By John Walsh

Last updated 16:25, Friday, 18 July 2008

Workington Comets 58 Isle of Wight Islanders 32: It was wholly appropriate that on the night Workington’s conquering heroes were honoured by the club they should lead the Comets to a clear-cut victory.

• Video: watch highlights of the meeting

Daniel Nermark’s involvement in last week-end’s Grand Prix qualifier meant that the home fans could not give full voice to acclaim the new Premier League Best Pairs champions.

So the welcome home party was put on hold and on Saturday Nermark and Kauko Nieminen were given a rapturous return and a special presentation by club owner Keith Denham.

With the formalities out of the way the Swede and the Finn began their own demolition of the Islanders as they raced to five-ride maximums.

Nermark reeled-off five straight wins for a full maximum while Nieminen followed home his partner in the last race to collect a paid maximum. It goes without saying that neither had been beaten by an Isle of Wight rider.

Workington had three successive heat maximums to round-off the meeting which carried the Comets to their third highest score of the season.

Carl Stonehewer chipped in with ten points but the three Isle of Wight heat leaders could muster only 15 points between them.

It meant the visitors were short on fire power where it mattered and rarely threatened to trouble Nermark, Nieminen and co.

Nieminen was consistently the fastest rider on the track with all four winning times under 66 seconds and his fourth success in 65.0 was the quickest of the night.

Nermark also had four winning rides in under 66 seconds but his opening victory was 66.3.

The Islanders registered only one heat advantage – in the reserve race – when Andrew Bargh made the gate and never looked in trouble. John Branney got past James Holder to make sure the 4-2 against still kept the Comets in front.

They actually stayed in front from that point, although there were six races in which the points were shared.

Ten points adrift after eight heats, Krzysztof Stojanowski took a tactical ride in the next and it probably summed-up the Islanders’ night when he even lost third spot to his team-mate because of mechanical problems and failed to score.

There was also a big moment in the race before – heat eight – when Jason Bunyan and Holder were fancied to get the better of Joe Haines and John Branney.

But it was the Workington pair who broke best and although Bunyan tried everything he could there was no way he could get past the Comets reserve. The 5-1 from that race, and the 5-1 which was to follow when the Islanders used a tactical ride, was the end for the visitors.

Three shared heats in a row helped the damage limitation exercise it had now become but three heat maximums to round-off the night underlined Workington’s superiority.

Both sides used rider replacement – Workington for Tomi Reima and Isle of Wight for Cory Gathercole – with the Comets coming-out on top in that little contest, six points to five.

Teenager Haines won one of those four replacement rides for Workington and he made it a winning one in that vital heat eight.

The youngster finished the night with eight points and has clearly made the transition from reserve to second string as comfortably as most people predicted.

His opposite number Paul Fry was the most consistent of the Islanders, riding with typical enthusiasm and determination for three seconds and two third.

The only Isle of Wight riders to win races were reserves Bargh and Holder, which again showed where their problems lay.

When Workington hosted the Knockout Cup match with the Islanders back in early June they won it 53-38 and went on to squeeze through on aggregate so this was a much more convincing victory in the League.

It keeps Workington ganging on the door in the increasingly tough battle to make the top four play-offs at the end of the season.

MATCH FACTS

Workington: Daniel Nermark 15, rider replacement for Tomi Reima, Kauko Nieminen 14; Joe Haines 9, Carl Stonehewer 10, Charles Wright 5, John Branney 5.

Isle of Wight: Jason Bunyan 5, Rider replacement for Cory Gathercole, Glen Phillips 6, Paul Fry 8, Krzysztof Stojanowski 4,Andrew Bargh 4, James Holder 4.