WOLVERHAMPTON picked up another useful away point from a narrow 46-44 defeat at Leicester on Monday.
Parrys International Wolves, inspired by a brilliant display from Sam Masters with strong support from skipper Rory Schlein, came close to completing a sensational comeback to win from ten points down.
But it was a former Wolves rider who thwarted them at the end as Ricky Wells completed an impressive debut for the Lions by winning Heat 15 ahead of Schlein, whilst Hans Andersen relegated the previously unbeaten Masters to the back.
The home side had the best of the first half of the meeting with Wells reeling off three wins and the Lions collected three 5-1s in total – including two in the first two races, which put Wolves on the back foot.
But wins for Masters and Schlein in their first outings settled matters down, although an early tactical substitute success for Masters in Heat 5 came in a shared race as Jacob Thorssell was pegged at the back.
Reserve Nathan Greaves, who worked hard for a series of third places, got the better of opposite number James Sarjeant in Heat 7 as Wolves narrowed the deficit to four points, but the next two races went against them.
Wells and Todd Kurtz paired up over Greaves and Ashley Morris in Heat 8, whilst the ninth could also have been a 5-1 but for Schlein’s smart switch inside Krystian Pieszczek on the last lap.
Leicester led 32-22 but Wolves then took over the winning momentum with Masters dominating Heat 10 for his fourth victory, whilst Thorssell upstaged Andersen in Heat 11 and Greaves again took third from Sarjeant after both riders had fallen – the Wolves man proving the value of re-mounting.
Cameron Heeps then pulled off a big outside burst to defeat Charles Wright for second spot in Heat 12, and with Masters up-front Wolves were right back in play.
Two 4-2s followed to level the scores, with Schlein riding a storming Heat 13 to round Andersen at the end of the first lap with Thorssell snatching third from Kenneth Bjerre; whilst Masters made it six out of six in Heat 14 and also forced Pieszczek wide early on to allow Heeps to take third.
With the scores level and Masters and Schlein racing in Heat 15, Wolves had high hopes of snatching a dramatic victory – but it was Wells who hit the front with Masters squeezed out, and the visitors had to be content with one league point.
Boss Peter Adams said: “We came here looking for a point and we got that. It could have been more had it not been for our poor start, but the Leicester boys produced a good ride in the last race.
“We’re obviously disappointed that we didn’t win, but we’re also more than happy with a point.
“We won quite a few races towards the end of the meeting, we asked the boys for a bit more fight and effort, and after the interval they certainly delivered that.
“It was a good team performance. They dug deep, one or two of the team were off the pace, but the others grouped together and we got a good result out of it.”
Wolves face Somerset at home next Monday before visiting Poole on July 11 – a date Kyle Howarth has earmarked for his comeback from injury.
LEICESTER 46: Ricky Wells 13+1, Hans Andersen 9, Charles Wright 7+1, Todd Kurtz 6+2, Kenneth Bjerre 4+1, Krystian Pieszczek 4+1, James Sarjeant 3. WOLVERHAMPTON 44: Sam Masters 18, Rory Schlein 11+1, Cameron Heeps 6+1, Jacob Thorssell 5, Nathan Greaves 4, Ashley Morris 0, Kyle Howarth r/r.
