Both teams took full advantage of being at home winning the first leg of the quarterfinals in the Swedish Elitserien last night.
Results:
Kumla Indianerna 50:40 Västervik
Eskilstuna Smederna 55:35 Lejonen
Top scorers:
Tai Woffinden, Kumla (11)
Jack Holder, Västervik (12+2)
Michael Jepsen Jensen, Eskilstuna (11+2)
Robert Lambert, Lejonen (10)
Longer match reviews:
Smederna v Lejonen
Lejonen never got closer than being two points behind home team, and that was in heat 3, as Smederna showed the kind of postseason form that won them the title in 2018.
The visitors reduced the deficit to just 10 points after a 1:5 victory when their best rider on the night, Robert Lambert, took the heat victory.
But any notion of a comeback was clinically put down by a Eskilstuna as they won the following three heats 5:1, 5:1 and 4:2.
Smederna will travel to Gislaved on Thursday in the driving seat knowing that anything other than a loss by 21 points or more will see them through to the semifinals.
Indianerna v Västervik
Three victories in a row in Heats 6-8 gave Kumla a commanding lead which ultimately paved the way for this home victory.
Västervik without their top rider, the injured Nicki Pedersen, however did not give up and mounted a nail biting comeback. And without the veteran, it was left to Australian Jack Holder, 20 years younger than the Dane to take up the fight.
Västervik took the next three heats in a row themselves to make it 35:31 with the final four heats to go.
But in the very next heat age and experience paid off as Kumla’s world class Brit, Tai Woffinden, and 44 year old Polish rider Piotr Protasiewicz put the match out of Västervik’s reach as they registered a 5:1 for the home team.
It finished 50:40 to the Indians so that for Västervik a home victory by 11 or more points is needed when they meet on the east coast on Thursday.
