KING’S LYNN boss Dale Allitt hopes his side’s efforts are not forgotten about as they head into the winter break.
The Tru Plant Stars drew their Knockout Cup Final second leg 45-45 at the Adrian Flux Arena, but it was Somerset who lifted the trophy courtesy of their 16-point first leg lead.
Stars skipper Robert Lambert piled the pressure on 2017 World Champion Jason Doyle in the opening heat before the Somerset man held on to lead a shared race.
But the visitors soon extended their lead to 24 on aggregate with three straight advantages courtesy of quick starts from Nico Covatti and Richard Lawson as well as guest Chris Harris who returned to the scene where he celebrated league glory eight days previous with Poole.
After crashing out of his first outing, Thomas Jorgensen produced a brilliant ride to get the better of Doyle in Heat Five before Robert Lambert and Riss combined for a first home maximum of the evening.
It was that No.1 and No.2 duo who delivered the goods again in Heat 10 as they both put everything on the line to squeeze by Paul Starke over laps two and three.
But it only prolonged the inevitable as the Rebels sealed the trophy in the very next race as Doyle and key reserve Covatti got the better of Niels-Kristian Iversen.
The Stars finished off with three heat advantages, coming from ten down on the night to snatch a draw - but sadly it was to no avail.
“It was always going to be hard and to fall even further behind in the first few races just made the task even more difficult,” Allitt said.
“But take nothing away from Somerset, they deserved to win over both meetings.
“Not having Tofty (Michael Palm Toft) at reserve has killed us over the past week and it goes to show just how influential he’s been for us this season.
“It’s just such a shame that you work hard all year and success comes down to the roll of a dice.
“Your achievements are based over 30 heats of speedway and when you’re in the position we are in stood here now, you can understand our frustrations.
“Of course I feel for the supporters but I also feel for the riders as well because they’ve given their all for the club this year and they deserved to have something to show for that.
“Right now it’s hard and we’re still hurting, but I really do hope everyone remembers what a fantastic season this has been for King’s Lynn.
“We topped the top league after the regular season and that was the first time any King’s Lynn side has ever managed that.
“We’ve turned things around from last year as well and we’ve given ourselves plenty to build on in 2019.”
KING’S LYNN 45: Robert Lambert 12+2, Erik Riss 10+2, Niels-Kristian Iversen 7, Thomas Jorgensen 6, Ty Proctor 6, Tero Aarnio 2+1, Simon Lambert 2.
SOMERSET 45: Nico Covatti 12+3, Jason Doyle 9, Richard Lawson 9, Chris Harris 8+1, Paul Starke 6, Coty Garcia 1, Bradley Wilson-Dean R/R.
