Rob Mear was thrown in at the deep when Lakeside Captain Davey Watt was rushed to hospital but a fall and a chain failure didn't stop the Hatfield rider from scoring 9 points as the Hammers held their own for much of this Elite League play-off semi final – only for the Pirates to overturn the scores with just three heats remaining and take an early first leg lead.

It was a case of “what might have been” for the Hammers, who lost a series of points to falls, mechanical failures or misfortune. As reported earlier in the day, Hammers lost skipper Davey Watt to a kidney illness overnight and had to bring in a guest in Coventry’s Scott Nicholls. Nicholls struggled for points, though, and it was left to Peter Karlsson, Kauko Nieminen and Robert Mear to carry the fight to the high-flying Pirates.

Poole themselves had a slightly off colour Chris Holder, who was beaten in his opening ride by Kim Nilsson and was then on the end of a maximum heat advantage in race number five as Nieminen and Karlsson hit the front from the start. The Hammers’ misfortune began as early as heat two though when Mear lost a chain and this continued in heat four when Nilsson spun off on the second lap.

Nieminen took an alarming spill at the start of heat seven – narrowly missing all of the three other riders – and he was sadly missed in the re-run as the Pirates took a 5-1.

Successive maximums at the turn gave the home side a four point lead but there was disappointment when Piotr Pawlicki re-passed Nicholls in the tenth race. This gave the Pirates the momentum they needed to secure wins in the next two races which they duly took to give them a slender lead going into the last race. As the tapes rose it was Karlsson who hit the front to hand Darcy Ward his only defeat of the night, leaving Poole to head home to Wimborne Road for the second leg next Monday in front at the halfway stage.

Lakeside Hammers = 43

1. Scott Nicholls (G) - 1, 2, 0, 1 = 4
2. Kim Nilsson - 3, F, 0, 2',2 = 7+1
3. Kauko Nieminen - 2, 3, X, 2' 2, 0 = 9+1
4. Peter Karlsson - 1',2',3, 2, R, 3 = 11+2
5. Rider Replacement
6. Justin Sedgmen - 2, 1, 0 = 3
7. Robert Mear - R, 2, 3, 1',F, 3 = 9+1

Poole Pirates = 47

1. Chris Holder - 2, 1, 3, 2' = 8+1
2. Sam Masters - 0, 0, 0 = 0
3. Darcy Ward - 3, 3, 3, 3, 1' = 13+1
4. Piotr Pawlicki - 0, 2',1, 1' = 4+2
5. Krzysztof Kasprzak - 3, 3, 1, 3, 2 = 12
6. Ricky Kling - 3, 1, 1, 0, 1, 2 = 8
7. Linus Eklof - 1, 1, 0 = 2

Heat Results

Heat 01: Nilsson, Holder, Nicholls, Masters (4-2) 59.95
Heat 02: Kling, Sedgmen, Eklof, Mear (Retired) (2-4) (6-6) 59.19
Heat 03: Ward, Nieminen, Karlsson, Pawlicki. (3-3) (9-9) 58.89
Heat 04: Kasprzak, Mear, Eklof, Nilsson (fell). (2-4) (11-13) 59.61
Heat 05: Nieminen, Karlsson, Holder, Masters. (5-1) (16-14) 59.20
Heat 06: Kasprzak, Nicholls, Kling, Nilsson. (2-4) (18-18) 58.62
Heat 07: Ward, Pawlicki, Sedgmen, Nieminen (fell exc) (1-5) (19-23) 60.17
Heat 08: Mear, Nilsson, Kling, Eklof (5-1) (24-24) 59.89
Heat 09: Karlsson, Nieminen, Kasprzak, Kling (5-1) (29-25) 58.80
Heat 10: Ward, Nilsson, Pawlicki, Nicholls (2-4) (31-29) 59.05
Heat 11: Holder, Karlsson, Mear, Masters (3-3) (34-32) 59.34
Heat 12: Ward, Nieminen, Kling, Mear (fell) (2-4) (36-36) 59.31
Heat 13: Kasprzak, Holder, Nicholls, Sedgmen. (1-5) (37-41) 59.74
Heat 14: Mear, Kling, Pawlicki, Karlsson (ret) (3-3) (40-44) 60.44
Heat 15: Karlsson, Kasprzak, Ward, Nieminen (3-3) (43-47) 58.89