WOLVERHAMPTON narrowly missed out on a semi-final place in the opening round of the Premiership Pairs at Peterborough on Monday.
The Parrys International Wolves had to settle for four tournament points after being edged out by King’s Lynn due to the fact they conceded a 5-4 to the Stars in the qualifying heats.
After swooping around Sheffield’s Grand Prix racer Jack Holder to win their first heat, skipper Sam Masters then produced a fine opening lap to block the run of Lynn’s Josh Pickering before charging around Richard Lawson off bend four.
But with Ryan Douglas finishing last, it was the Stars who gained an advantage which would prove pivotal in the final reckoning.
Back-to-back 5-4s put the Wolves in a strong position, but when Douglas and Rising Star Joe Thompson lost out to Ipswich in their last qualifier, the Monmore men were relegated to fourth in the overall standings.
Said Masters: “I thought we were good enough to make the Final and even win it tonight.
“Dougy had a bike problem in the one which cost us in the end.
“But there’s still five rounds to go, it’s still early days, it’s not over yet and I’m confident, I still think we can do it.”
The next round of the Pairs takes place at Ipswich on Thursday, June 16 (7.30) - the same venue where the Parrys International Wolves head for Premiership action this Thursday (May 26, 7.30) before hosting Sheffield at Monmore Green on Monday (May 30, 7.30).
PREMIERSHIP PAIRS Round 1, Peterborough QUALIFYING SCORES: SHEFFIELD 26: Jack Holder 18, Adam Ellis 6, Connor Mountain (RS) 2. BELLE VUE 24: Max Fricke 17, Brady Kurtz 7, Tom Brennan (RS) 0. KING’S LYNN 23: Josh Pickering 15, Richard Lawson 8, Jack Thomas (RS) 0. WOLVERHAMPTON 23: Sam Masters 12, Ryan Douglas 11, Joe Thompson (RS) 0. IPSWICH 21: Jason Doyle 17, Danny King 2, Danyon Hume (RS) 2. PETERBOROUGH 18: Chris Harris 11, Michael Palm Toft 7, Max Clegg (RS) 0.
It sounds simple, but sometimes we can all forget to step back and look after our own wellbeing.
