RYE HOUSE COBRAS 50 BUXTON HITMEN 44THE Cobras gunned down the Hitmen on Bank Holiday Monday but failed to deliver a fatal blow in their National League KO Cup clash.

RYE HOUSE COBRAS 50 BUXTON HITMEN 44

THE Cobras gunned down the Hitmen on Bank Holiday Monday but failed to deliver a fatal blow in their National League KO Cup clash.

The Kart Raceway Cobras will take only a slender six point advantage up to Hi Edge for the second leg after Buxton pulled back from a 15-point deficit in the closing stages.

The cup match was only slightly less eventful than the earlier Rockets against Workington fixture which ran to nearly two and three-quarter hours in length following a string of stoppages due to its own series of falls and no less than four awarded race results.

The Cobras opened with four straight 4-2s, although they only finally gained a meaningful first leg lead when Jamie Courtney and Rob Smith secured a 5-0 after both Gareth Isherwood and Craig Cook had fallen in heat nine.

They quickly followed up with a 5-1 from Danny Halsey and Rob Smith over Jade Mudgway.

Those two race results took the Cobras 15 points clear at 37-22, but the Hitmen made the most of their two tactical riding opportunities.

Both Lee Smethills and Scott James produced six point performances in heats 11 and 14 respectively.

The pair then combined for a 5-1 in the finale after Danny Halsey had fallen on the first lap when battling with Smethills for the lead.

Still, there were plenty of positives from the Cobras to take away from the final result.

Halsey dropped just one point ahead of his heat 15 tumble, while Lee Strudwick enjoyed his most productive meeting to date in 2009.

There were also battling displays from Rob Smith and Daniel Blake, while Ben Morley popped up with points in all of his outings.

Even No.8 Trevor Heath did his bit with a third place in the first of his two rides.

The second leg is scheduled for Derbyshire on Sunday, June 21.