Gladiators go down fighting as attention now turns to 2023

IT was always going to take something special and rank among sport's greatest comebacks. But in the end, Poole Pirates were just too good for the Plymouth Gladiators in the Championship play-offs.

- STUART JAMES

PLYMOUTH GLADIATORS.........40

POOLE PIRATES..........................50 (Poole win 110-70 on aggregate)

With a 30-point deficit from the first leg, the Gladiators needed a miracle to overturn the tie, upset the form book, and be the ones to progress to the next round. Their cause was not helped by having all of their riders either injured or suspended and a further hammer blow hit them before the tapes had even honed up when Hans Andersen was forced to miss the meeting.

Andersen, the captain, and one remaining rider from the team that was nominated at the start of the summer was a late withdrawal after aggravating a shoulder injury, so Adam Roynan was drafted in at his replacement. He joined fellow guests Scott Nicholls and Adam Summers in what was another severely depleted Gladiators side.

The defeat ends any hopes of silverware this season, but there is still one more race night at the Coliseum with the rearranged league clash with Glasgow taking place next Tuesday. That must be played out, otherwise, the club would be fit with a fine for failing to fulfill their fixtures, and with it comes the opportunity of finishing fourth in the table.