Pirates' wait goes on to land Pairs title

Owner Matt Ford is hopeful Poole Pirates will bounce back after missing out on the SGB Championship Pairs prize.

Having qualified second for the semi-final stages of the competition at Wimborne Road, Poole duo Richard Lawson and Zach Cook were edged out by Berwick.

With the Pirates holding an advantage in the 4-3-2-0 points scoring system from the gate, experienced Bandits duo Peter Kildemand and Nick Morris teamed up to finish ahead of Lawson and wipe out Cook’s heat victory.

Oxford were the eventual winners of the prize, with former Poole duo Anders Rowe and Sam Masters taking the spoils in the final.

Reflecting on the evening, which saw Poole’s 15-year-wait for a pairs title continue, Ford said: “Let's hope we can put things right with the next couple.

“It is disappointing of course because you want to win everything you are in, but we've got two big things coming up with the play-offs and the BSN final."

Poole will host Edinburgh Monarchs in the Championship play-off semi-final first leg on Wednesday, September 16 (7.30pm) before heading to Scotland two nights later.