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Elite League Shield Second Leg : Friday 26th March 2010
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Wolverhampton completed their comprehensive aggregate victory in the Elite Shield by taking the spoils in this, the opening meeting of the 2010 Lakeside Hammers season at the Arena Raceway.
The reigning Elite League champions were in fine form, overturning a mid match deficit in heat eight to assert their own mark on the meeting to run out comfortable winners.
It was a disappointing start to the campaign for the Hammers, who in the main struggled to compete with their opponents on level terms from the starting gate. Time and again it was a Wolves rider who hit the front from the tapes and the Hammers were eventually made to pay for this during the latter stages of the meeting.
Wolves were led by an inspired Freddie Lindgren, who raced to a polished maximum and was untroubled by an opponent all night. He received able backing from 2010 Grand Prix debutant Tai Woffinden and a resurgent Joe Screen, who recovered from a first race blip to drop just one further point in a sparkling performance.
The meeting turned in heat eight when Hammers new boy Daniel Davidsson suffered an engine failure whilst leading, handing a final lap 5-1 to the Wolves pairing of Ty Proctor and Joe Haines. The Hammers went on to recover this deficit two heats later wheh Krzysztof Kasprzak teamed up with Stuart Robson for a home 4-2 in heat ten - but thereafter the Hammers ran out of steam, surrending 4-2's in heats 11 and 12 before a Lindgren/Woffinden 5-1 in heat thirteen pretty much ended the tie as a contest.
The mathematical certainties were completed when Screen popped out for his second race win in the penultimate heat Wolves were left to celebrate the Elite Shield victory after a final race which saw Kasprzak produce a fine move to pass Woffinden on the last lap and prevent a Wolves 5-1.
 Related Link: Wolves take Shield with opening victory : Match Stats
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