Kings Lynn 55, Oxford Cheetahs 35

OXFORD Cheetahs had a nightmare at Saddlebow Road last night and were comprehensively beaten by the unfancied King's Lynn Knights in a disastrous visit to Norfolk, writes LEON HILL.

Cheetahs were full of confidence for this Elite League clash, but it all started to go wrong in the very first heat, and they never recovered.

Heat one was brought to an early finish and declared an unsatisfactory start, with the Cheetahs on for a share of the points.

In the re-run, the Knights gated ahead and when Brian Andersen went to dive up the inside of Tom Madsen, he clipped the back of Madsen's machine and both riders hit the deck.

Andersen lay unconcious for several minutes on the track, before being taken to hospital by ambulance, having regained conciousness.

Reports later confirmed that there was nothing broken, but he was kept in overnight as a precaution and was due to be reassessed this morning. That set the tone for the meeting, and with the rest of the team obviously down, the Knights took maximum advantage and raced into a 12-point lead after just three heats.

Oxford really had no answer and after seven heats the scoreline was 28-14 in the home side's favour.

Leigh Adams won when he came in as a tactical substitute in heat eight, but with Ales Dryml suffering with gremlins at the back, there was no opportunity to narrow the deficit.

In all, there were eight drawn heats but amazingly, Cheetahs failed to secure one heat advantage, and their fate was sealed as early as heat 11, with the Knights 18 points ahead.

Attention now moves to Ipswich tonight, where the Cheetahs face the Witches in Elite Legaue action.

Wolverhampton's David Howe, who impressed at Oxford on Good Friday, has been drafted in as a guest for Andersen. King's Lynn: Pedersen 7+1, Madsen 5+2, McGowan RR, Pietrzyk 12, Ulamek 17, Eriksson 7+4, Kramer 7.

Oxford: Andersen 0, A Dryml 3, L Dryml 5+1, Johnston 4+3, Adams 15, Appleton 0, Lemon 8.

HEAT DETAILS

Heat 1: Madsen, Pedersen, A Dryml, Andersen (f ex) 60.9 (re-run).

Heat 2: Kramer, Eriksson, Lemon, Appleton 61.2.

Heat 3: Pietrzyk, Eriksson, Johnston, L Dryml 61.3.

Heat 4: Ulamek, Adams, Kramer, Lemon 59.0.

Heat 5: Pietrzyk, A Dryml, Johnston, Eriksson 60.6.

Heat 6: Adams, Pedersen, Madsen, Appleton 59.7.

Heat 7: Ulamek, L Dryml, Johnston, Eriksson 61.0.

Heat 8: Adams, Kramer, Eriksson, A Dryml (ef) 61.1.

Heat 9: Ulamek, Adams, Pietrzyk, Appleton 60.1.

Heat 10: Pedersen, L Dryml, Johnston, Madsen 61.8.

Heat 11: Ulamek, Lemon, Eriksson, A Dryml 61.1.

Heat 12: Pietrzyk, Lemon, Kramer, L Dryml 61.7.

Heat 13: Ulamek, Adams, L Dryml, Pedersen 59.3.

Heat 14: Lemon, Pietrzyk, Eriksson, Johnston 60.8.

Heat 1:5 Adams, Ulamek, Eriksson, Lemon 60.1.