Wolverhampton 49 King's Lynn Stars 41

KING'S Lynn put up a brave fight before falling agonisingly short of a consolation point with a 49-41 defeat at Wolverhampton.

Still reeling from news of reserve Lewis Kerr's horror crash at Peterborough yesterday afternoon, the depleted Stars showed plenty of character with a battling performance whilst their team-mate remained in an induced coma in Addenbrookes Hospital.

With Kerr and teenage sensation Robert Lambert both missing, the Adrian Flux Arena outfit could have been forgiven an off night in difficult circumstances.

Yet they refused to lie down, putting in a valiant effort only to just miss out on what would have been a well-deserved point by the narrowest of margins.

After slipping behind in the opening race, the Stars fought hard to remain in close pursuit with composed wins for Bjerre and Nicklas Porsing in heats four and five.

Skipper Iversen then pulled his side level with a perfectly timed move down the inside of Ricky Wells to prevail in a spectacular heat six battle.

However, Kenneth Bjerre was left standing from the start in heat nine and could not overhaul Lewis Blackbird as Lynn conceded a costly 5-1 to put them on the back foot.

The fast Iversen again took the chequered flag next time out- but they were dealt a further blow when a spectacular tumble for Vaclav Milik in heat 11 saw them slip six behind courtesy of another Wolves heat advantage.

Ashley Morris did bounce back from a difficult night to hold off Blackbird in a fiercely-contested heat 12 – yet with guest Robert Branford sliding off as he battled with Max Clegg at the back Lynn were unable to close the gap.

With a tense finale in prospect, they were struck by the withdrawal of Milik – and when Wolves stars Freddie Lindgren and Peter Karlsson team-rode out Iversen in heat 13 it left their hopes of claiming it least a consolation point in doubt.

Rob Lyon's side nonetheless bit back once more with Porsing rounding Tobiasz Musielak to convert a Bjerre victory into a heat advantage in the penultimate race and reignite their chances.

But it was not to be, as Iversen finally lowered the colours of the imperious Lindgren in the final race but saw partner Bjerre trailing at the back.

It was a disappointing result for the Stars, but there were nonetheless plenty of positives and they remain well on course for an Elite League play-off place.

Wolverhampton (number of rides): Fredrik Lindgren 14 (5), Ricky Wells 8 (4), Jacob Thorssell 7 (4), Peter Karlsson 5+4 (5), Lewis Blackbird 5+2 (4), Max Clegg 5+2 (4), Tobiasz Musielak 5 (4).

Lynn: Niels-Kristian Iversen 13 (6), Kenneth Bjerre 10+1 (6), Nicklas Porsing 8 (4), Ashley Morris 4+1 (5), Robert Branford 3+1 (4), Vaclav Milik 3 (4), Rider replacement for Robert Lambert.