ROBERT Lambert was at his brilliant best as brave King’s Lynn pushed Rye House to the limit in a 49-41 defeat.
Lambert won four of his seven outings to card 17 as he led the Stars charge on a night when they deserved something from the match.
Dale Allitt's men went into the meeting without big-scoring No.1 Niels-Kristian Iversen who is taking a short break for treatment on his shoulder.
His rides were covered by team-mates under the rider replacement rule but much of the added responsibility fell on the shoulders of skipper Robert Lambert.
Lambert kept Stars in the meeting with some fabulous rides as he took four outings in the opening seven heats.
He passed Aaron Summers in Heat 6 with a brave five up the inside to keep the score 21-15.
And he repeated the move in the next on home reserve Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen when in as a tactical substitute for Thomas Jorgensen but he was struggling for support from team-mates.
Rye House took a grip on proceedings but the Stars showed great character with Ty Proctor and Lewis Kerr winning key heats.
It took until the penultimate race for the home side to secure the win with a 5-1 from Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen and Edward Kennett to make it 46-38.
Lambert won the last race but Rye House did enough to deny Lynn a point.
The Tru Plant Stars return home to the Adrian Flux Arena on Wednesday when they face World Champion Jason Doyle and his Somerset Rebels.
They've booked Aussie ace Sam Masters as guest cover for Iversen in a bid to reduce the pressure on other riders.
Boss Dale Allitt said: “The boys dug deep tonight and I’m pleased with their efforts.
“It’s so hard when you don’t make the start at Rye House and so it proved but I can’t fault our effort.”
RYE HOUSE 49: Edward Kennett 11+3, Scott Nicholls 10+1, Aaron Summers 8, Nicolaj Busk Jakobsen 8, Krzysztof Kasprzak 7, Chris Harris 4+1, Max Clegg 1.
KING’S LYNN 41: Robert Lambert 17, Lewis Kerr 9+1, Ty Proctor 8+1, Michael Palm Toft 5+1, Kasper Andersen 1+1, Thomas Jorgensen 1, Niels-Kristian Iversen r/r.
