Rye House Rockets 53 Scunthorpe Scorpions 39A FIERY paid 11 from a resurgent Tommy Allen and another big haul from Luke Bowen helped the Silver Ski Rockets to all three match points against a plucky Scunthorpe side.

Rye House Rockets 53 Scunthorpe Scorpions 39

A FIERY paid 11 from a resurgent Tommy Allen and another big haul from Luke Bowen helped the Silver Ski Rockets to all three match points against a plucky Scunthorpe side.

The Tommy Gun has seen his confidence blighted this season by a series of injuries.

But he was firing on all cylinders against the Scorpions on Saturday night, with hopes of a maximum ended as late as a fall in heat 14 when chasing second place.

Even then, his efforts were rewarded with a deserved place in the nominated race.

The Bowen 747 also featured in that final heat and his paid 16 included a win over former Grand Prix wildcard David Howe.

The remaining Rockets also contributed key points to see the team safely home, although Chris Neath's mechanical woes continued.

The Rye captain began brightly with a win in the opening heat, but Neath generally struggled for power thereafter.

It was just as well that Rye opened with successive 5-1s from the first two races.

That early 10-2 advantage provided a barrier that never quite looked like being breached.

Full credit, though, to the Scorpions, who refused to let the match slip away and who looked a completely different proposition to the team humiliated 67-25 at Rye in the Premier Trophy back in April.

Howe was in superb form and dropped just one point, while guest Emiliano Sanchez - drafted in for knee injury victim Magnus Karlsson - battled hard for his tally.

And there were additional race wins from Viktor Bergstrom and the fast-starting Simon Lambert.

It added up to a fiercely competitive evening, with close finishes and a few falls along the way.

The most spectacular came in heat three, when first Linus Sundstrom headed through the back straight safety fence and then Carl Wilkinson was adjudged guilty of sending Bowen in the same direction in the re-run.

Thankfully, both riders were back on their feet after those scary moments.

And it was the Rockets who had most to celebrate at the end of the night.

Scores

Rye House scorers: Chris Neath 6 (4 rides), Luke Bowen 14+2 (6), Joe Haines R/R, Linus Sundstrom 9 (5), Robert Mear 7+5 (5), Tommy Allen 9+2 (5), Andrew Silver 8 (5)