LEICESTER Lion Cubs put in a strong performance to overcome Edinburgh 55-35 in the WSRA National Development League on Sunday.
Stand-in skipper Ben Trigger scored a paid maximum for the Lion Cubs and youngster Cooper Rushen was only denied his own full house in Heat 15.
With Max Perry also winning three races and Ryan Ingram keeping up his impressive progress at reserve, notching paid-13, along with some important points from Eli Meadows it was enough for the home side to take a comfortable victory.
It was tight in the early stages with the Lion Cubs opening up an initial six-point lead thanks to three 4-2s headed by Rushen, Ingram and Trigger.
But the Monarchs Academy’s first win in Heat 5 from Dayle Wood, after a great scrap with Perry, saw them claw two points back as Mark Parker collected third place.
The teams traded 4-2s again across Heats 6 and 7 with Rushen getting the better of Connor Coles in the former race, and a shared Heat 9 meant the gap was still just four points.
However, the Lion Cubs then took charge with back-to-back 5-1s, first when Edinburgh’s Sam McGurk crashed out of Heat 10, and Rushen and Ingram combined over Coles in the re-run.
Ingram did it again in Heat 11, this time behind Trigger as he took the scalp of the visitors’ No.1 Wood with another smart ride.
Edinburgh’s own lively reserve Jordy Loftus rode well to beat Perry in Heat 12 but McGurk fell again so the race was shared.
And the Lion Cubs then wrapped up proceedings in style with two more 5-1s, first from Rushen and Trigger over Wood and Coles in Heat 13 – and then through Perry and Ingram in the next.
Leicester had two riders chasing five-ride maximums in Heat 15 but only one would be secured, that being Trigger who raced to an unchallenged win, whilst Rushen was for once frustrated as his efforts to pass Wood for second eventually saw him miss out to Loftus as he ran a rare last place.
Lion Cubs manager Jen Crossland said: “I didn’t expect that scoreline, I thought it would be a lot closer, but it went really well for us overall.
“Ben scored a great maximum and I think Cooper would have had one as well if it had been earlier in the meeting, but he can also learn a lot from that race.
“There was also a superb race between Max Perry and Dayle Wood, and again although Max came second there he learnt so much from it.
“Ryan was absolutely awesome, both he and Eli rode really well at reserve, and they both came up to the mark we needed so we’re really happy with the performance.”
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE
LEICESTER 55: Ben Trigger 14+1, Max Perry 13, Cooper Rushen 12, Ryan Ingram 10+3, Eli Meadows 5+1, Luke Harris 1, Sonny Springer r/r.
EDINBURGH 35: Jordy Loftus 14+2, Dayle Wood 9, Connor Coles 6+1, Sam McGurk 3+1, Mark Parker 2, Lee Harrison 1, Matt Marson r/r.
