Heat by Heat Results - April 1973

The Dukes' first away league action of the season saw them go down by 7 points to the newly named Cradley United,  after a plucky display in the West Midlands.  It is fair to assume that a full-strength Halifax would have secured victory, with Bill Andrew still not in the country, and dropped points from Hiftle and Titman due to engine failures certainly hindered the Dukes.  Boocock and Titman headed the Dukes scoring, whilst Cradley were indebted to Persson and Cribb to see them over the line.  The bad news was a nasty tumble for Les Sharpe in the second half...

Halifax would have expected to defeat Newport comfortably, but ultimately had to come from behind in a tense encounter.  With Sharpe out injured, and still no Bill Andrew in sight, the Dukes were lucky to escape with the win, but stellar efforts from Titman and Boocock saw them claw a 6 point deficit back, with a 5-1 from Titman and Hiftle over Eide in heat 11 proving critical as Halifax moved into the lead for the first time.  Per Hansen's mechanical woes continued, ending up on the track spare bike - only to fall in his next outing.

New signing Bill Andrew made an impressive debut for the Dukes following his delayed arrival, with a solid paid 9 points, including a 5-1 with Monk in heat 9 which finally broke the Rebels' resistance.  Stars of the show were again Boocock and Titman, with the skipper scoring his first full maximum of the season, and Titman looking ever more like heat-leader material.  Hansen was still off the pace, with Eric Boocock taking the Norwegian out for some practice laps after the end of the meeting.

Halifax travelled to Wiltshire for a rare Good Friday night fixture for the Robins, now without the retired Barry Briggs.  The Dukes went down by 6 points, although were never in the tie, the usual away deficiencies landing them 10 points down early on.  John Jackson was absent with flu, and Dennis Gavros answered a late call to fill in, but it was again down to Boocock (unbeaten) and Titman to keep the Dukes in contention.  Two successive 5-1s gave Halifax hope, but Keen and Ashby set up 5-1s of their own to take the points for the hosts.

The Dukes looked to be on course for a big win against local rivals Sheffield, only for the weather to have other ideas.  Rain during the day had left the Shay track wet, but rideable, and both teams had no issues for the first half dozen races.  But the rain returned after heat 6, and the track became steadily worse, with Bob Valentine excluded for getting out of control in heat 8.  The Sheffield pair were tailed off in heat 9, with visibility becoming difficult, and the referee called a halt, although a delay after the referee accidentally stopped heat 9 the first time around, didn't help matters.

For the second time in the month, Halifax came from behind to win a last-heat decider, this time against an Ole Olsen-inspired Wolves.  The Dukes found themselves in an 8-point hole after only 5 races, but turned the meeting around with thrilling heat advantages in the next four heats, with Boocock, Hiftle, Andrew and Titman taking vital wins.  But Olsen and Gifford closed the gap to 2 points in heat 11 to set up a nervy finish.  In the decider, Olsen made the start, but Monk and Titman ensured the victory by taking the minor places.  With John Jackson still unwell, Halifax gave a debut to Sunderland's Dave Gatenby, but he failed to score.