Stars defeat defending champions

King’s Lynn gave another demonstration of their potential with an impressive 51-39 win over defending champions Sheffield at the Adrian Flux Arena.The PSH Environmental Stars returned to winning ways with a superb all-round team performance against what had previously been their bogey side, with Lynn now defeating the Tigers on the last two occasions they have met in Norfolk.The difference was in being able to track a six-man unit with guests who were able to largely replicate the scoring of missing riders.Richard Lawson topped the scorechart on 12 points and Luke Becker chipped in with 7+2 – and the margin could have been by a greater number of points but for two moments of misfortune for Jan Kvech, who still scored paid-12.The result keeps Lynn in with an outside chance of a play-off place, as they currently sit nine points behind fourth-placed Oxford, but with five matches in hand – and matches against Leicester will also be crucial.Stars manager Rob Lyon said: “It was nice to get a win tonight. We were able to get some good boys in, and both did a really good job for us.“It shows that when we’ve got a full team, or nearly a full team, we’re a match for anyone around here, and that’s the frustrating part. “They rode well as a team and we didn’t have any major weak links, we were solid all the way through. It’s a great result, and we push on to the next one.” Lawson set the tone with a win in Heat 1 ensuring that Sheffield No.1 Jack Holder would not have one of his unbeaten nights at the AFA, and there was yet another Heat 2 5-1 from Patryk Wojdylo and Anders Rowe to put the Stars four points up.The gap increased to six when Lawson headed Chris Holder in Heat 4 with Rowe third, before Kvech and Niels-Kristian Iversen banged in a 5-1 over Jack Holder in the next to put Lynn ten points to the good.Kvech suffered cruel luck in Heat 6 with a late puncture costing him the win in Heat 6, and Wojdylo was on the receiving end of a tough first bend in the next but still held on to third place ahead of former Stars captain Josh Pickering. And there was a bonus in Heat 8 when Dan Gilkes fell whilst second for the visitors, turning a 3-3 into a Stars 4-2 and putting the home side 30-18 up.Tigers guest Ryan Douglas took a tactical substitute ride in Heat 9, where an unusual incident saw Kvech disqualified after Douglas came to grief, before the Sheffield riders took advantage of their second chance with a 5-1 over Iversen. But Iversen hit straight back to partner Becker to maximum points over Pickering and Douglas in the next to rebuild the 12-point lead.That gave the Stars enough to defend, and there was plenty of racing spirit in the side with Lawson preventing a Sheffield 5-1 with a late pass on Kyle Howarth in Heat 11, whilst Kvech worked his way to the front in Heat 12 getting the better of Jason Edwards. The Holder brothers picked up what turned out to be a consolation 5-1 in Heat 13 but again the Stars’ response was immediate through Wojdylo and Iversen in Heat 14.Both Lawson and Kvech got the better of Jack Holder in a shared Heat 15 with the race won by an impressive Chris Holder, who ensured the Tigers were not seriously threatened for the aggregate point.Lynn are next in action at Ipswich on Thursday, before another big week at the Adrian Flux Arena kicks off next Monday (August 5) against Leicester.King’s Lynn 51: Richard Lawson 12, Jan Kvech 11+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 9+3, Luke Becker 7+2, Patryk Wojdylo 7+1, Anders Rowe 5+1, Benjamin Basso r/r. Sheffield 39: Chris Holder 13+1, Ryan Douglas 9, Jack Holder 6+2, Kyle Howarth 6, Josh Pickering 2, Jason Edwards 2, Dan Gilkes 1.Sheffield win the aggregate point