Coventry made it three home wins on the bounce at Hearsall Common against a more than competitive Wednesfield Dragons side yesterday afternoon.
The hosts got off to the best possible start with new look pairing of Bobby McMillan and Dan Drewett manufacturing a 7-3 against Haydn Rowley and tactical reserve, Tom Haddock. Coventry extended their lead in heat two, with a mature ride from Mason Phillips holding his man in third whilst Myke Grimes held off Chris Jewkes off the inside grids for a 6-4.
The Dragons hit back in three with a 6-3, as Matt Lawrence came off challenging in the first ride of his return to racing and was a non-finisher, with Dave Frith splitting Carl Parfitt and Harrie Everiss. Two more traded heat advantages followed, with McMillan shepherding Josh Marsh for a 7-3 for Coventry and Haddock holding off a challenge from Matt Hambidge, which saw the Coventry youngster hit the deck after a brave dive, giving the visitors as 6-4 with team mate Alex Aris.
Two shared heats followed before the two sides traded 7-3s before the interval. Phillips held his gate off one allowing partner Grimes underneath Rowley on the first bend, with Phillips coming back around to take the heat win for Coventry. Connor Dyke and Mick Aris took advantage of a poor gate from the two Coventry riders in heat 9 to leave 5 points in it at the break, with the scores 47-42 to the home side.
The Dragons immediately got the deficit down further after the interval, with Jewkes and Haddock claiming a 6-4, in form Dave Frith was able to split the strong Wednesfield pairing. Coventry hit straight back in the next two heats, first with another 7-3 courtesy of Phillips and Grimes, whilst McMillan and Drewett notched a 6-4 in the following heat to go 10 points up.
The next three heats were shared with Rowley for the Dragons, while Phillips and Grimes took heat wins for Coventry. Wednesfield closed the gap in heat 16 with Rowley taking the win ahead of team mate Jewkes to pull the scores back to just 6 points. A grandstand finish was denied in 17 though, with McMillan and Phillips, the Rugby youngster getting his fourth win of the day, securing a 7-3, with McMillan coming through on the line after an unfortunate slip from Parfitt in an entertaining race.
Coventry made the scoreline look wider than the close racing actually suggested in heat 18, with Frith and Grimes completing their fifth maximum heat advantage of the day, winning the match by 96 points to 82.
Star man for Coventry was undoubtedly Mason Phillips, who is really starting to live up to his potential. A measured first ride securing a third place and a 6-4 for the team followed by 4 solid heat wins, means he’ll definitely be in contention should Coventry be granted entry to the Elite League next year. He was well supported by Grimes and McMillan who took paid maximums, whilst veteran Dave Frith also helped himself to a paid 16 score, with three bonus points.
For the Dragons, Tom Haddock was effective at reserve, taking two tactical rides on top of his three programmed. Chris Jewkes still managed 17+1 despite being on outside grids all day from the number 4 berth. Young riders Haydn Rowley and Carl Parfitt gave a good account for themselves, with only heavy weights McMillan and Grimes architecting team rides preventing them from higher scores.
COVENTRY 96
Bobby McMillan 17+3, Dan Drewett 12, Myke Grimes 18+2, Mason Phillips 18, Matt Lawrence 9, Dave Frith 13+3, Josh Marsh 6, Matt Hambidge 3.
WEDNESFIELD DRAGONS 82
Haydn Rowley 12, Alex Aris 4, Conor Dyke 8, Chris Jewkes 17+1, Harrie Everiss 5+1, Carl Parfitt 14, Mick Aris 7+2, Tom Haddock 12.