Heat by Heat Results - September 1969

Halifax kicked off the final two months of the season with a rare Monday night fixture against Cradley, and saw off the visitors with a comfortable 20 point win.  The victory was not without incident however, as both Gavros and Kentwell were in the wars.  Gavros was brought down by a hard-charging Persson in a frantic heat one, and Kentwell piled into Roy Trigg on the final bend of heat 7, taking no further part.  With Boocock, Younghusband and Jay easing to victories though, the result was never in doubt.

Halifax made the long trip to South Wales minus the injured Greg Kentwell, and were further hampered when Dave Yonghusband broke down en-route and failed to arrive.  The Dukes were forced to cover his outings with reserves, and were always up against it as a result.  Despite his public dislike of the Newport track, Eric Boocock was unbeaten by a Wasp, but apart from a late flurry of points from Gavros, nobody else offered much support.

The Dukes got back to winning ways with an emphatic home defeat of Hackney, a result which lifted Halifax up to 5th in the league.  Both Boocock and Younghusband were unbeaten by an opponent, whilst Alan Jay had easily his best score of the season, only being beaten by Biggs in heat 7.  The Dukes had all-round scoring power, whereas the Hawks were strangely subdued, with Pratt experiencing mechanical problems throughout.  The visitors cause was not helped by becoming stuck in traffic on the way to the stadium, the meeting eventually starting 20 minutes late!

Another Monday night meeting following World Final weekend saw the Dukes comfortably see off Coatbridge, who were largely reliant on 3 riders.  Boocock continued his stunning recent form with another paid maximum, with all the Dukes bar the struggling Jameson in the points.  Halifax continued to use rider replacement for the injured Kentwell, and would have probably scored higher but for Younghusband being excluded for tapes offences in successive races!

Halifax travelled to Leicester in the second leg of the Challenge fixture following the home leg in July, and came away with a rare away draw and the overall victory.  Star of the show was reserve Les Sharpe who racked up 12 points from his first 5 outings, before running out of steam in heat 12.  Boocock made sure of the draw in the final race, but Plant and Boulger blocked Jay to ensure the Dukes could not win on the night as well.  

Poole Pirates were crowned league champions earlier in the week by defeating Wimbledon.  But the race for second place was hotting up, and Halifax served notice with a solid win over a disappointing Exeter side.  It was Alan Jay's turn for the honours, hitting his first full maximum, in addition to the usual full-house from Boocock. Younghusband was again in trouble with the referee in his first race, but was also unbeaten thereafter.

Halifax snatched a draw away at a difficult Newcastle track to keep the pressure on the teams above - but it could have been a win.  Leading by 4 points going into heat 12, Halifax fielded the pair of Jay and the unbeaten Younghusband.  But the latter was unable to get the better of Olsen and guest Airey, and the scores were levelled.  Reserve Terry Lee proved to be the hero, stealing third place from Schofield in the decider to follow Boocock for a 3-3 and seal the draw.

Halifax moved into 4th place in the league, climbing above Leicester, with a 10 point defeat of the Lions.  The visitors had started to become Shay track specialists, but the Dukes managed to quell the threat from Plant and Boulger, leaving Wilson to keep his side in the tie.  Boocock chalked up yet another maximum (his 20th of the season) for the Dukes, with Jay continuing his fine end of season form, and a good return from Sharpe at reserve ensuring the result was never in any doubt.  Halifax welcomed Greg Kentwell back after injury but he faded after a first race win.

The final away action of the 1969 season saw Halifax visit Sheffield in the re-arranged fixture following the earlier rain-off.  And the match proved to be a classic, with the Dukes narrowly missing out on the points.  Halifax led from heat 3 to heat 10, largely due to an all-round team effort, but the Tigers drew level when Bales edged Gavros in heat 11. Sheffield then edged in front to set up a last-heat decider.  With Kentwell struggling, the Dukes opted for Sharpe to partner Boocock in the decider, but although Boocock headed for home, Sharpe could not split the home pairing, and the Tigers sealed the win. Ultimately, it was the Sheffield riders home track knowledge which saw them to victory.