BOSS Sam Ermolenko says his side’s determination was the most encouraging aspect of Birmingham’s opening night performance.
The Curtis Sport Brummies narrowly missed out 47-43 at Oxford on Thursday – but recovered from a slow start to force a last heat decider.
The Perry Barr outfit found themselves 14 points down after just six races before battling their way back into contention.
But they couldn’t grab the 5-1 required to send the first fixture to a Super Heat.
Nevertheless, Ermolenko was happy enough with what he saw overall and was pleased with the way his riders overcame a couple of issues that he believed played a part early doors.
“There were a lot of things we had to think about as a team,” he said.
“The venue had a lot of water on it, we hadn’t had much track time whereas the Oxford riders had been on their track on Wednesday.
“But to be fair to the guys, everybody pulled together and showed that the determination is there and to me that counts a lot – I’m very proud.
“Some of the riders had some good rides and were pretty comfortable, some of the riders struggled a little bit; I don’t want to single anyone out good or bad after the first meeting but I think there’s room for everybody to improve and that’s not a bad thing on opening night, it’s encouraging.”
Ermolenko says he enjoyed his first night in management alongside assistant team boss Chris Adams – but admits a little bit more ruthlessness may have potentially made a difference.
“Chris and I were putting our heads together and thinking about how it was going to look,” he said.
“We kind of predicted some of the stuff and made our move – but as a management team I reckon there’s still a bit more in us because looking back, perhaps there was one more change we could’ve made.”
The Brummies are back in action on Monday, March 25 (7.30) when reigning Champions Sheffield visit Perry Barr for the first home fixture of the season.
PREMIERSHIP
OXFORD 47: Chris Harris 13, Maciej Janowski 9+2, Lewis Kerr 8+1, Charles Wright 5+1, Rohan Tungate 5, Nicolai Klindt 4+1, Ashton Boughen 3+1.
BIRMINGHAM 43: Scott Nicholls 11+1, Steve Worrall 11, Zach Cook 7, Tom Brennan 5+1, Wiktor Lampart 5+1, Leon Flint 3, Vaclav Milik 1.
Words and Images by Birmingham Speedway
