Oxford Cheetahs were unceremoniously dumped out of this year's Elite League Knockout Cup by an impressive Wolverhampton Wolves outfit at Monmore Green last night, writes LEON HILL.

Oxford were always going to be up against it after being held to a draw at home in the first leg last Friday, but Brian Andersen's return to the line-up suggested Cheetahs could achieve the impossible.

However, those thoughts were dealt a severe blow right from the very first heat.

A maximum win for Wolves set them up, and with No 1 Mikael Karlsson a long way ahead at the front, it was clear Cheetahs had a real fight on their hands.

Things got no better in the second heat, although Mark Lemon rode hard to come home in second place, but Cheetahs were six points down with only two heats gone.

An engine failure for Jesper Jensen in the third gave the visitors a drawn heat, and with Leigh Adams taking to the track for the first time, the fightback looked to be on. It was not to be, however, as even the Cheetahs No 1 could not halt the rampant Karlsson.

Another maximum heat win over the Andersen/Steve Johnston pairing in heat five saw Wolves 12 points clear, and from then on it really was a battle for pride. Adams was overshadowed again in a shared heat six, and Wolves pulled further ahead in the next, going 16 points in front.

Adams was put in as a tactical substitute in heat eight, which he duly won, but Johnston remained at the back, so there was no advantage gained.

Out came Adams again to win heat nine, but two races later, Wolves reached the 45 points they needed to see them into the semi-final.

For the second time in less than a month, Cheetahs went through a meeting without a single heat advantage and they will need to act quickly if they are to salvage anything from the season.

The task gets no easier when they travel south to Eastbourne on Saturday night.

Wolverhampton: M Karlsson 15, D Howe 6+2, J Jensen 6+2, P Hurry 11, P Karlsson 11+1, D Nermark 8+2, C Neath 4+2.

Oxford: B Andersen 2, S Johnston 0, L Dryml 5+1, A Dryml 5, L Adams 13, M Lemon 4+1, A Appleton 0.