Glasgow Tigers lead table but are out of Championship Shield

The league leaders strengthened their grip at the head of the league standings with a 48-42 win over Redcar Bears at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium on Friday night.

Another strong performance from the Tigers’ top three - and some vital points from both reserves - was enough to see off the Bears who kept the home team honest throughout.

Connor Bailey had perhaps his best meeting in Glasgow colours so far with five points - including a win in heat two - while Claus Vissing posted 13, his strongest score in a while.

But it was a different story on Saturday when their Shield hopes bit the dust in a heated semi-final second leg against Eastbourne Eagles.

Tigers travelled to Eastbourne defending a four-point lead from last month’s first leg.

But the visitors - still struggling to cope with the loss of Paul Starke, with rider replacement in operation - found themselves 15-3 down after three races and never recovered, managing just one narrow heat advantage all night.

There were several controversial moments before and during racing, with both sides having fallers and exclusions. and track conditions favouring the home team much more than the away.

The end result was a 55-34 win for Eastbourne - a 98-81 victory on aggregate.

The only consolations Glasgow will take from the meeting are the performance of reserve Connor Bailey, who scored 4+2 on his first visit to Arlington as he continues to adapt well to British racing, and Mikkel B Andersen sealing his first win in Tigers colours.

The team must now regroup ahead of the return to league action on Friday with the visit of Berwick Bandits.