Somerset Rebels 60 (98), Workington Comets 30 (82)

THE Somerset Rebels started their defence of the Premier League Knock-Out Cup with a 98-82 aggregate victory over Workington Comets.

The Rebels had to be on their game right from the start, and after a first race shared heat, they never looked back, riding with such desire and effort that they had totally wiped out a first leg deficit by Heat Five.

Maximum 5-1 victories in heats two, three, four, six, nine and 14 fired the Rebels to en emphatic 30-point win on the night and ensured they progressed to the next round.

Heat Two signalled the start proper of the Rebels fight back to defend their KO Cup crown, hammering home five unanswered heat advantages, including four maximums before the visitors stopped the flow of points.

Heat nine saw the Rebels post their fifth maximum advantage on the night, before Heat 10 was shared.

Heat 12 saw the Rebels add another 4-2 to their tally, but not before Chris Mills got an absolute flyer from the tapes.

Howarth chased Starke hard, but could never make any headway into the Worcester based riders lead, and the resulting 4-2 gave the Rebels a 26-point lead.

With three heats to go the Comets could still force a replay, by taking maximum advantages in all three races, but before that could happen they had to get past the Rebels, who on the night, would have been a match for just about anyone you could care to put in front of them, and they had proved it in spades.

Every member of the side contributed greatly to the win, but it was Ollie Allen who top scored for the home side with 11-points, a performance that earned him the ‘Rider of the Night’ award, as well as sharing a win bonus with the rest of the septet from joint promoter, Bill Hancock.

Next week sees League action return to the Oak Tree Arena, with the visit of the Redcar Bears.