A determined effort that epitomises the team spirit among the Fen Tigers ranks nearly managed to nullify the special talent that is Robert Lambert at the Norfolk Arena last night and secure a valuable away point.

A determined effort that epitomises the team spirit among the Fen Tigers ranks nearly managed to nullify the special talent that is Robert Lambert at the Norfolk Arena last night and secure a valuable away point.

With Captain Dan Halsey suffering mechanical problems and some bad fortune during the meeting, it was exciting young racer Josh Bates and guest Ex-Fen Tiger Lewis Blackbird who took the challenge to the opposition. Blackbird put down a marker in Heat One storming to victory leaving the Young Stars pairing in his wake. A second fall in two rides for the returning Nathan Stoneman saw the Young Stars go into a four point lead after two heats only for the Fen Tigers pair of Bates and Armstrong to hit back with a 5-1 in Heat Three. An alert Armstrong laying down his bike sharply when Darren Mallett stopped in front of him!

Mechanical problems in Heat six saw Halsey grind to a halt when well placed and the home side stretched their advantage to eight, by Heat Nine it was twelve following a Heat Eight 5-1 by the powerful Rose and Lambert pairing. Mildenhall played a Tactical but with Halsey unable to get past his partner until the end of lap three he was unable to put in a meaningful challenge on Mallett and the Fen Tigers had to settle for a 5-3 Heat advantage. A fine win from Bates in Heat Ten saw the gap close to eight points and then the action really hotted up in Heat Eleven. For once Lambert didn’t have things his own way as Bates and Blackbird gated, with Kerr in the mix too Lambert blasted under Blackbird entering turn one of the second lap and with all riders having to go wide Kerr fell. His exclusion meant a re-run and although the Fen Tigers pair again gated a burst of speed down the back straight rarely seen at National League level saw Lambert in front and pulling away coming out of turn four! The Fen Tigers still wouldn’t lie down and a 5-1 from Blackbird and Halsey in Heat Thirteen saw the deficit down to only six, and the chance of a deserved point appeared a distinct possibility. With Lambert gating off into the sunset in Heat Fourteen, Armstrong was doing a fine job shepherding home Stoneman for an important 3-3 when the youngster lost control coming out of bend two and crashed. The resulting 4-2 and a 5-1 in Heat Fifteen saw the Young Stars home and left the Fen Tigers smarting over a lost point and a 52-40 scoreline that certainly didn’t reflect their efforts on the night.

Club Chairman Kevin Jolly commented: “We should have had a point tonight, we certainly deserved it no doubt. Sadly mechanical problems for Dan and a few little mistakes elsewhere cost us dear. I am proud of the lads though there is a strong team spirit amongst them, they never lie down and keep battling all the way. Young Lambert is a special talent for sure, and there is little that you can do against such a powerful reserve. Young Josh (Bailey) should be pleased with himself on debut, he did the club and himself proud, and Nathan too showed plenty of fire tonight. We still need to address the bottom end and we will continue to seek the right combination ready for Kent next Monday”

Scorers -

Kings Lynn Young Stars 52 - 1. Worrall 3+2 (4) 2. Rose 9+1 (4) 3. Mallett 6 (4) 4. Waldron 2+1 (3) 5. Kerr 8+2 (5) 6. Hazelden 3+1 (3) 7. Lambert 21 (7)

Mildenhall Fen Tigers 40 - 1.Blackbird (G) 11 (4) 2. RR 3. Bates 12+1 (6) 4. Armstrong 6+2 (4) 5. Halsey 6+1 (5) 6. Stoneman 3+1 (7) 7. Bailey 2 (4)