Ford and Middleditch era reaches incredible 30 trophies as Poole Pirates win SGB Championship

Matt Ford brought up his 30th trophy as owner of the Poole Pirates and insisted: “We really wanted it.”

The Wimborne Road chief, who still runs the club alongside son and promoter Danny, made the journey from his base in France to see his team secure the SGB Championship league title.

Trailing by 12 after the first leg against Oxford, Pirates roared back in a blockbuster finale on home shale.

After thrills, spills and some high-octane drama, Pirates emerged victorious 56-34 on the night – in-turn sealing a 10-point victory on aggregate.

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Speaking on the centre green after recording the landmark trophy with legendary team boss Neil Middleditch, Ford said: “That was a tough thing to come back tonight. I couldn’t believe the spirit and the attitude in the pits. It showed that we really wanted it.

“It’s really lovely to get that win under our belt, really lovely.”

Tom Brennan top scored for Pirates with 13 points from five rides, Richard Lawson (10+1) reached double figures despite being excluded from a tense heat one.

Tobias Thomsen proved a trump card for Poole at reserve, scoring 10+2 from six outings.

The result means Poole are still on course to land an historic treble.

Having already won the league and BSN Series titles, they face Oxford over two legs in the Championship Knockout Cup to round off their campaign, with the dates set to be announced.

“Oxford are going to be there or thereabouts every year now, make no bones about it,” said Ford.

“The riders they have got are awesome and they are riders we would all love to have.

“Well done to them, a fantastic effort and they really do deserve to win something. Hopefully it’s not in the cup next week!

“That’s our 30^th, let’s see if we can get our 31^st next week.”