Slow start costs Heathens at Isle of Wight

The Anchor Logistics heathens slipped to a 53-37 defeat at the Smallbrook Stadium on another frustrating night overall.

And Smith feels Cradley made lives hard for themselves early on.

“We got off to a really slow start and were 10 points down after three races,” Smith said.

“Thankfully though I came out and won heat four and then Max (Clegg) went out and won heat five. We struggled to get many heat advantages though and that didn’t help.

“We got a bit better as a team as the meeting went on and it was good to see the younger members of the team finish on a bit of a high.

“Tom (Spencer) won heat eight and then got a paid second, Harry (McGurk) finished with a second place and Sheldon (Davies) got a couple of thirds too.

“We know we need to start picking up more points if we’re serious about getting in that top four.

“From a personal point of view it’s been another tough week with Redcar getting rid of me. I’ve had two pretty good meetings for Cradley against the Isle of Wight – but there’s still more to come!”

Smith led the way alongside captain Clegg once again, while Luke Harris endured a steady night.

Danny Halsey will be the most frustrated Heathen again though after sliding off whilst in a points scoring position in his opener before mechanical gremlins crept in when he was leading his final ride - and to add insult to injury he then found himself wiped out by Warriors’ debutant Scott Campos.

Isle of Wight: Georgie Wood 15, Ben Morley 10+1, Chris Widman 8+2, Danno Verge 7+2, Scott Campos 7+1, Chad Wirtzfeld 4, Connor King 2+1

Cradley: Max Clegg 11+1, Jack Smith 10+1, Luke Harris 5+2, Tom Spencer 4+1, Danny Halsey 3+1, Harry McGurk 2, Sheldon Davies 2