage despite the mid-meeting loss of Byron Bekker who was involved in a heavy first-bend pile-up with Ashley Birks in Heat 10.
Bekker remained at the track but could not continue in the meeting and will miss Sunday’s KO Cup trip to Buxton as a precaution, with Heathens set to use the rider-replacement facility.
Stoke had their problems too with Jaimie Pickard crashing out in his first ride, but Richie Worrall was in unstoppable form and broke the National League track record, whilst reserve Ben Reade was a constant threat to Heathens.
Will Pottinger’s side suffered bad luck when Tom Perry ground to a halt whilst leading Heat 3, but the British Under-21 runner-up and Ashley Morris both gave consistent displays winning a couple of races apiece, and there was also an encouraging night for James White-Williams.
Heathens led by six points on aggregate with three heats to go, but the powerful Worrall/Birks combination got Stoke back into it with a 5-1 in Heat 13, and all results were still possible when Reade held the battling Darryl Ritchings at bay in the penultimate race.
Worrall completed a paid maximum in Heat 15 but Perry was able to split the Stoke combination, with Birks taking third ahead of Morris to leave the overall totals at 90-90

HEATHENS took a giant step towards the Knockout Cup semi-finals with an emphatic first-leg win at Buxton.  The former Cradley club dominated at the Hi-Edge Raceway and limited the home side to just three race wins out of fifteen.  The visitors recovered from a couple of early setbacks when skipper Adam Roynon suffered problems in the first race and both Byron Bekker and Ashley Morris fell in their opening outings.  But Tom Perry kept up his blistering start to the season by reeling off four straight wins with Roynon, Morris and reserve Dan Greenwood also taking multiple successes - and James White-Williams was involved in three 5-1s.
Heathens levelled an early deficit with a Roynon/White-Williams 5-1 in Heat 5 and they added advantages in the next three races to go eight points up.
The Hitmen pegged things for a time but some good team-riding from Roynon and White-Williams again kept Adam McKinna at bay for a 5-1 in Heat 11, and three 4-2s followed to extend the lead to 18 points.
Perry was denied a maximum in the last race by home No.1 Robert Branford, but Heathens had more than done their job and should be able to wrap up the tie in Tuesday’s second leg at Monmore.
Boss Will Pottinger said: “We were behind after four heats, but really after one ride each the lads all came into it and we put the hammer down in the second half of the meeting.  “Tom was in very good form, and we had contributions all the way down which was really good to see. It was a good all-round performance.   “You can never be sure what’s going to happen in the second leg but it looks good for us, and I know all the lads are determined to give a good performance at home. It’s over a month since we’ve raced there, and we’ll be 100 per cent concentrated.”
 

IN-FORM Tom Perry roared to his first full 15-point maximum as the Heathens demolished Buxton in the Knockout Cup at Monmore Green.
Perry, who just missed out on a full house in the first leg on Sunday, reeled off five straight wins to head up a hugely powerful Heathens display as they booked a semi-final place with the minimum of fuss.
It was also a landmark meeting for impressive reserve Dan Greenwood, who carded a four-ride paid maximum, whilst skipper Adam Roynon shattered the National League track record on his way to an unbeaten 12-point score.
Roynon clocked 56.76 in winning Heat 1 to take well over half a second off Lee Smart’s previous record, and it set the tone for what was to follow.
Buxton had little answer to the Heathens’ dominance, and their sole race win came from skipper Robert Branford in Heat 11 – and fortunately for the visitors, he was on a tactical ride enabling them to add three further points. But when Luke Priest went for double in the next race he came to grief on turn four – and Ashley Morris then got his revenge on Branford by relegating the young Aussie to third place in a couple of hard-fought duels in Heats 13 and 15.
Perry said: “I’ve been desperate to get a maximum and I came so close at Buxton, I was determined to get it this time.  “I’m feeling good, my confidence is really high and it’s also helping me to do the meetings for Somerset in the Premier League. It’s a great result for the team, the spirit is good led by Adam as captain, and we’re all feeling positive about the National League season.”
 

DUDLEY Heathens stormed back from nine points down to record a sensational win in their first National League fixture of the season.
Skipper Adam Roynon swept to another immaculate maximum at the Norfolk Arena with Ashley Morris and Tom Perry both also scoring heavily as Heathens compensated for the early loss of the unlucky Byron Bekker
 Bekker fell in his first race and withdrew with a hand injury – and as both reserves had also come to grief in Heat 2 and Morris subsequently fell in Heat 4, the prospects did not look encouraging.  But after getting back into contention in Heat 7 with a 5-1 from Perry and Dan Greenwood, the meeting turned completely in the closing stages when Heathens secured back-to-back maximum advantages.
First Perry and Darryl Ritchings took full advantage of King’s Lynn’s Lewis Kerr crashing out of Heat 12, the Heathens duo getting the better of Scott Campos in the re-run, and then Roynon and Morris raced clear of home skipper James Cockle in Heat 13.
Ritchings importantly split Adam Lowe and Tom Stokes in Heat 14 to keep Heathens ahead into the decider, and the pressure was off when Cockle came to grief whilst chasing. Roynon and Morris then made no mistake at all in the re-run to secure a big three away points against a team tipped to be in and around the play-off battle this season.
 Heathens boss Will Pottinger said: “It looked as though we’d have to settle for a point but the boys came into their own and did it when it mattered most.  “Adam underlined what a class act he is. He’s head and shoulders above anyone else in this league, nobody got near him. He is an inspirational figure at this level.  “Byron was advised to withdraw but we’re hopeful that after a few days rest he can rejoin the team on Tuesday for the home meeting against King’s Lynn.   “That one won’t be easy because we are without Tom who is racing in the Premier League, and we’re going to need all our supporters to really get behind us.”

DUDLEY Heathens have retained the National Shield by a ten-point aggregate margin with a hard-fought win over Mildenhall.  Heathens went into Tuesday night’s second leg at Monmore Green one point behind, and one of the biggest crowds since their National League launch two years ago turned out for what proved to be a highly entertaining meeting.  With a series of fine passing moves, Heathens roared into a 23-7 lead after five races, with the Fen Tigers weakened by the loss of Joe Jacobs in Heat 1 as he spun on the third lap and suffered a wrist injury when he was clipped by the closely-following James White-Williams.  But the visitors gradually pegged the Heathens, helped by a spectacular tactical ride win by 15-year-old Nathan Stoneman as he surged from third to first in Heat 8 – although the fact that he was replacing the originally-programmed Jacobs meant he shouldn’t have been allowed to race for double.
Byron Bekker enjoyed his most convincing display of the season but fell in Heat 9, and skipper Adam Roynon also came to grief in the next race with the Fen Tigers clawing back a 5-1.
Heathens were left on the brink of aggregate victory ahead of Heat 13 only for Ashley Morris to fall on turn two, but they finally clinched it with one race to spare. A 3-3 would have been enough in Heat 14, but Bekker and Darryl Ritchings both came inside Daniel Halsey off the final bend for a popular 5-1.
Roynon said: “I was happy to lift the Shield last year as stand-in captain, and I’m absolutely delighted to do it this year in front of our home fans as the full team captain.  “We can also learn something from the meeting with the way Mildenhall came back at us, because we could well end up facing them again this year, and it was a very different match after two big wins here. But the whole team scored, and it was really good to see Byron going well.
“I love racing here and the crowd give us such a lift, it’s great when they’re all on their feet cheering as we win races, and that’s what we hope to keep doing!”