Newcastle Diamonds 43 Workington Comets 47

Captain Craig Cook inspired Workington Comets to exorcise some demons on bogey track Brough Park with a stunning comeback win over Newcastle Diamonds.

Great Britain skipper Cook returned to the line-up after missing Comets’ defeat at the hands of Sheffield last weekend and his spectacular 15-point maximum led the West Cumbrians to a rare win on Tyneside.

Comets manager Tony Jackson could barely hide his delight at getting one over the Diamonds and hopes the win can be a springboard for the rest of their season.

He said: "I'm over the moon, especially when we were six points down early on and with what happened two or three weeks ago.

"This more than makes up for it, it was a great effort.

"Hopefully it put a smile on the fans' faces.

"That's speedway, you can't guess what's going to happen next."

Cook got back to winning ways with a stylish victory ahead of his World Cup team-mate Robert Lambert in the opening heat, but Mason Campton couldn’t find a way past ex-Comet Ashley Morris so the points were shared.

A disastrous second heat put Comets on the back foot as both guest Danny Ayres and No7 Rob Shuttleworth fell, allowing Newcastle duo Ben Hopwood and Alfie Bowtell to roar into the distance while the Comets pair could only remount and finish one point.

Ty Proctor split Ludvig Lindgren and Morris in heat three but Matt Williamson continued to find it hard going in the main body of the team as he was last over the line and Newcastle moved six points clear.

Comets held that gap with a 3-3 in heat four, with Steve Worrall clearing off from the gate but Thomas Jorgensen and Rob Shuttleworth shutting Bowtell out after the home reserve started from 15 metres.

And they trimmed the hosts’ lead in heat five as Cook eased to his second win ahead of Lindgren and Campton pipped Hopwood.

The buzz was short-lived as Lambert dominated heat six and Morris edged in front of Ayres to follow Jorgensen and restore Newcastle’s six-point advantage.

Worrall again nailed the start and eased to victory in heat seven, but again he was chased by Proctor and Williamson for a draw.

The visitors threw a spanner in the works with a big 5-1 in heat eight, Campton and Ayres making light work of Morris and Hopwood to pull the deficit back to just two points and pile pressure on the Diamonds.

Jorgensen was the next Comet to be first to the flag but Lindgren and Hopwood followed to share the points in heat nine, only for Proctor and Williamson to repay the favour with Lambert for another 3-3 in heat 10.

And Comets sprang a major shock in heats 11 and 12 as Cook and Proctor won with support from Campton and Ayres for a pair of 4-2s which nudged them ahead 37-35.

They held their lead as Cook gave Worrall and Lambert no quarter to win heat 13, before Lindgren was kept honest by Ayres and Williamson in the penultimate race to set up a nail-shredding last heat decider.

Cool as you like, Cook delivered the win ahead of Lambert in heat 15 after Worrall fell for a 4-2 with Proctor which handed Comets a precious three points on the road and made up for their Knockout Cup exit in the north east last month.

Jackson also confirmed that Glasgow's Tom Perry will guest for James Sarjeant at Sheffield on Thursday.

Newcastle Diamonds 43

1. Robert Lambert – 2, 3, 3, 1*, 2 = 11+1

2. Ashley Morris – 1*, 1, 1, 1, 0 = 4+1

3. Lewis Rose R/R

4. Ludvig Lindgren – 3, 2, 2, 2, 3 = 12

5. Steve Worrall – 3, 3, 2, 2, FX = 10

6. Ben Hopwood – 3, 0, 0, 1*, 0, 0 = 4+1

7. Alfie Bowtell – 2*, 0, 0, 0 = 2+1

Workington Comets 47

1. Craig Cook – 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 15

2. Mason Campton – 0, 1, 3, 1 = 5

3. Ty Proctor – 2, 2, 2, 3, 1 = 10

4. Matt Williamson – 0, 1*, 1*, 1* = 3+3

5. Thomas Jorgensen – 2, 2, 3, 0 = 7

6. Danny Ayres – 1, 0, 2*, 1, 2 = 6+1

7. Rob Shuttleworth – 0, 1, 0 = 1

HEAT BY HEAT

HEAT 1 – Cook, Lambert, Morris, Campton – 63.1, 3-3

HEAT 2 – Hopwood, Bowtell, Ayres, Shuttleworth – 66, 5-1, 8-4

HEAT 3 – Lindgren, Proctor, Morris, Williamson – 63.4, 4-2, 12-6

HEAT 4 – Worrall, Jorgensen, Shuttleworth, Bowtell (15m) – 63.6, 3-3, 15-9

HEAT 5 – Cook, Lindgren, Campton, Hopwood – 63.1, 2-4, 17-13

HEAT 6 – Lambert, Jorgensen, Morris, Ayres – 63.5, 4-2, 21-15

HEAT 7 – Worrall, Proctor, Williamson, Bowtell – 63.9, 3-3, 24-18

HEAT 8 – Campton, Ayres, Morris, Hopwood – 64.9, 1-5, 25-23

HEAT 9 – Jorgensen, Lindgren, Hopwood, Shuttleworth – 64.7, 3-3, 28-26

HEAT 10 – Lambert, Proctor, Williamson, Morris – 64, 3-3, 31-29

HEAT 11 – Cook, Worrall, Campton, Hopwood – 64.8, 2-4, 33-33

HEAT 12 – Proctor, Lindgren, Ayres, Bowtell – 64.9, 2-4, 35-37

HEAT 13 – Cook, Worrall, Lambert, Jorgensen – 63.7, 3-3, 38-40

HEAT 14 – Lindgren, Ayres, Williamson, Hopwood – 65.3, 3-3, 41-43