BOSS Sam Ermolenko says his side\u2019s determination was the most encouraging aspect of Birmingham\u2019s opening night performance.<\/p>\n
The Curtis Sport Brummies narrowly missed out 47-43 at Oxford on Thursday – but recovered from a slow start to force a last heat decider.<\/p>\n
The Perry Barr outfit found themselves 14 points down after just six races before battling their way back into contention.
\nBut they couldn\u2019t grab the 5-1 required to send the first fixture to a Super Heat.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Ermolenko was happy enough with what he saw overall and was pleased with the way his riders overcame a couple of issues that he believed played a part early doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of things we had to think about as a team,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe venue had a lot of water on it, we hadn\u2019t had much track time whereas the Oxford riders had been on their track on Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut to be fair to the guys, everybody pulled together and showed that the determination is there and to me that counts a lot – I\u2019m very proud.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSome of the riders had some good rides and were pretty comfortable, some of the riders struggled a little bit; I don\u2019t want to single anyone out good or bad after the first meeting but I think there\u2019s room for everybody to improve and that\u2019s not a bad thing on opening night, it\u2019s encouraging.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ermolenko says he enjoyed his first night in management alongside assistant team boss Chris Adams – but admits a little bit more ruthlessness may have potentially made a difference.<\/p>\n \u201cChris and I were putting our heads together and thinking about how it was going to look,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of predicted some of the stuff and made our move – but as a management team I reckon there\u2019s still a bit more in us because looking back, perhaps there was one more change we could\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Brummies are back in action on Monday, March 25 (7.30) when reigning Champions Sheffield visit Perry Barr for the first home fixture of the season.<\/p>\n PREMIERSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n OXFORD 47:<\/strong> Chris Harris 13, Maciej Janowski 9+2, Lewis Kerr 8+1, Charles Wright 5+1, Rohan Tungate 5, Nicolai Klindt 4+1, Ashton Boughen 3+1.<\/p>\n BIRMINGHAM 43:<\/strong> Scott Nicholls 11+1, Steve Worrall 11, Zach Cook 7, Tom Brennan 5+1, Wiktor Lampart 5+1, Leon Flint 3, Vaclav Milik 1.<\/p>\n Words and Images by Birmingham Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n