Heat by Heat Results - April 1970

The Dukes travelled to Glasgow for a further challenge match, and were eventually beaten having put up a better fight than against Belle Vue a few days earlier.  Greg Kentwell made his return from injury, and formed a useful partnership with Boocock, with their 5-1 in heat 8 dragging Halifax back into contention.  With Younghusband still absent, Sheffield's Larsson was used as a guest, but failed to win a race.  Alan Jay and newcomer Colin McKee found the going tough, but Les Sharpe again showed some threat from the reserve berth.

Halifax put their early season issues behind them with a thumping win over Coventry.  Apart from the usual threat from Nigel Boocock, the Bees were largely second best all night, as Eric, Sharpe (both unbeaten), Kentwell and Lee all had nights to remember.  Dave Younghusband returned, but was still struggling, being excluded first time out, and then having mechanical problems in heat 9.  Colin McKee still appeared to be trying to get to grips with the Halifax track and came to grief in heat 10.

Halifax secured a rare away victory on Easter Monday with a 3 point defeat of Cradley.  But it was not all good news.  McKee fell and re-mounted in heat 1, but took no further part with a hand injury.  And both Kentwell and Younghusband had to lay their bikes down to avoid the crashed Squibb in heat 10 - with Kentwell wrecking his only machine.  The victory was based on the scoring of Sharpe and Boocock, with Jay also weighing in with 2 wins from his first 2 outings.

Three wins out of three to start the league campaign, with Wolverhampton, now led by Ole Olsen, swept aside at the Shay.  Boocock and Sharpe formed a spectacular opening partnership, both going through the card, although they were aided by Olsen's mechanical issues in heat one.  Younghusband finally looked like his old self, and there were good contributions from Jay and Kentwell, the latter still not overly confident from his ankle injury in the winter.  The only negative was Lee struggling in the reserve berth, as he failed to score.

The Polish champions Stal Gorzow were the Dukes' next opponents as part of their UK tour, and the Halifax fans were served up some spectacular racing from the magnificent Jancarz and Wyglenda.  There was little sign of the drama ahead as Boocock and Sharpe rocketed to an opening race 5-1, but the Poles edged into a mid-meeting lead and with Halifax lacking heat winners, the visitors were able to hold on.  Several races went down to the line, with numerous overtakes by the Poles on the run to the flag.

Halifax went down to their first league defeat of the season in dramatic fashion, as Leicester snatched the win in the final race.  Eric Boocock was chasing Boulger when his bike packed in, gifting the win to the Lions.  The Dukes were particularly aggrieved at the starting procedures adopted by the referee which resulted in controversial exclusions for Kentwell and Jay, and this certainly didn't help their cause.  Once again, Sharpe looked excellent value, and Younghusband looked threatening, only being beaten by Lions' number one Wilson.

Still upset by the events at Leicester earlier in the week, the Dukes took out their frustrations on Barry Briggs and the Swindon Robins.  A shuffle in the riding order moved Alan Jay to number 2, and he excelled with 11 points including a win from the back over Briggs in heat 1, which set the scene. The fixture was effectively over after heat 7, with only Briggs and Kilby offering any resistance.  Les Sharpe received a standing ovation for his defeat of Briggs in heat 11, but then reared at the start of the final race and shed his chain, spoiling his maximum hopes.  The victory left the Dukes 5th in the early league table but with matches in hand...