OXFORD Chargers were knocked out of the National League play-offs after defeat at Leicester Lion Cubs.

The 52-38 defeat on Saturday night followed Chargers’ narrow 46-44 first leg win at Oxford Stadium on Wednesday.

Although without the injured quartet of Arran Butcher, Sam Hagon, Luke Killeen and Nathan Stoneman, Chargers were only four points down on aggregate with three races to go at Beaumont Park.

Hagon suffered two broken fingers and sustained ligament damage in his hand from a crash during the first leg, with Adam Roynon booked in as a guest rider.

The 15-year-old Ashton Boughen, who only first rode speedway four months ago, again excelled with nine points, including two race wins.

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Henry Atkins (11+1) top-scored for Chargers, and was the only Oxford rider to finish ahead of either Thompson twin, Dan or Joe, when he beat the latter in Heat 4.

Jordan Jenkins looked set to take a victory in the first heat but Dan Thompson swept around him in the final lap, with Jenkins and Atkins taking a 3-3.

Lion Cubs took a 5-1 maximum in Heat 2, and were awarded a 4-2 in Heat 3 after Jody Scott fell.

Atkins won a shared Heat 4, with Chargers taking their first heat advantage of the night with a 4-2 in Heat 5.

Dan Thompson won Heat 6 in a time just 0.19 outside the National League record at Beaumont Park, with Lion Cubs taking 4-2s from both Heats 6 and 7, to move six points ahead on aggregate.

Chargers hit back with a 4-2 of their own in Heat 8 as Jenkins won the race.

Atkins won a shared Heat 9, while Lion Cubs edged a 4-2 in Heat 10, which saw Scott forced out by an early engine failure.

At the interval stage, Lion Cubs led 34-26 on the night and 78-72 on aggregate.

Joe Thompson won a shared race in Heat 11, while Chargers closed back to four points on aggregate with a 4-2 in Heat 12.

The Thompson twins pulled away to a 5-1 in Heat 13, with Chargers needing a 5-1 from Heat 14 to take the tie to a final heat decider.

Boughen took the lead on the opening bends, but Scott was relegated to the back, meaning a 3-3 saw Lion Cubs progress to the final, before finishing the meeting with a 5-1.

Chargers team manager Peter Schroeck said: “It wasn’t our day, although I’m proud of the effort put in the boys who got stuck in and did everything they could.

“Disappointed is not the right word, because I’m not.

“One team always has to lose out and that was us.

“But we’ve reached the play-offs, which makes us one of the top four teams in the country, which is a superb effort for our first year and there’s so much to be happy about with Chargers.”