 | | Tai Woffinden and Ben Barker (R) in heat eight |
Against a team that has been their nemesis throughout their relatively short history, the Rebels showed that they were in no mood to dwell on past results, as they tore into a Tigers' outfit that was a pale shadow of the team that came and won at the Oak Tree Arena earlier in the season. By heat 10 Somerset had built up a healthy 24-point lead over Sheffield with Ashworth the only visitor to cause any problems for the home riders, firstly by beating home favourite Magnus Zetterstrom in the opening heat, following that up with a further win in heat five. Ashworth apart though, Sheffield had no answer to the sheer onslaught handed out by the Rebels in the early stages, and although the Tigers could point to mechanical misfortunes to both Wilson and Lemon, the latter whilst on a tactical ride, the Rebels also suffered from mechanical gremlins at a crucial time in the match.  | | Glenn Cunningham (L) and Ricky Ashworth in heat 11 |
Sheffield did not claim a heat advantage until heat 11, but what an advantage that turned out to be as Ashworth and Wilson combined for an 8-1 over a far-from-fit Cunningham and Simon Walker. Although the balance was restored in the following heat, as Somerset chalked up their fifth maximum heat win of the night, any hopes of a 20-plus lead to take back to Owlerton were dealt a blow, when Ben Wilson came off a 15-metre tactical ride to join his partner Sanchez at the front for a 7-1, thereby cutting the Rebels lead to 15 points. Overall, the Rebels were far stronger than their opponents, Ashworth excepted, in every department. Ben Barker had another excellent night at reserve, scoring a paid 13 which included a comprehensive defeat of Lemon in heat four. Sheffield must, however, be pleased they will be going into the second leg of this tie with just 15 points to make up, when at the two-thirds stage of the meeting, it looked as if was going to be a lot worse for them - the points scored from their tactical rides in heat 11 and 14 accounted for over a third of their final night's tally. | 
