Things seemed to be heading in the right direction for the home supporters, as Zetterstrom and Phillips took a maximum heat victory in the opening heat. Phillips made a nice pass on Lyons to join his skipper at the front. Then a bizarre heat two brought the Fen Tigers level, after three attempts to run the race. The first attempt saw Mildenhall's Burchatt penalised for touching the tapes and him starting off 15 metres in the rerun.  | | Ben Barker pushes his bike in heat two |
However, the second attempt lasted just 30 metres as Somerset's Simon Walker flipped as the bikes left the tapes, leaving the Bristolian with possible pelvic injuries that forced him out of the meeting in its latter stages. The fans, having thought they had now seen everything, were in for a further surprise as Somerset's Ben Barker, holding a comfortable second place behind Armstrong, suffered an engine failure on the third lap. Despite Burchatt flashing past the stricken Rebel, Barker had the presence of mind to push his bike for the final lap. Encouraged by his team-mates, the teenager recorded a point for third place, which could be vital in the final outcome of this tie. As the meeting reached its halfway point, the home side had gained the upper hand - Zetterstrom was as immaculate as ever and Cunningham showed the fans some classic outside passes over the opposition.  | | Jon Armstrong (L) and Glen Phillips in heat nine |
Heat nine was another of those Oak Tree classics: Katt, Phillips and Werner rode three abreast for the first two-and-a-half laps, with no quarter asked or given before Werner gained the upper hand, only for Katt to come past the American, swooping round the outside on the final bend in a breath-taking race. With the Rebels 12 points to the good after heat 10, the Fen Tigers resorted to the black-and-white tactical move - Jason Lyons was the first to try for double points followed by Daniel King a heat later. These had the effect of reducing the Somerset lead to just seven points, but this was short-lived, as Zetterstrom and Cunningham teamed up to record their second maximum heat victory of the night. A Jason King victory in the penultimate heat left the tie even poised for the return leg on Sunday 25 June, 2006, when the two teams resume battle in the quest for a place in the semifinals. | 
