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Elite League A fixture : Friday 16th May 2008 @ 8pm
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This cracking fixture had everything a Hammers' fan could hope for - an early meeting deficit gradually overturned, a classic derby atmosphere, and victory over their arch-rivals Eastbourne.
Of course, it takes two sides to produce such an encounter and Eastbourne were full value with this reduced line-up. Missing the injured Lee Richardson, they made light work of their reduction in numbers to storm into a ten point lead at the halfway stage having racked up the majority of the race wins.
The Hammers' struggled early on and failed to cope with the Eagles' faster starting ability. Scott Nicholls inflicted an early defeat on Andreas Jonsson in the opening heat before Joonas Kylmakorpi scored Lakeside's solitary win in seven heats with victory in the reserves race.
With Hammers missing Lubos Tomicek through 'flu, Kylmakorpi was tasked with taking his full quota of seven rides. He responded in superb fashion, taking a whopping paid twenty haul and earning many points from the back.
A decisive moment occurred in heat seven when Jonas Davidsson was caught on the line by Cameron Woodward, which resulted in an Eastbourne 5-1 and increased their lead to ten points. This magical number afforded Hammers boss Jon Cook the option of utilising a tactical ride in heat eight - and the nominated Kylmakorpi duly obliged when he combined with Leigh Lanham for an 8-1 to put the Hammers firmly back in contention.
This ignited Lanham's evening and he produced a stunning ride to combine with Jonsson for a 5-1 over Nicholls to bring the house down and put the Hammers ahead for the first time in the meeting.
The Eagles edged in front two heats later when Woodward defeated Shields, placing all emphasis on a critically important heat thirteen. Jonsson edged ahead as the tapes rose and rode a masterful first corner to hold off Nicholls. The telling blow came at the back, though, as Davidsson chased down and passed Kennett on the line for third to send Hammers fans wild.
Victory - which had looked unlikely earlier in the meeting - was all but assured in the penultimate race when Lanham and Kylamkorpi slammed in a 5-1. That left Lanham to secure second place from the back in the final race to confirm victory and bring the curtain down on a Essex classic against the statistical backdrop of five race wins to the visitors' ten.
 Related Link: Hammers fight back in derby classic : Match Report
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