With Jamie Smith sidelined again and Ritchie Hawkins not fully fit, Rebels management looked to book a suitable guest rider, but couldn't fill the space at such short notice. Despite this, the Somerset riders won five of the first seven heats to lead 18-24. However, the second half of the meeting saw the home side fight back, with three 5-1s in the last six heats, although one of these was cancelled out by the Rebels in heat 15. An electric display by Cunningham Stoke's guest booking Rusty Harrison produced three magical pieces of riding to put superb passes on the Rebels' three heat leaders. The six points Harrison saved in these three heats alone were enough to prevent a good win for the Somerset side. In his first two rides, Barrie Evans was not even at the races and looked poor. As the track became more slick, he looked a different rider and produced three high-quality races. Glenn Cunningham produced an electric display that must count as one of his best away performances for a long time. Ritchie Hawkins, despite being in a lot of pain after Friday's heavy fall, answered the call when a guest could not be found, and battled away all night without much reward. Paul Fry, still suffering the aftereffects of his Newport crash, was on the receiving end of two superb passes by Carr and Harrison, which curtailed his scoring. The Rebels' fighting spirit Jason King conjured up a fantastic run in between both home riders, coming off the last bend on the first lap to join Lee Smart in a 5-1. He then produced his ride of the night, in a very quick 63.80. In his opening race, Magnus Zetterstrom produced the fastest time seen around Loomer Road this season. In his second race, he rode right around the outside of Carr to take his second heat win. There have been those that have criticised the Rebels after some recent disappointing results, but anyone who witnessed this match was left in no doubt of their fighting spirit. It was a superb all-round team performance, in which every rider played his part. There was also a nice touch at the end of the meeting, when the team came out onto the track and thanked the fans who had made the journey for their support. | 
