Another stunning Niels-Kristian Iversen maximum propelled Indianerna to a 45-43 home win which ended Dackarna’s unbeaten record in the 2012 Elitserien.

The home side took the lead early on, with Kenneth Bjerre, finding himself down at reserve, winning heat 2 to move his Indianerna side ahead with a 4-2.

That lead was then extended to 6 by the end of the 6th race of the night, as wins for Piotr Protasiewicz and Niels-Kristian Iversen in heats 5 and 6 respectively were converted into further heat advantages.

Dackarna needed to try and pull that gap back quickly, and that effort began immediately in heat 7, as the fast Darcy Ward took the win ahead of Grand Prix star Antonio Lindback, with Patryk Dudek taking third to convert the race into a 4-2 in favour of the visitors.

Yet Indianerna were not going to allow their opponents back into the meeting early, and they then scored a devastating pair of maximums in heat 8 and 9, first from Iversen and Andersen and then from Protasiewicz and Bjerre, to move the home side into a commanding position with a 12 point lead.

The visiting side were granted a lifeline though in the 10th race, as Ward and Fredrik Lindgren were allowed to take a 5-0 after Lindback took a fall, and Thoernbloem then fell in the rerun.

After a level outcome of the second reserves race, Dackarna struck what appeared to be massive maximum from Michael Jepsen Jensen and Darcy Ward in heat 12, but in the very next race the hosts nullified that with a 5-1 of their own courtesy of Iversen and Kylmakorpi.

With only two heats remaining and with a 7 point lead, Indianerna appeared to be firmly in control, but they almost threw it all away, as Lindback and Protasiewicz both fell to gift Ward and Lindgren another 5-0 to move Dackarna within two and set up a nail-biting last heat decider.

Yet Danish star Iversen held his nerve to hold off the fast Ward for the second time in the final race to complete his maximum and give Indianerna a 45-43 win which ended Dackarna’s unbeaten record.

It was Niels-Kristian Iversen (15) that was again the real star for Indianerna, continuing his stunning 2012 season, but he received very strong support from Kenneth Bjerre (8+1) and Joonas Kylmakorpi (8+1). Pole Piotr Protasiewicz (6) also added two race wins despite tailing off in the closing stages, and although Grand Prix duo Hans Andersen (4+1) and Antonio Lindback (2) were below their usual high standards, they did play their part in giving the home team just enough to take the win. In the end, 10 out of 15 race winners for Indianerna were the difference, as they just sneaked the win despite throwing away valuable points which almost cost them dear.

For Dackarna, Darcy Ward (15+1) was in flying form as usual, as he was beaten only by Iversen on the night. Danish hotshot Michael Jepsen Jensen (8+2) also scored very well, as did Fredrik Lindgren (7+2) who rode through the pain barrier after injuring his leg in a crash for Wroclaw in the Polish League on Sunday. Jonas Davidsson (6+1) had a very good meeting at reserve as well despite coming up against Kenneth Bjerre at 6 for the opposition, whilst Patryk Dudek (4+1) did a decent job in the main body. However, Grand Prix man Andreas Jonsson (3) was well below par for the league leaders, as was Joel Larsson (0) at reserve, and those two poor performances cost them dear as they slipped to a narrow defeat, their first of the 2012 campaign.

SCORES

Indianerna Kumla – 45

1. Antonio Lindback - 2 (0,2,f,f)
2. Joonas Kylmakorpi - 8+1 (3,3,0,2*,ef)
3. Niels Kristian Iversen - 15 (3,3,3,3,3)
4. Hans Andersen - 4+1 (0,1,2*,1)
5. Piotr Protasiewicz - 6 (3,3,f,f)
6. Kenneth Bjerre - 8+1 (3,0,1,2*,2)
7. Mathias Thoernbloem - 2+1 (1,-,f,1*)

Dackarna Malilla – 43

1. Andreas Jonsson - 3 (2,ef,ef,1)
2. Michael Jepsen Jensen - 8+2 (1*,2,1,3,1*)
3. Darcy Ward - 15+1 (2,3,3,2*,3,2)
4. Patryk Dudek - 4+1 (1*,2,1,ef)
5. Fredrik Lindgren - 7+2 (2,1,2*,2*)
6. Joel Larsson - 0 (0,0,-,0)
7. Jonas Davidsson - 6+1 (2,1*,0,3)

HEAT BY HEAT

1. Kylmakorpi, Jonsson, Jensen, Lindback 3:3
2. Bjerre, Davidsson, Thoernbloem, Larsson 4:2 (7:5)
3. Iversen, Ward, Dudek, Andersen 3:3 (10:8)
4. Protasiewicz, Lindgren, Davidsson, Bjerre 3:3 (13:11)
5. Kylmakorpi, Dudek, Bjerre, Larsson 4:2 (17:13)
6. Iversen, Jensen, Andersen, Jonsson (ef) 4:2 (21:15)
7.  Ward, Lindback, Dudek, Kylmakorpi 2:4 (23:19)
8.  Iversen, Andersen, Lindgren, Davidsson 5:1 (28:20)
9.  Protasiewicz, Bjerre, Jensen, Jonsson (ef) 5:1 (33:21)
10. Ward, Lindgren, Thoernbloem (f/ex), Lindback (f/ex) 0:5 (33:26)
11. Davidsson, Bjerre, Thoernbloem, Larsson 3:3 (36:29)
12. Jensen, Ward, Andersen, Protasiewicz (f/ex) 1:5 (37:34)
13. Iversen, Kylmakorpi, Jonsson, Dudek (ef) 5:1 (42:35)
14. Ward, Lindgren, Lindback (f/ex), Protasiewicz (f/ex) 0:5 (42:40)
15. Iversen, Ward, Jensen, Kylmakorpi (ef) 3:3  (45:43)

source: www.sportowefakty.pl