Karlsson defied the pain of a broken collarbone to score 10 points

Wolverhampton's Freddie Lindgren paid tribute to the bravery of his club captain Peter Karlsson in the Elite League final first leg against Swindon.

Karlsson scored 10 points in Wolves' 54-38 win, only a fortnight after breaking his collarbone in the semi-final against Lakeside.

Lindgren told BBC WM: "It's very tough. I know he was in a lot of pain tonight.

"He really wants this for the club and for himself, so fair play to him, he did really good."

Lindgren himself reeled off another paid maximum at Monmore Green as Wolves built up a significant 16-point lead to take into the second leg.

"We did really well. It was pretty level in the beginning, we threw away some points with a few crashes here and there," he said.

"We came strong in the end when it mattered, and when they were putting pressure on with the black-and-white hat to count for double points we did the business and kept them behind us."

Swindon nominated Matej Zagar for a double-points ride in heat 13, but the Slovenian star trailed in last behind Lindgren and Karlsson.

"That was a very very important heat for us," said Lindgren. "They could easily have come close with an 8-1, but instead we got the win over them.

"I think 16 [points ahead] is a very good result, but for our own minds we've got to set ourselves to zero and go for the win at Swindon."

The second leg at Blunsdon is on Monday, with live commentary on BBC WM 95.6 FM.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version