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Elite League 'A' Fixture : Friday 22nd August 2008 @ 8pm
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The Lakeside Hammers dug deep to pull off a fantastic all-round team performance and defeat Wolverhampton at the end of a very traumatic week for the Club.
Faced with the loss of Jonas Davidsson and Adam Shields to serious injuries in just three days and already without long term injury victim Joonas Kylmakorpi, the patched-up Hammers rallied superbly to take what was a comfortable victory over the men from Monmore Green.
The spirits in the home camp were perhaps best typified by stand-in captain Leigh Lanham, who produced such a gutsy, determined showing to inspire his team to victory and spur on a home crowd who might have perhaps turned up expecting the worst.
Lanham was reunited with his race partner Andreas Jonsson and the dynamic duo immediately set about moving their side into an early advantage with a surprisingly easy win over Fredrik Lindgren in the opening race.
Some interesting scraps in the reserves race set the tone for the quality of the racing experienced throughout and there was an excellent exhibition in heat three when both Kauko Nieminen and Lewis Bridger swept past Niels Kristian Iversen - only for Wolves' GP star to fight back and retain the lead.
Bridger proved a lively guest and he teamed up with Lubos Tomicek to drive up the inside of Jesper B Monberg in heat four and earn the Hammers a second 5-1. Two more followed in quick succession when Lanham and the hugely impressive Nieminen defeated Lindgren in heat five and Lanham repeated the feat with Jonsson over Monberg in heat six.
Iversen was nominated for a tactical ride in heat seven and teamed up with Howe to record an 8-1 after Ricky Kling fell and Bridger was forced to ride borrowed equipment. Wolves boss Peter Adams persisted in the next heat, positioning Lindgren off fifteen metres in a move that ultimately failed when Lanham and Tomicek pulled clear.
Jonsson and Nieminen then took Hammers' final 5-1 of the evening when passing Monberg in another spectacular outing, leaving Wolves to restore a little pride with a brace of 4-2's over the closing stretch.
The final outing was special, Jonsson trailing from the start but lifting across the home straight to drive past everybody on the second lap. Lanham's deserved maximum was dashed by Iversen at the rear of the race but not without a fight as both riders produced an excellent race and Lanham showed the spirit that made this backs-to-the-wall performance by the Hammers a very special one indeed.
 Related Link: Patched-up Hammers dig deep for victory : Match Statistics
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