EXCITING, dominant and composed, Darcy Ward was a cut above.
When he is on this sort of form, the Australian takes some beating.
Coventry simply had nobody capable of living with the Pirates star.
The Bees were unable to get close to Ward and found themselves well and truly stung.
This Elite League opener for the powerhouse clubs of British speedway did not always run smoothly for Poole – until Ward stepped up to the plate.
The brilliance of the Wimborne Road ace took the defending champions from the brink of certain defeat to a stunning away victory.
After all the pre-season posturing, predictions and preparations, the time for talk was over as the tapes flew up.
Actions speak louder than words and it was the performance of Ward which roared above the noise of revved engines as he stormed to a faultless 18-point maximum to the delight of a coach-load of Poole Coastal Aluminium fans among a bumper Brandon crowd.
It did not take a genius to spot the turning point in this clash of the fierce foes.
With Chris Holder enduring an awful start and the Bees reserves heavily out-scoring their visiting counterparts, Poole found themselves in big trouble following nine heats, despite the sterling efforts of Ward, Adrian Miedzinski and Sam Masters.
The defending champions trailed by 10 points at that stage and it appeared a losing bonus point was the best they could hope for.
However, Ward clearly had other ideas.
Having done his best to keep Pirates in the contest, Ward then produced a stupendous tactical ride to transform the meeting.
Going off gate three – which had yielded a mere six points in nine races – the Aussie blasted from last to first to register a magical heat-10 six-pointer. But it was the way he guided cool-headed team-mate Dennis Andersson home, ahead of struggling Coventry number one Chris Harris, for the full 8-1 which drew admiring glances from even the most partisan of home supporters.
That effort brought Pirates to within three points of the hosts but the tide had been turned and the men from Dorset were quick to capitalise.
It got even better for Poole when they completed a rapid 11-point swing as Holder found his form to lead fast-starting Masters to another maxi-|mum, with a follow-up Ward win putting Pirates 38-37 to the good.
With Bees in need of something special, Harris’s nightmare continued as mechanical failure off the start-line allowed Holder and Miedzinski to sandwich Scott Nicholls to extend the lead.
Edward Kennett and Henning Bager, the leading lights for Bees alongside seven-point Aaron Summers, combined to trim the deficit to a single point to set up a gripping final-race showdown.
But Ward was the star of this show – and he was not about to be upstaged.
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