Chargers Complete Quick Fire Double Over Academy

Stellar Monarchs Academy suffered another defeat on the road going down 51-36 to the Oxford Chargers on Sunday again a lack of heat winners being the main cause for concern.

A rider in Blue and Gold only took the checkered flag on three occasions and that is never going to lead to challenging for any encounter as team boss Scott Wilson said after, "It was another tough afternoon for us but we dug in and fought hard which was what I asked for before the match.

"We kept ourselves in touching distance but unfortunately things unravelled a bit in heats 13 and 14 which makes the scoreline look worse than I think we deserved today.

"Connor was struggling for speed all day, but he flew from the start, twice, in heat 15 and looked good. Hopefully that's a launch point for him now to start winning races regularly.

"That was our problem today - just not enough race winners. It's something we need to change."

The Academy made a dream if fortunate start as home number one Luke Killeen would come off while leading heat one meaning a 5-1 to start for Wilson's men but the home side led brilliantly again by Killeen, Jody Scott and Jason Garrad soon set about overturning that.

The home men had the lead by the end of heat four as Ashton Vale who also helped himself to a big score joined Scott up front for a maximum to make it 13-11 to the hosts and the lead would only be extended from there.

In a long-drawn-out affair with a multitude of fallers and stoppages it would take till heat 12 for the Academy to taste victory again as Dayle Wood made the gate to head Jacob Clouting with teammate Kyran Lyden at the back no inroads could be made on what was by this point an eight-point lead.

This would be extended even further in the next two heats as Killeen rode the ride of the day to join Scott up front in heat 13 before a calamitous penultimate heat saw first Lyden, then Senna Summers and finally Wood all came down meaning a home 3-0 that allowed Garrad to complete his maximum.

Jody Scott would not join Garrad as home maximum men as Academy number one Connor Coles would make a fantastic start to take the victory in the last heat this only serving as scant consolation though.

To take nothing away from a fantastic weekend's work by Oxford but a little bit of reflection may be needed by the Academy men with a bit of a break prior to their next fixture at the end of next month.

Oxford Chargers 51: Killeen 10+1, Hutt 1, Clouting 4, Garrad 12, Scott 13+1, Summers 2, Vale 9+2

Stellar Monarchs Academy 36: Coles 10, Watson 6+3, Wood 6+1, Perry 8, Parker 1+1, Lyden 5+1

Academy Look To Halt Oxford's Charge

Stellar Monarchs Academy will be hoping it will be third time's the charm as they look for their first win of the season at Oxford on Sunday afternoon.

Scott Wilson's men showed spirit to come back from eight down on Friday night but sadly it was all for naught as the Chargers took the spoils by a singular point so the Academy will literally be looking to go one better today.

With a ten-match season every encounter is crucial and if any hopes of a title are to be retained then points are needed.

This will be no easy task as a trip to the reigning champions looms, but the hope must be that the top end of the Academy team come to the party and give a basis for a win.

Only 2 heat wins between Connor Coles, Max Perry and Sam McGurk on Friday night was where the match was lost and while this was a frustration it also gives hope that when the wins start to come and you can only imagine they will for as talented a trio at that at this level that if the back-up remains as has been scoring them this can turn defeats into victories.

However it will need to be done today without the services of McGurk who has a badly swollen wrist after a crash while riding for Workington on Saturday. Rider replacement in operation with all bar Coles eligible to take a ride.

Mason Watson and particularly Dayle Wood can be happy with their contribution in defeat on Friday night Watson only an engine failure away from scoring in all his heats while Wood put in the most controlled performance of his British career gating well and riding intelligently on his way to 13 points so more of the same from this pair would go a long way.

At reserve Kyran Lyden enjoyed his first two heat wins at this level on Friday while Mark Parker's night started with an unfortunate fall that was no fault of his own and he could not get going after that.

Points will not come easy at Cowley though as mentioned already reigning champs Oxford will look to build on that victory.

Luke Killeen is the big name at the top end of the Chargers side, and he will be among the top average riders in the league this season you would imagine.

There is solid back-up throughout the rest of the team and Jody Scott in particular looks one to watch.

Jacob Clouting and Jason Garrad provide the engine room scoring while Ashton Vale is another on the upward trajectory at reserve. The team being rounded out by Senna Summers who similar to Mark Parker is gaining experience everywhere he goes.

Sadly, Alex Spooner still misses out recovering from his shattered collarbone Wayne Hutt stepping in for this one.

So, a big test waits for the Academy as they look to kickstart their season the action starts at 3pm. The match will be live streamed on https://livestream.oxfordspeedway.club/ with live updates also available on the Monarchs website throughout.

Oxford Chargers : Luke Killeen,. Wayne Hutt, Jacob Clouting, Jason Garrad, Jody Scott, Senna Summers, Ashton Vale

Srellar Monarchs Academy : Connor Coles, Mason Watson, R/R for Sam McGurk, Dayle Wood, Max Perry, Mark Parker, Kyran Lyden