Heat by Heat Results - April 1972

The first action of 1972 at the Shay saw the Dukes slip to a third straight defeat, as Sheffield overcame an early deficit to win by 10 points, courtesy of a maximum from young reserve Reg Wilson.  Worryingly for the Dukes, only Eric Boocock and Mike Hiftle, with a gutsy 8 points, seemed competitive, and several riders were clearly struggling with new frames, supplied by Boocock, with Younghusband and Jay particularly affected.  Greg Kentwell's early season mechanical problems continued, and Chris Bailey ominously failed to score, before being replaced in his last outing.

The second fixture at the Shay over the Easter weekend saw Halifax slip to yet another defeat, this time to the league champions.  The Dukes gave a debut to young Australian John Titman, and he showed promise with his 3 points, beating an opponent in 3 races, with a tumble in his other ride.  Kentwell and Younghusband finally got some points under their belts, but Jay and Rosenkilde were still off the pace, and the Dukes had no answer to the scoring power of Mauger, Collins and Broadbelt.

A fifth straight defeat to start the season as Halifax crashed to a 12 point loss at Glasgow.  The Dukes had no answer to the Tigers' firepower of the unbeaten Monk, Jimmy McMillan and Bobby Beaton, and with ex-Duke O'Neal taking points from his former team mates in three outings, Halifax were well beaten.  Eric Boocock carried the fight, but was powerless to stop a 5-1 in heat 5, whilst Rosenkilde showed good value with his paid eight points from reserve.  Titman understandably struggled on his first trip away from the Shay.  Beaton subsequently defeated Boocock in the Golden Helmet.

The Dukes finally registered a victory in 1972, but only just.  An off-night for Eric Boocock, and solid scoring from Newport's Plant, Genz and Clarke had the Halifax fans on edge, as the fixture went to a final heat decider.  Dave Younghusband was the ero of the night - his 4-2 with Alan Jay in heat 9 edged the Dukes into the lead again, after the Wasps had twice wiped out a 4 point deficit.  And Younghusband secured the victory - and his own maximum - by leaving Plant and Street in his wake in the last race. There were again solid contributions from Rosenkilde and Jay.

Halifax finally started to look like the team everyone was hoping for with a comfortable win against the new-look Oxford Rebels.  Again, it was Dave Younghusband who stole the headlines, scoring a second maximum in a row, and then defeating Garry Middleton to take the Golden Helmet in the second half.  Eric Boocock reared at the start in heat 12 to spoil his own maximum, otherwise the victory margin would surely have been bigger.  Only Hiftle struggled to make an impression, with a characteristic fall blunting his scoring.

If the addition of Roper was supposed to strengthen the Dukes, there was little evidence of this as Halifax were swept aside in East London.  Eric Boocock was magnificent, scoring half of the Dukes' total, but with Mike Hiftle adding a further 7, the remaining Dukes could only add another 7 points between them.  Younghusband had a night to forget, whilst Roper was clearly rusty, having not raced since October.  Titman had a nasty tumble and both Jay and Kentwell managed to break the tapes, as little went right for the visitors.  Younghusband's reign as Golden Helmet champion was subsequently ended by the unbeaten Jansson after the end of the match.

Halifax hit the 47 point mark for the second home fixture in a row with an eventual win over Glasgow.  Eric Boocock scored a maximum, but the talk of the terraces was the first appearance back at the Shay as a Duke for Roper, as he scorched to his own full-house.  With Younghusband and Kentwell also in scoring form, the result was never really in doubt, although Monk, Hunter and Beaton kept the Tigers in the hunt, with Jimmy McMillan having a rare off-night.

Halifax went down by 4 points in a hard-fought encounter at Cradley.  Despite never having been in the lead, the Dukes kept themselves in the tie, largely thanks to Boocock's 14 points, but both Roper and Younghusband's 7 point scores came without a heat win, with Younghusband tentative after his crash there the previous season.  With TItman, Jay and Hiftle all struggling for points, it was always a big ask to come back with the win, but it went down to the wire, with Halifax needing a 5-1 to take a draw.  The defeat left the Dukes languishing in 12th place in the early season league table.

Halifax saw out the month of April by hosting a 4-Team Tournament, after the success of the meeting the previous season.  Newcomers Ipswich were a late withdrawal, and Newport took their place.  Sheffield took the honours, courtesy of maximums from Wilson and Eide, with Haley only dropping a single point.  The fixture was always a 2-team affair, with Halifax pushing the Tigers all the way, with Hackney and Newport never in contention, but a lack of heat winners cost the Dukes the win, despite consistent scoring.