Heat by Heat Results - May 1966

After only a month of the season, the Dukes were already bruised and battered.  Dave Younghusband was ruled out with his ankle injury, whilst Tommy Roper sat out with concussion.  Hackney guest Colin Pratt filled in for Younghusband, whilst Greg Kentwell was back in at reserve.  Halifax remarkably overcame a solid Coventry side - a tense first half of the meeting saw neither side make any headway, but the match came to life in heat 8 when Kingston and Kentwell grabbed a 5-1 to put the Dukes 6 up.  The end, as far as the Bees were concerned, was in heat 10, when guest Guasco fell in Les Owen's path - the latter hitting the fence and suffering a dislocated hip.

The Dukes slipped to a disappointing defeat at Wimbledon, in a match dominated by the Dons' heat-leader trio of Nygren, Hedge and Luckhurst - all of whom were unbeaten.  Only Bert Kingston could register a win for Halifax, and the 4-2 he registered with Kentwell in that race was the Dukes' only success all evening.  Guest Roy Trigg could only manage 3 second places, but Boocock and Boothroyd faired little better, with Boocock hitting the deck in heat 3, still managing to re-mount and claim 3rd place, as the Dukes were comfortably beaten.  Little did they know, but 5 months later they would get their chance for revenge...

After the early season postponement, the King's Lynn Stars finally made an appearance at the Shay in mid-May - and were swept aside by a solid Dukes performance, which suggested they may have turned the corner.  Boosted by the returning Younghusband and Roper, Halifax took control from the off, with only Younghusband's mechanical problems in his first 2 outings preventing Halifax from a complete rout of the visitors.  Boocock and Boothroyd were unbeaten, whilst Gavros, Kingston and Roper all had their best scores of the season to date.  Apart from Younghusband's misfortunes, no other Duke registered a last place all night!

Another away defeat, and another last-heat decider that went against the Dukes.  This time, it was the trip to Wimborne Road, Poole to leave Halifax frustrated.  The Dukes trailed throughout, despite the efforts of skipper Eric Boothroyd, but remarkably pulled back level after heat wins in heats 8, 10 and 11.  A shared heat 12 left the meeting poised, but Bill Andrew and Geoff Mudge secured the 4-2 to secure the points for the Pirates, with Younghusband stranded at the back.  It was a tough night for Dennis Gavros, who was down on power, before taking a tumble in heat 6.

The Dukes returned home after the loss at Poole and returned to winning ways with a hard-fought win over the Hawks.  Recent Dukes guest Colin Pratt kept Hackney in the hunt with a gutsy 13 points, dropping his only points to Boocock in heat 9 and skipper Eric Boothroyd in the opening race.  Boothroyd was in imperious form, racking up 4 comfortable wins for his maximum.  Boocock and Younghusband provided valuable back-up, whilst Jameson and Kingston secured an important win in heat 8, despite a mid-race misunderstanding which resulted in a heated exchange in the pits afterwards!  Despite the win, Halifax languished in 12th place in the league, although they had fixtures in hand on most teams above them...

Halifax saw out the month of May with a demolition of a poor Edinburgh Monarchs.  Dave Younghusband was ill earlier in the day, but the Dukes didn't miss him - Greg Kentwell stepping into the side again.  Both Boocock and Boothroyd were in a different class to the rest, and with Jameson and Kingston also hitting high scores, the result was never in doubt.  Only Doug Templeton provided much resistance for the visitors, with Dukes promoter Reg Fearman accusing George Hunter of not trying hard enough!