LUKE Killeen hit the ground running as he starred in Oxford Chargers’ 56-34 win at Plymouth Centurions.

The Australian teenager had to wait more than two months to make his debut due to a delay in receiving his British passport.

But he showed no sign of rustiness, winning his first two heats on his way to scoring 13+2 in the National Development League fixture.

Killeen has had a tough start to life in England, but revealed he showed the same assertiveness in securing his passport as he did in Devon.

The 17-year-old said: “There’s a saying that good things come to those who wait and tonight proves it. It’s great to be riding for Oxford at last.

“The last few months have been frustrating. I was given false hope that the passport might be coming through.

“In the end, my dad and I went out on a limb and decided the only way we could sort it out was to drive to the main passport office in Liverpool. We did that last Thursday.

“We explained how long we’d been waiting, that we’d been advised that we might be able to pick it up soon, and the woman came back around 45 minutes and said within another 45 minutes I would have my passport and I did. That was such a relief.

“The Plymouth track held no fears for me. While it may be the smallest in the country, I grew up riding on the old Pinjar Park track in Perth in Australia which was only 142-metres long and even smaller.

“I thought I might do alright around here and that proved to be the case.”

Killeen won heat two and never looked back, with Chargers securing 5-1s in his first five rides.

It saw the youngster nominated for the final race, but he fell at the final bend while placed third.

Arran Butcher, also at reserve for Chargers, was another to enjoy a memorable night as he notched 11+3 to claim a career-best score at this level.

His win over Ben Trigger in heat 12 secured the points with three races remaining as the visitors went third in the table.

There were other high scores as Chargers recorded the biggest victory of their maiden season.

Captain Jordan Jenkins grabbed 12 points while Sam Hagon, Nathan Ablitt and Jacob Clouting all contributed to the total.

Chargers are next in action on Saturday, July 9 when they visit second-placed Leicester Lion Cubs.

SCORERS

PLYMOUTH 34: Alfie Bowtell 15, Ben Trigger 8, Richard Andrews 5, Rhys Naylor 4+1, Connor King 2, Ben Phillips 0, Eli Meadows 0.

OXFORD 56: Luke Killeen 13+2, Jordan Jenkins 12, Arran Butcher 11+3, Sam Hagon 9+1, Nathan Ablitt 7+1, Jacob Clouting 4+2, Ben Hopwood R/R.

NDL points: Plymouth 0, Oxford 4.