Rory Schlein provided the perfect end to a frustrating season as Lynn beat the table-toppers.

Rory Schlein provided the perfect end to a frustrating season as Lynn beat the table-toppers.

The Aussie passed Chris Harris and then Martin Smolinski right at the death to help the Stars seal the heat advantage they needed to pick up all three Elite League points against the Birmingham Brummies.

The maximum-points victory secured a great fifth-placed finish for the hosts who, despite all of their injury problems in 2013, finished just one place outside the play-offs and two places higher than they did last season.

While the meeting meant little to Birmingham, who can now focus on a double-legged semi-final against rivals Wolverhampton Wolves in the end-of-season shootout for the title, it offered Rob Lyon's men a chance to finish the term on a high.

The Saddlebow Road club have battled against almost everything this season. The authorities. The weather. Some suspect refereeing decisions. And a run of poor luck that has seen a host of riders sidelined and the team changed on countless occasions. And that fighting spirit was in evidence again during the Norfolk outfit's final fixture of the year. The Stars raced hard, fast, and often pretty wide to try and defeat a Brummies team inspired by the quick-looking Ben Barker.

Two crashes in the opening two heats set the tone for an evening that was nowhere near as dull as many expected. The visitors' Josh Auty suffered a heavy spill and nearly took a host of opponents with him. But he missed everyone, including Young Stars' Lewis Kerr – guesting for his club's senior side. And it was good that he did as the Heacham-based talent triumphed in the re-run to pick up his first victory at British speedway's top level.

The fixture remained neck and neck for a while with the teams trading maximum 5-1 heat advantages and sharing the others. The scores were all-tied at 30-apiece going into a brief interval.

The true moment of genuine class was provided, as ever, by Grand Prix sensation Niels-Kristian Iversen. Lynn's number one shot from third to first in the space of two turns by cutting under Danny King before powering round the outside of Barker.

His fellow countryman Nicklas Porsing showed his undoubted potential by helping the in-form Schlein seal a 5-1 in the 11th to put the home team in control.

And they edged their way towards a seven-point lead with captain Mads Korneliussen and Iversen securing race wins leaving Lynn six ahead with two to go.

The Stars' Richie Worrall got his wheels in line before anyone else to zoom past Barker up the back straight to pick up the win in the 14th – which was vital considering Porsing retired.

So, not for the first time this term, the Stars needed a race win in the nominated ride to win by seven or more. Which they did thanks to Iversen and Schlein's heroics. In a season that offered so much, and delivered so little, it was a performance to send the home faithful away dreaming of better luck and a title tilt in 2014.

Lynn (number of rides); Iversen 14 (5), Bjerre 1+1 (3), Korneliussen 8 (4), Worrall 7+2 (4), Schlein 12+1 (5), Kerr 3 (3), Porsing 5+2 (6)

Birmingham: Smolinski 5 (5), King 8+1 (4), Barker 10+2 (5), Harris 9+1 (6), Covatti 8+4 (7), Auty 0 (3)