OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck admits his side had to “dig deep” to overcome a stunning Birmingham comeback.
The new Spires outfit seemed to be cruising to an opening night win at Cowley, leading by 14 points.
But the barnstorming Brummies stormed back to trail by just two points with two to go.
Schroeck said: “Credit to both teams, Birmingham really put up a fight and failed to give in.
“We had to dig deep, but the boys showed that determination which is a great quality in any team.
“Conditions were as good as we could’ve wished for considering the weather.
“The track staff did a fantastic job preparing the surface and ensuring it could handle the forecast rain which arrived before the meeting.
“All in all, it was a positive night, and we can look forward to Sheffield next week and another tough challenge.”
Oxford skipper Chris Harris helped the team home in Heats 14 and 15, bringing a final score of 47-43 after a near Super Heat as the visitors initially gated a 5-1 in the finale.
The hosts roared into a 25-11 lead after only six races in a meeting which went ahead despite the challenging weather conditions.
Birmingham boss Sam Ermolenko was left “very proud” of the team after a powerful fight.
He said: “Everybody pulled together and showed that the determination is there and to me, that counts a lot.
“Some of the riders had some good rides and were pretty comfortable, some of the riders struggled a little bit; I don’t want to single anyone out good or bad after the first meeting, but I think there’s room for everybody to improve and that’s not a bad thing on opening night, it’s encouraging.”
After the Brummies’ loss of No.1, Piotr Pawlicki, they snapped up Scott Nicholls as a late and temporary replacement.
Nicholls showed his class with 11+1 with Harris just making the winning difference with 13 points.
Words by Freya Taylor.
Images by Taylor Lanning.